Survey work at Cefn Coed colliery has uncovered serious structural issues meaning it will not be able to re-open as a museum in the summer as planned.
Issues found at the site include flaking stonework, unsafe tunnels, asbestos and corrosion. It has been estimated that the emergency Health and Safety works will be in excess of £1.25 million whilst an investment of around £8 million would be needed to take it forward as a visitor attraction
Neath Port Talbot Council cabinet members are being asked to endorse proposals to form a new working group to help draw up future plans for the 1930s site in Crynant, Neath.
The museum opened in 1978 and began to show signs of neglect over the last few years after its funding was cut by Neath Port Talbot Council, which was looking to make millions of pounds worth of savings. Welsh Government owns the land but the council leases the buildings and car park on a 100-year lease which started in the 1980s. Discussions on the future of the Grade II listed colliery have been ongoing for a number of years.
In August, 2019, Neath Port Talbot Council secured a Welsh Government grant offer with plans to transform the museum into one of a number of Valleys Regional Park gateway centres with proposals for a café, craft shop and an innovative, interpretive experience telling the history of the colliery and surrounding area.
But due diligence checks identified that the initial proposals could not progress and, partly due to the delaying effects of coronavirus restrictions, there was insufficient time to bring forward alternative proposals in the timescales of the grant.
And now the results of detailed surveys at the museum and surrounding areas have been received, it is clear the grant offer would have fallen far short of the total financial investment needed at the site, according to the council. The problems pose serious dangers to users of the site meaning the museum will therefore not be able to re-open this summer
A meeting of Neath Port Talbot’s cabinet on June 2 proposes setting up a Cefn Coed Working Group to provide input into future proposals for the site. It will be chaired by the council’s director of education, leisure and lifelong learning, Andrew Thomas, and will comprise council representatives and representatives of external partner stakeholder organisations to provide a clear way forward for the site.
