THE NEXT STEPS PROJECT
APRIL 8th 2018
SOUTH WALES MINERS MUSEUM
£4,808.37 – MICRO FUND – FEB 2017
This museum was the original mining museum in south Wales – established whist there still was a coal industry. It’s largely run by volunteer ex-miners who bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the project and guided tours. It’s the only resource of its kind in the local area. The Museum was successful in securing HLF funding in 2016, and now has two dedicated Heritage and Collection Officers delivering the ‘Past2Present’ programme. They are working with expert advisers from MALD and the National Museum of Wales, and have established partnerships with NPT CVS, WCVA, Communities First and with regional educational consortia.
The aim is to make the Museum as engaging and rewarding as possible for its visitors, and the group is constantly seeking to make the best use of the collection it holds. It’s hoped that the resource will form a key element of the tourism offer in the upper Afan Valley. This project is an important element of the overall development programme, purchasing several pieces of equipment that will allow them to monitor environmental conditions in the museum to ensure all items are looked after and preserved. They also wanted to upgrade timeline display to a digital touchscreen format, enhancing visitor engagement.
“The project has been a great success and has been received positively by all…volunteers were fascinated by the content of the digital display and as much smaller than old display we have added two new exhibitions. We were really pleased with the response to the timeline and the response it stimulated. Thanks to the new Monitoring equipment we were able to meet SPECTRUM standards and are progressing with museum accreditation application.” Quote from William Sims – South wales Miners Museum
The Fund was established by energy company Vattenfall to benefit the communities hosting the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm across the upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. It exists to support local people, groups and organisations to invest in themselves, their ideas and their communities.
The Community Fund has a substantial annual budget that is index-linked, meaning it increases in line with inflation. As an example, this equated to around £2.5 million in 2025. The Fund will continue to support communities until 2043, creating long-term opportunities for growth, resilience and positive change.
The Fund is managed by an independent, locally based not-for-profit Community Interest Company. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with strong local connections and delivered by a small but dedicated staff team with extensive community engagement experience. We are here to help ensure the Fund delivers on the vision and priorities of local communities.
Over the next 10 years, the Fund is focusing on investment in people, places and businesses — helping the Valleys to thrive, driving bold ideas, supporting transformation and creating lasting impact for current and future generations.