Heritage

The Resolven Miners Welfare is located in Neath, Port Talbot, a small town north east from Cardiff in Wales. The clients are Resolven Miners Welfare Ltd. & Resolven Miners Welfare Scheme. The Resolven Miners Welfare was first built in the 1920s as a direct result of the Mining Industry Act. At its peak, the Welfare was a hub of activity, providing support to the miners and their families. In 1983 the Welfare’s theatre was used for the last time due to not meeting modern building regulations. The closing of the theatre resulted in a lack of income for the Welfare and thus its fall into general disrepair. Inside the snooker room, the existing space can get extremely bright due to the orientation of the extension, with south facing windows allowing lots of light in.

The cinema/theatre space on the upper levels of the building is abandoned, but could one day be returned to the Art Deco cinema space it once was, and provide a source of entertainment for Resolven and surrounding towns. The surrounding context primarily consists of terraced housing built in the 1900s. The existing Miners Welfare has changed a lot over the years, and currently has a very plain rendered façade having lost all signs of its heritage and character. In Phase 3, the group identified the key users in the Resolven Miners Welfare, including community groups, young performers, ramblers and locals. Through this analysis, the spaces best suited for the programme were identified as being a community café and kitchen, workshop spaces and a pub.

The design aim was to largely work within the existing building footprint to nurture the existing communities, through a hub-like centre, pub and cafe. The addition of a cafe would create a softer and more informal gathering space for the town and the wider community. The vision is to sensitively restore and refurbish the existing building whilst retaining the sense of community. The project should respect the surrounding context, as well as the rich history of the building. Finally, the proposed spaces should be driven by the community’s needs. Historic photographs convey the Resolven Miners Welfare in its ‘heyday’. The facade of the building featured ornate detailing that was of the Art Deco period. In order to return the Miners Welfare to its previous state full of character for the community, it could be proposed to reinstate the Art Deco features found on the facade of the building in the past. The final proposal incorporates the Honesty Cafe, an informal kitchen, The Chwarae, The Drift, with a new frontage to the street, and finally, the original entrance which has been sensitively restored.

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