First of all I would like to thank you for the support that you have already given the Soar Project. As you are aware, we have secured all of the funding needed to refurbish the Canolfan building and transform Soar Chapel into a Community Theatre and Heritage Centre. This funding amounts to a total of £1,381,378, comprising of:

 £527,000 Heritage Lottery Fund
 £360,000 Heads of the Valleys
 £71,949.00 Low Carbon Buildings Trust
 £422,429.00 CFAP (grant stages)

I am now in the process of preparing a bid for the Big Lottery Fund for an amount of £200,000. This will provide us with new fixtures and fittings and most importantly, a Community Arts Development Officer for a period of 3 years.

The Officer will work to establish creative partnerships with schools, youth services, continuing/adult education and the wider community. The project will offer new exciting opportunities for creative expression, empowerment, learning and development, and contribute to the overall regeneration of the community.

Although we have undertaken a significant amount of community consultation over the past two years, the bid requires some more ‘up to date’ comments.

I therefore need to ask you, one more time, to show your support for what we’re doing – together – by writing a letter of support for the bid.

If you feel you need more information please pick up the phone or e-mail me.

With many, many thanks,
Lisbeth McLean
Chief Officer

Menter Merthyr Tudful has published a book showing gthe history of Zoar Chapel Pontmorlais. The chapel will be refurbished as an arts centre.
The book £3 is available from Siop y Ganolfan .

The community of Merthyr has been given a major boost with a grant pledge of £527,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to transform the town’s Soar Chapel and Vestry buildings into a centre for performing arts and community activities.

The project, which would create the first performing arts studio venue and exhibition facility within Merthyr Tydfil, has received a Stage One pass*, meaning that HLF has earmarked the money whilst more detailed plans are put together. An additional £56,700 of development funding from HLF will enable Canolfan a Menter Gymraeg Merthyr Tudful (CMGMT), a community organisation, to progress its £1.3million plan to ensure a sustainable future for the Grade II listed Chapel and create a much needed focal point at the centre of the community.

The project has also been supported with £300,000 from the Heads of the Valleys programme.

Soar Chapel is a prominent building in Merthyr town centre. Plans for refurbishment and the HLF grant will give the building a new lease of life having been under threat of closure. CMGMT currently run a range of community activities from their base in the former Vestry and Sunday School buildings, and will take on the lease of the Chapel to extend their services and establish the first performing arts studio venue and exhibition facility in the town. The improved facilities will provide a greater range of activities for young people and adults in Merthyr including theatre groups, music lessons and training sessions covering topics from the Welsh language to heritage to confidence building. The bilingual centre will be open to everyone specifically targeting school groups, community groups and disability and excluded groups.

The grant will also fund a heritage officer to increase local awareness of Merthyr’s heritage particularly its built heritage and the role of the Welsh language. The officer will work with a team of CMGMT volunteers to create exhibitions, heritage days and workshops and look to recruit a further 20 young people to help plan and lead Welsh language cultural and social activities.

Dan Clayton Jones, Chairman of Heritage Lottery Fund's Committee for Wales, said: “Soar Chapel is one of the few remaining Congregational Chapels to have survived intact in an area which has lost significant amounts of its 19th century built heritage. Transforming it into a centre for local people is a great way to secure its future. Once fully developed this project will be of huge benefit to the whole community in Merthyr and enable everyone to learn more about the past on their doorstep.

“The proposed plan would give volunteers, particularly young people, the opportunity to get involved in organising the activities, engage with other young people and participate in the wide range of fun activities themselves. The centre undoubtedly has huge potential to become a real hub for school children and community groups. CMGMT will now have to develop their plans and work to secure partnership funding in order see their money rolled out.”

A new project will transform Zoar Chapel into a community arts venture.