A CWMBRAN social enterprise is at the heart of a project revitalising the lives of thousands of disadvantaged people.

The CoStar Partnership has turned Greenmeadow’s Threepenny Bit Community Centre into a thriving hub since the charity was established 15 years ago.

CoStar Partnership manager Sue Baugh explained that the community hub “gives help to those who face disadvantage, enabling them to provide for themselves and their families and build relationships and community cohesion, while also offering volunteering opportunities.”

An award of £50,000 from the EU-backed South East Wales Community Economic Development (SEWCED) programme to the centre has meant the addition of a new interview room, reception area, storage, toilets and a teaching kitchen for cookery sessions.

She explained: “The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation tells us that our community has high levels of income and employment deprivation, with a high percentage of residents in income-supported households, in receipt of pension credits and work tax credits. The SEWCED grant is enabling us to contribute to reducing the level of poverty by supporting the regeneration and economic sustainability of the community by building on residents’ capacity to take on and develop projects that can provide solutions to challenges they face.”

The Threepenny Bit provides a base for support agencies including a credit union, benefits advice, Communities First and alcohol counselling service Kaleidoscope, community support officers and housing associations.

CoStar runs a food bag scheme, a breakfast café, lunch clubs, adult education classes and fruit and veg bag and allotment-to-table scheme, with produce grown in an allotment used in the café and the surplus passed on to local residents.

The partnership also works with an accredited training provider to provide experience on a range of schemes, from NVQ placements to the Future Jobs Fund.

Torfaen County Borough Council social enterprise grants manager Samantha Sollis said the work that the partnership has carried out has been “unprecedented” explaining it plays a key role in reducing anti-social behaviour, building community spirit and improving the health and wellbeing of residents.