Plans for pizza kitchen at Llanhilleth Miners Institute

The proposal could create seven full time jobs and  30 part time roles.

The application also seeks to change the use of part of the building – a former doctor’s surgery – into a pizza kitchen, which will also be used as a chef’s training facility.

An extractor fan, replacement window and canopy for the west elevation are all part of the scheme.

A listed building consent application has also been submitted as the Institute is Grade II-listed.

The application have been made by Thomas Whyatt, chairman of the Institute’s board of directors.

According to a report lodged with the Charities Commission, the doctor’s surgery had closed due to a lack of use and the suite of offices that formed part of it had been leased to the Aneurin Bevan Health Trust with “complex care” staff using those facilities.

The Institute was built in 1906 o meet the educational, recreational and health needs of the local miners and their families and has remained at the heart of the Ebbw Fach Valley community ever since.

In 2009, following refurbishment, the Institute was fully restored to its former glory and re-launched as a Social Enterprise and Registered Charity with a similar ethos to its original purpose.

Following the closure of Llanhilleth Post Office, a small post office was set up in the Institute for two days a week.

According to its records for 2019/20 the Institute hosted 13 wedding ceremonies and receptions, six Christmas parties and 103 other events.

In February 2020, the Institute became a vital cog in the wheel for organising relief efforts for residents from the homes that were flooded during Storm Dennis.

Over a two-week period, the council and other agencies based themselves at the Institute.

The Institute provided breakfast, lunch and an evening meal for affected residents who wanted them, delivering meals to those people unable to attend.

At the peak they served 95 evening meals.

A decision on the plans is expected soon.