Local sports club bowled over by improvement works

A popular sports club will be able to expand its offering to the community after it received a free refurbishment work from a council contractor.

Plas Kynaston Bowling Club in Cefn Mawr had a brand new kitchen installed by Mitie, a contractor that has been carrying out housing improvement work in the Cefn area.

The work was donated free of charge as part of a Community Benefit scheme.

Contractors that carry out housing improvement work for the council are required to set up Community Benefit schemes which help local people and the economy.

Welcoming the refurbishment, cowling club member and council tenant, Joyce Evans, said: “This is a popular local sports club and the club house is a well-used facility. However, until now, we only had limited facilities for providing refreshments. There was little more than a table and some very basic tea making equipment.

“The new kitchen will make a huge difference. We’ll be able to provide proper food and we have much more worktop space to use. We’re always looking to hold more events here and get more people into the game so this new kitchen is going to be a great help to us.

“We would all like to thank everyone who organised and carried out the work. Hopefully we can use this to promote the club to newcomers. It’s only £1.50 for a game and we can provide all the equipment.”

Mitie have recently been installing External Wall Insulation and carrying out reroofing work on council properties in the Cefn area.

This is part of the Council’s extensive project to ensure we achieve the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.

£56.4m is being invested on improving council owned homes in over the next year, including £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant which the Welsh Government awards to help local authorities achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

The Community Benefit schemes which contractors sign up to can include refurbishing local facilities, purchasing supplies from local businesses and providing jobs and training schemes for local people.

Local Member for Cefn, Sonia Benbow-Jones, said: “It’s great to see the money we’ve invested in housing improvement work being pumped back into the local community. Council tenants’ homes in Cefn have been transformed and modernised thanks to the project and many of the members of the Bowling Club are council tenants too so we are seeing a number of benefits in Cefn from this project.”

Fellow Local Member for Cefn, Cllr Derek Wright, said: “It’s excellent news that community facilities are being upgraded as donations thanks to the housing improvement programme.

“Many local clubs like this rely on volunteers and donations to keep their services running and a brand new kitchen is not something they can always afford by themselves so I’m delighted Mitie have been able to step in and help here.”

Due to the Community Benefit schemes, over 60 apprentices have been taken on by council contractors, over 70 staff have been given full or part-time employment and more than £63,000 has been donated as cash or in-kind to organisations or projects within Wales.

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr David Griffiths, said: “We’ve had several records years of investment in housing improvement work in Wrexham and it’s very pleasing to see that so many local clubs and facilities have been able to benefit from this. Employment and training schemes have also been boosted.

“These are very positive times for social housing in Wrexham and this is set to continue as we see more work being completed over the next year and beyond.”