Residents in the village of Maesygwartha teamed up with representatives of the local council and the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority last weekend to mark the completion of a marathon project, which has restored an old phone box and converted it into an asset symbolising community strength.
The classic red box now houses a defibrillator and an information panel that not only illustrates local walks, but also explains the history of the settlement. The treasure sits near the mouth of the Clydach Gorge.
The box was a dilapidated shell and becoming an eyesore when residents decided to take action following the massive Heads of the Valleys widening project. The project had prompted a demand for funding of local projects to compensate for the disruption.
Further spurred on after a popular local died suddenly of a heart attack, groups of residents spontaneously organised sponsored walks to raise funds for a defibrillator. Everything was combined into a single project focused on the old phone box under the name Maesygwarth Village Life.
Yet, not all was plain sailing! Battles with the Charity Commission stymied plans to set up a local charity to run the project and take ownership of the box. Then Covid hit.
Residents pressed on as best they could and won support from Llanelly Community Council, which bought the box from BT and provided some of the funding needed, including the cost of the necessary electricity supply. More money and support came from the Sustainable Development Fund administered by the Brecon Beacons Park Authority. Finally everything is complete and the defibrillator is operational.
One of the organisers, Mark Cottle, explained: “Although this might look like a simple project it turned out to be enormously complicated. The outcome is really a symbol of something quite special about this community.
“A host of people have worked on this and at various stages some had to drop out for personal reasons. Every time that’s happened, others have stepped up. I was part of the original campaign driven by the impact of the A465 works and I kept things going for several years but I had to step back last year following a cancer diagnosis. It’s been truly heart warming to see my neighbours step in and do a lot of the hard practical work to get it finished”.
“There is something very special about this place. We punch above our weight as a community. People think we’re a tiny offshoot of Gilwern but that’s wrong, we’re a village in our own right. In fact Maesygwartha is one of the oldest place names in the Clydach Gorge and this village was here before Gilwern appeared on any map.”
If people want to know about the history of Maesygwartha or just go for gentle walks along one of the many footpaths that run past waterfalls or give views over the historic gorge then they can now pop into the red box in the centre of the village and find out more.
In the case of a relevant medical emergency anyone nearby can be given a keycode by an emergency operator and directed to access and use the defibrillator. Prior training isn’t needed but for anyone who wants to be extra prepared there will be a training event at Gilwern Community Centre at 6pm on Wednesday, October 9.