Consultation continues over Mountain Ash Community Hub plans
Plans to enhance community facilities and deliver improved services in Mountain Ash are currently being consulted upon – and it’s not too late to give your views.
The Council’s proposal to introduce a Community Hub in Mountain Ash would create a new community facility in the Town Centre while improving the current services offered.
In October 2017, Cabinet agreed with a £500,000 investment for the development of Community Hubs across Rhondda Cynon Taf, to ensure the Council can continue to provide key frontline services with less financial resources and, through targeted investment, improve the services provided to residents.
The Council has since begun a public consultation over the Community Hub plan for Mountain Ash. The consultation period ends on Monday, March 26, and there’s still time for residents to view the plans, and have their say on them via a questionnaire, at Mountain Ash Library and Mountain Ash Day Centre.
The Hub would open for longer hours than the current Library and Day Centre, allowing the Council to design a broader programme of activities to meet the needs of groups and individuals within the community.
Housed in the current Day Centre building, the Hub would accommodate the majority of activities currently hosted at the Library and Day Centre, bringing a number of services together under one roof. The Hub would also incorporate employment support services, Mountain Ash’s One4aLL Centre and flexible multi-purpose meeting rooms. Users would also have access to:
- An education room with 10 public access computers to facilitate adult learning classes, Digital Friday sessions, work clubs and employment support programmes.
- A community café food outlet serving hot food and other refreshments, with an additional three public-access computers.
- Support from staff to download e-books or order materials from the wider Library service, while the Library will support a similar space in comparison to the current provision, with a refreshed book stock.
- An enhanced programme of children’s activities.
A council spoksperson said: “The proposal for the Mountain Ash Community Hub represents an opportunity for the Council to improve upon the current service provision in Mountain Ash through targeted investment, allowing services to be brought together under one roof.
“The Hub would give residents greater ease of access to these vital services, allow staff to more easily signpost people between services, and ensure each service takes a more visible position within the town centre. The plans are also aimed at reducing social isolation, improving well-being and making access to literacy, learning and employment support more easy.
“The plans will include an extension of the current Day Centre building to accommodate as many public services as possible, and enhance the current provision available in the Day Centre and Library.
“The building itself would be open for longer than Mountain Ash’s current Day Centre and Library, while the proposed meeting rooms and café are additional to the services currently offered. There would be a total of 13 public-access computers in the building.
“This proposal is about enhancing services to meet current and future needs of residents, and by doing this we would increase the number of residents who interact and use these services.”
To participate in the consultation, residents can visit Mountain Ash Library or Day Centre to complete a survey. Five public engagement events have been undertaken to outline the details of the proposals to residents.
