The first stages of renovating a Grade II-listed Pembrokeshire chapel, which was bought by the community for a cultural centre following a speedy fundraising campaign, have begun.

The old Bethlehem Chapel in Upper West Street Newport has been achieved by members of the local community after a whirlwind six weeks of fundraising.

(Image: PLANED) The building will now be made of watertight, and a phased renovation agreed to enable the old chapel to become a community asset for developing projects including a heritage centre, Welsh language centre, arts centre and cultural hub.

"It has been a truly amazing community effort to raise the £150,000 within a period of six weeks to attend the public auction on August 30 and then gather all the local loans to buy the building by the end of September," said Cris Tomos the community assets coordinator at PLANED.

(Image: PLANED) "The building is now in community ownership and a new social enterprise called Canolfan Bethlehem (Bethlehem Centre) is planning to roll out activities at the site"

Cris said that the tremendous efforts of the volunteers, who talked to people about the importance of retaining the building for community use, was integral to the success of the purchase.

(Image: PLANED) This was combined with individual loans of between £500 and £30,000 coming in from people both near and far.

The lenders will receive a competitive interest return and they may be able to apply for 30 per cent tax relief.

Cris continued said that since the successful purchase he has been calls from many communities wanting to explore how they too could take on old chapels and churches that are closing.

“The future use of such buildings will depend on identifying groups of passionate volunteers to raise the finding,” said Cris. “And also pinpointing sustainable income to pay for the ongoing overheads and running the social enterprises."

(Image: PLANED)

To find out more about the project, visit canolfanbethlehem.cymru, linked above.