Trigolion Community Building in Llanddaniel has been named as a regional winner in the Jewson Building Better Communities competition, with the project scooping £5,000 to spend on building materials.
In the 1990s, the people of Llanddaniel formed ‘Trigolion’ – a residents association. With fundraising and EU support, the association bought the old blacksmith’s, which became a shop and post office with parts of the building set aside as community space. Unfortunately, the shop closed and the building now needs to be adapted so that the community can use it as a multi-purpose space.
Sarah Grawe, who entered the Trigolion Community Building into the competition, commented: “Entering the competition has really brought the community together. We now have our own Facebook page and people have a new enthusiasm for resurrecting the building so we can use it again.
“The money we’ve won is a great beginning, with people already thinking of other ways to raise money so we can complete the project. Without Jewson and the Building Better Communities project, we would never have come this far so quickly.”
The competition was launched in March 2016, and saw more than 1,800 community projects nominated. With the help of employees and suppliers from across the UK, Jewson narrowed the number down to a shortlist of 59.
The shortlist was then put to a public vote and, following further judging, Jewson announced the winner of the main prize and the final 27 regional winners, who will receive anything from £1,000 to £6,000 to spend on building materials.
Trigolion Community Building was invited to join other winners at an awards ceremony at The East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham, where property expert and TV presenter, Sarah Beeny, presented the prizes.
Sarah Beeny, a VELUX ambassador, commented: “It’s so important for members of a community to have places where they can come together and feel proud of.”
“That’s why I’m honoured to support the Building Better Communities campaign from Jewson, which is focused on transforming small corners of people’s communities through local, sustainable building projects. The improvements we make now not only benefit people today but also communities in the future.”
David Fenton, Marketing Director at Jewson, commented: “A massive congratulations to all of the winning Building Better Communities projects! We received a huge number of entries and a record number of votes via Facebook so it’s a great achievement for the winners and we can’t wait to see the work take place.
“We recognise that there are community buildings across the UK in need of some care and attention, so we upped the prize for 2016 to ensure that we help turn these buildings into spaces that entire communities can enjoy.”
A number of suppliers have committed to supporting Building Better Communities 2016, including British Gypsum, Marshalls, VELUX, Polypipe and Tarmac.
For more information, please visit: www.buildingbettercommunities.co.uk.
