Is Treorchy old school toogoodtowaste?
Local leading re-use & recycling charity toogoodtowaste are currently in negotiations with the council to try and purchase the Treorchy Education Centre for the benefit of the community. Their aim would be to create an attractive, vibrant and exciting new location which could be used and valued by the community providing, income generation,training and lifelong learning plus social interaction.
In the past toogoodtowaste has been highly successful in renovating and refurbishing their Ynyshir branch from a derelict industrial unit to their large community charity shop which also includes a warehouse, electrical and gas appliance testing workshops, contact centre, offices and a training room.
Through expanding toogoodtowaste and extending their services into the Rhondda Fawr they will be able to increase the amount of collections that they can offer, therefore reducing waste to landfill & providing even more safe, clean & affordable furniture back out to the local community through 3 retail outlets. They will also be able to increase the number of paid employees, volunteering & work based learning opportunities that they have available.
In 2013 they diverted a massive 364 tonnes of waste from landfill with over 35,000 items having been selected for re-use. They were supported by 247 volunteers, of which 29 went on and secured paid employment from the skills & experience they gained whilst at toogoodtowaste.
Lynda Davies, Chief Executive Officer at toogoodtowaste stated: “We are attempting to preserve the building previously known as Treorchy Community Education Centre for the benefit of the community. This will include expanding our services into the Rhondda Fawr, providing volunteering, work based learning and training as well as paid employment. The Lot was withdrawn from auction to enable further discussions to take place. Prior to the auction, we made enquiries to identify whether or not there were any other Charities interested in this Lot but could not find anyone else interested in putting in a bid. toogoodtowaste prides itself on working in partnership. We are therefore very interested in hearing from other groups with a view to shared use of this building, should our current negotiations with the Council be successful. ”
As toogoodtowaste only operate during the day, consideration can be given to allowing other groups or other community services to use other parts of the building at different times. “The building is so big! We believe there is scope to share it with other groups. However, financial investment will be needed to improve access to the parking area at the rear of the property, as we need to avoid inconveniencing neighbouring properties, if possible. Once we know if our proposal is acceptable to the Council, we will work with Interlink, our local Community Voluntary Bureau, to co-ordinate community interest in this building.” said Lynda Davies.