New Welsh-medium childcare hub for the Garw Valley

Construction has started on an all-new Welsh-medium childcare hub that will serve families in the Garw Valley for generations to come.

Part of a £2.8m investment into Welsh-medium childcare which is also establishing facilities at Blackmill, Bridgend and Porthcawl, the Bettws hub is being built on the former Boys and Girls Club site.

The work, which had to be postponed after an ecological survey revealed that birds were nesting at the site, is being carried out by Stafford Construction and is expected to be complete by spring 2022.

Designed to serve the Garw Valley and surrounding valleys gateway area, the hub will provide 16 Welsh-medium childcare places, plus six places for younger children aged up to two. As the provision develops, it will offer out-of-school childcare provision and will operate for up to 51 or 52 weeks of the year.

The single-storey building will offer full daycare from Monday to Friday and will feature new play space, quiet rooms, storage facilities, offices and a car parking area with room for seven vehicles. The area to the front and side of the building will be landscaped to include soft play facilities and a canopy which will provide children and staff with shelter and shade.

Councillor Dhanisha Patel, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future Generations, said: ““This new hub will establish an all-new facility which is going to ably serve families throughout the Garw Valley who want their children to be educated through the medium of Welsh.

“With plans in place to build additional hubs at Blackmill, Bridgend and Porthcawl, it also demonstrates Bridgend County Borough Council’s ongoing commitment towards increasing the number of Welsh speakers in the county borough, and to encouraging the Welsh language to prosper and grow.”

Our ongoing 21st Century Schools Programme is continuing to deliver first-class learning environments, and we are working alongside partners to develop further Welsh-medium educational facilities for the county borough.

New, modern facilities such as the Bettws Welsh-medium childcare hub are going to help us to provide Garw children with the very best start in life we can possibly provide, and thanks are due to everyone who has played a part in helping us reach this pivotal moment – from Welsh Government and the local community council to our contractors, the project and design teams, and organisations such as Mentre Bro Ogwr and the Welsh Language Steering Group.

Once complete, this is going to offer an outstanding facility for the people of the Garw Valley, and will be one of several such hubs that will be established across Bridgend County Borough over the next few years.

Deputy Leader Hywel Williams