Machynlleth’s new Community Hub, Hwb Cymunedol, celebrated its first birthday last week after a year of “overwhelming success”.

What started as a one-off needs assessment project blossomed into a year-long affair created by a community willing to give up their time, energy, and rent to create a much-needed space.

The former Taj Mahal restaurant on Heol Pen'Rallt was donated rent-free to the community over the winter of 2022/23 for free as a warm space and cost-of-living hub.

This came after a nine-day needs assessment from community-gathering project Dyfodol Dyfi by development trust Ecodyfi in 2022 which showed an overwhelming need for a free community space in the Powys town.

The Hwb is based in the old Taj Mahal restaurant on Machynlleth high street
The Hwb is based in the old Taj Mahal restaurant on Machynlleth high street (Deb Luxon)

Sandra Bendelow who ran the initial needs assessment said since the warm hub in winter 2022 the space has simply gone from strength to strength: “After the end of the first winter period we realised it was already a great space being well used and a source of help for people, people were setting up groups, and projects which didn’t have bases had made it their home.

“We approached the landlord to carry it on and he gave us a discount to rent it, even though he’d had other commercial offers.

“We ask groups to pay what they can to use the space or donate their time if they can’t contribute financially. Regular users become part of the advisory group, so it’s a community-managed space built and made by the community.

“We’re getting more volunteers all the time and more projects all the time, it’s actually hard to keep up with it all which is a really good problem to have.”

Sandra Bendelow with Hwb volunteer Finis
Sandra Bendelow with Hwb volunteer Finis (Deb Luxon)

On Saturday 3 February the Hwb celebrated its one-year official opening with tea, cake, music, and stories. Local Sunshine Jazz Band and Friends played as residents popped in to mingle, grab some cake, and enjoy the merriment, and Jo Munton arrived later for puppets and storytelling.

What started as a warm hub prioritising cost of living issues such as energy, food, isolation, and well-being has transformed into something much bigger.

The first two projects to start in the space, Y Pantri community fridge for redistributing food surplus and the Radio Dyfi pilot project, have now been joined other nights of the week by a chess club, a repair cafe, a baby bank offering free items for new families, a storytelling circle, and Eginiad Community Dinners Project every Thursday 12-2pm.

Radio Dyfi now have their permanent studios on the top floor of the Hwb
Radio Dyfi now have their permanent studios on the top floor of the Hwb (Deb Luxon)

Sandra said on this: “The dinners are a really lovely project- people sit down and talk to each other who have never spoken before. I spoke to someone on Thursday who sat next to the neighbour they lived next door to and had never spoken to them, so they chatted for the first time.”

The advisory group made up of users of the space is considering expanding to do eco-bike Meals on Wheels and has now been awarded £8,646 from the National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards for All to increase their opening hours by 25 per cent.

But one project is about to launch which Sandra is very excited about: “One thing that was the most asked for since we started this project was a menopause group.

“There was so much community interest, we now have two people running the group which will take place both in English and Welsh. It was really needed in this area and it’s nice to be able to create these things and fulfill that need.”

The Sunshine Jazz band and Friends in full flow at the Hwb's first birthday party on 3 February
The Sunshine Jazz band and Friends in full flow at the Hwb's first birthday party on 3 February (Deb Luxon)

The Menopause Cafe will start on 20 February at 7pm and continue every third Tuesday of the month.

The Hwb advisory group are also about to launch a crowdfunding campaign to refurbish the kitchen which they opened as the first community kitchen in the town. They hope to buy new equipment for the space to support cooking workshops and pop-up kitchens for small businesses that want to develop their food and catering businesses.

Thanks to the funding they’ve raised so far the Community Hwb is about to appoint their first project coordinator to manage the volunteers, coordinate the different projects in the space, and “keep the wheels running”. They are also employing a Welsh speaker to do Welsh language promotion and outreach.

The Hwb opens Wednesdays 10-7pm, Thursdays 12-4pm, Fridays 1-4pm, and Saturdays 10-1pm. To get in touch or volunteer head to their website.