Reimagining Treherbert Education Centre Together 

Black Mountains College has secured a lease on the former Youth Centre in Treherbert, marking a new chapter for this much-loved village building. As plans take shape for the Treherbert Education Centre, we’ve been inviting the community to help imagine its future — a home for learning and training in sustainability, land skills and local job creation.

That listening has informed an early design proposal, developed with Down to Earth and funded by the Pen y Cymoedd Community Fund. Nothing is decided yet: this is a starting point to share, question and refine together. If you live in or near Treherbert, we’d love your thoughts before plans are finalised.

Sitting at the top of the Rhondda Fawr, beneath Pen Pych and on the edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, Treherbert is a community full of creativity and care, with strong networks, local knowledge and active, longstanding connections to the land. It is also surrounded by something remarkable: a rich woodland that has grown up over the old coal spoil since the 1970s. 

It was this combination of people and place that first drew Black Mountains College here to set up a new campus, as part of pioneering ‘Project Skyline’ and in partnership with Welcome to Our Woods. The community in Treherbert is imagining a different future for its landscape, and since 2023 we’ve been supporting that vision with training: in woodland management, growing food, land skills and green trades, helping local people put it into practice themselves. 

Our vocational courses are currently taught at sites across Treherbert, from the Old Library to Cwm Saerbren Woods, the Penyrenglyn Project site and the Old Brewery site. As more people from the Rhondda and surrounding areas join these programmes, there is a need for room to grow, and we’ve been considering how these learning opportunities can develop in a way that stays connected to cymuned (community). 

A new chapter 

We’re delighted to announce that the college has secured a lease on the former Youth Centre in Treherbert from RCT Council under a Community Asset Transfer process. This is an exciting step forward, with the building entering a new chapter as part of the college’s Treherbert Education Centre (TEC) project. 

The concept for the new education centre is to provide accessible learning and training opportunities, particularly focused on sustainability, land skills and local job creation. We’re committed to working with the community to co-develop plans to retrofit the centre, creating classrooms and workshop space with community access. 

A building full of memories 

“It has been a school, a youth centre, and a nursery. It has been a place to learn, spend time together, and grow.” 

For many people in Treherbert, the Youth Centre building on Dumfries Street holds decades of memories. It has been a school, a youth centre, and a nursery. It has been a place to learn, spend time together, and grow. Treherbert has experienced significant economic and social change, like many places in the Valleys, and residents have spoken about the need for more shared spaces and access to opportunities close to home. 

That’s why, before making any changes, we wanted to listen by welcoming people back to the building to share memories and ideas for its future. 

Stories and portraits 

Since late last year, we’ve been inviting people into the building for a series of informal tours, offering a chance to walk through the space, remember times there, and reflect on what it could become. Some people had not been inside for years, others knew it from more recent times, a few had never set foot inside. Everyone brought their own perspective, together contributing to the building’s current story. 

The first tour, in November 2025, brought together a small group of people with strong links to the building and its surrounding area. Filmmaker Hugh Griffiths and photographer Gemma Dobbs worked with the group to create a series of portraits inside the building.  

The resulting short documentary film and collection of photographs capture moments from the visit, offering a glimpse into both the space itself and what people had to say about it. A big thank you to Gemma and Hugh, and all those featured in the portraits – your enthusiasm and generosity helped start this important conversation. 

Open Doors: Inviting more conversations 

In January, we opened the consultation process more widely with an Open Doors weekend, inviting anyone interested to visit and take part. In each room, visitors could record memories and write down names and ideas for how the spaces might be used. They were also given a small reflections booklet of prompts to help spark their imagination and memory.  

At The Old Library in Treherbert, people could view the November film and photographs and add their thoughts, suggestions, and hopes for the building’s future to an “imagination wall”. 

People also shared old photographs, annual reports, and other carefully preserved documents linked to the building. These materials provided more tangible reminders that the building has meant different things to different people over time and has always been an influential part of life in Treherbert. 

Thank you to everyone who took part in both events and to those who shared archive materials from the building’s history. Your contributions are gratefully received and will help feed into what happens next. 

What we heard 

Conversations centred on creating something welcoming and useful, with the potential to support skills, culture, creativity and local job opportunities. We asked what is needed, what is missing and what already exists in the community that could be supported by the college. Many described the building as a potential community hub, offering a place for connection, learning and everyday use. 

Open, flexible space. There was a strong desire for open, flexible spaces that bring different generations together, alongside quieter areas to support a wide range of needs. Ideas ranged from multi-purpose rooms that can be packed up and down to make way for different groups, to one nostalgic request to “bring the ball pit back!” 

A priority for young people. Supporting young people came through as a clear priority. There is a need for spaces to socialise, make music, take part in activities or simply spend time together outside of school and formal settings.  

Learning and skills-sharing. People highlighted opportunities from workshops, classes and clubs to parent and toddler groups and activities for older people. Specific ideas included teaching kitchens to support healthier eating, Welsh classes, a biodynamic gardening group, and an evening session where older residents could play cards, dominoes or simply chat. 

Connection beyond the village. There was interest in connecting people in Treherbert with those coming into the area, creating new opportunities for exchange and collaboration. Many felt the building could support creative activity, while connecting with existing local initiatives and facilities. One suggestion was a drop-in cafe linked with local cycling clubs, with e-bike storage and charging, alongside support for creative activity and existing local initiatives. 

A sense of place. The relationship between the building and the surrounding landscape mattered, with people reflecting on the scenic views, the light and the sense of being close to the mountain. As one comment summed it up, the hope is for the building to become “a hub for all community activities in the area — top of the valley.” 

Memories of the building were vivid, and for many it is a place that shaped their lives and the lives of those around them, and it continues to offer a sense of belonging.  

An early proposal and what happens next 

“Not a finished plan — a starting point to share, question, and shape together.” 

Guided by what we have heard so far, Black Mountains College is exploring what the building could become. Working with Down to Earth and with funding from the Pen y Cymoedd Community Fund, an early design approach has been developed which shows how the space could support learning, skills, and community activity, with a focus on long-term sustainability and local opportunities. It also includes plans to bring the former nursery space back into use, with early years provision from the local Cylch Meithrin. 

Importantly, this is not a finished plan and there is still more to explore. It is a starting point to provide something to share, question, and shape together. As the design work develops, we plan to share the more detailed proposals with the community before any plans are finalised later this year, giving everyone another chance to respond and help shape what happens next.  

We are grateful to everyone who has been part of the process so far. If you are based in Treherbert or nearby, we really welcome hearing from you! 

If you’d like to get in touch, you can email Marty Kelly, our Community Engagement Officer, on Martin.Kelly@blackmountainscollege.uk or visit the Black Mountains College Facebook Page and join the discussion there. 

You can also come along to BMC’s Spring or Summer Open Day in Trehebert:

• Spring Open Day – Saturday 20th March, 11am – 2pm
• Summer Open Day – Saturday 12th June, 11am – 2pm