Photo gallery: Check out the refurbished Court Farm and Oakfield Community Centre

A community hall in Cwmbran has been transformed thanks to the hard work of volunteers.

Court Farm and Oakfield Community Hall has had a makeover and the committee want to show off their work and encourage people to visit and book the hall for their events.

four people sat at a table — (l to r) Committee members Madeleine Taylor, Barrie Edwards, Carol Edwards and Lynne Davies

The 2021 AGM saw a new committee take on the various roles and their first priority was to carry out a refurbishment. A £10,000 grant from the Covid recovery fund helped them update the facilities to encourage more community events to get people together.

Lynne Davies, the hall’s treasurer, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved. A woman called and asked ‘could I use it for a party? Can I look around?’ She came into the hall and said ‘oh this is different, I haven’t been here for five years. What a difference!’ People come back now. They return.

“We try and do things for the community, at the end of the day we want them use it.”

Carol Edwards, the hall’s chair, said: “We have a lot of parties in here now. We are about 90% capacity now.” She said this includes lots of children’s parties as parents like it a big room where inflatables can fit.

Next to the large room is a smaller room that is also available for hire. The committee have bought a BBQ and plan to make more use of the improved outdoor patio area.

three women smiling — (l to r) Angela Kelly, Carol Welch and Dawn Northwood volunteer in the community cafet that is open every Wednesday morning

A new kitchen now means the volunteers can run a weekly community cafe where you can get a cooked breakfast, toast and a hot drink for £3.50.

Members of the Cwmbran and District Ex-Services Association (CADESA) got together and installed the new fence around the outside space. The group hold a monthly breakfast for veterans.

In a typical week some of the groups who use the hall include:

Dance class
Fitness class
Movement with toddlers
Baby massage
A baby club
Bingo twice a week
Cwmbran photographic society
A play club run by Torfaen council
A petting zoo

Future events

In August they are holding a fundraiser for the ‘Dinky Dragons- the special baby care unit at The Grange University Hospital.
A fundraiser for a breast cancer charity is coming up
In September the NHS have booked the hall to hold a responsive breastfeeding group for new mums and their babies.
A Teddy bears’ picnic