Creating a community hub by preserving Llanelli Railway Goods Shed

Llanelli Railway Goods Shed is a unique, grade II listed building in the town of Llanelli, South Wales. The Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust was created to breathe new life into this historic landmark and create a new community hub in this disadvantaged area.

The Goods Shed was as part of the South Wales Railway and opened in October 1852. The building is a rare surviving example of this type of functional building and represents a significant period of rapid industrial expansion in South Wales. In addition, Llanelli Railway Station and the Goods Shed was one of the bastions of the evolving Labour and Socialist movement in Britain in 1911.

For many years, the Goods Shed stood empty at risk from further deterioration The Goods Shed has now been identified as an ideal place to act as community hub and provide a range of community facilities. The local council is fully supportive of this project, as Llanelli is one of their top priorities for urban regeneration.

Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust sees the restoration of the Good Shed as both a way to ensure a sustainable future for this historic building and to contribute towards reducing the socio-economic problems existing in the local area. The Goods Sheds offices and space will provide services like accredited training courses, apprenticeships, spaces for microbusinesses, work experience opportunities and a Tenants Resource Centre. We have contributed £20,000 towards this project as match funding to help this project go ahead.

In 2022, Trustees and staff visited the Llanelli Goods Shed as part of the Trustees Away Days in Swansea and surrounding areas. The dedicated volunteer team have been successful in completing Phase I of the project. We saw the new suite of offices and meeting rooms in one half of the railway goods shed – they will be used by members of the local community and businesses to generate income for the building. Within the other half of the goods shed, the Phase II restoration plans will create a café and open space ‘heritage’ area, using much of the original fabric. Within the community café and heritage area, there will be digital and audio displays with testimonials and stories from people who worked in there in the 1950-60s. They will also move in one of the older train carriages onto the rails for folks to sit as part of the café.

This grant comes from our Preservation and Conservation grant programme. Within the Preservation and Conservation grant programme, we can provide match funding and help unlock funding from other sources.

Find out more about Llanelli Railway Goods Shed.