Llandudno station's new community hub is helping local residents to get back into the workplace.
Work at Llandudno Station, which started earlier this year, has now been completed.
An unused room at the station has been given a makeover, and is now the home of a one-stop-shop job cafe. The Welsh Government through Transport for Wales (TfW) with Avanti West Coast funded £100,000 for the scheme which is managed by Cartrefi Conwy Housing Association and their not-for-profit subsidiary Creating Enterprise.
The job cafe runs skills building sessions, a Ready for Employment training programme, advice on work placements and volunteering as well as support for searching for jobs. They also hosted Conwy Valley Community Rail Partnership at the station, allowing them to access more communities in Wales.
Lesley Griffiths, Welsh Government Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd opened the new hub. Back in 2016, when she was the minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, she also attended the launch of Creating Enterprise.
Avanti West Coast's Station Community Fund helped fund the new community hub, which is one of the first of its kind in the TfW's Station Improvement Project.
Traci Demir was one of the first local residents to benefit from the new hub. Traci wanted to go back to work once her daughter started school after being a stay at home mum. Traci contacted Creating Enterprise for job search support and, as a Cartrefi Conwy Tenant, was eligible for the Employment Academy. She is now on a 12-month placement a with full support from a mentor at Cartrefi Conwy.
The Minister said: “This innovative project at Llandudno station is part of our ambitious programme of work to improve our transport network in North Wales and is also a boost for the town centre.”
“The aim is to bring back to life unused spaces at railway stations for the benefit of local people so they can continue to play an important role at the heart of the community. The station is right in the middle of Llandudno and this will also help with encouraging people to use our town centres”
TfW's head of community rail, Hugh Evans, said: “The new community hub at Llandudno station is the forerunner of a raft of other initiatives which will make a real difference in the Welsh communities we serve.”
“The initiative also promotes the important agenda enshrined in the Well-being of Future Generations (2015) Act and the railway is the perfect vehicle to support community projects like this.”
“Another major benefit is that by working with organisations like Cartrefi Conwy and Creating Enterprise, we are also making our stations safer and more welcoming places.”
Joanna Buckley, Community Manager at Avanti West Coast, added: “We want to connect people and places to opportunity, and we hope that the new hub in Llandudno will make a real positive impact for all those who use it. The initiative is more relevant than ever, given the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and how it is effecting communities and passengers along our route.”
Sharon Jones, director of partnerships at Creating Enterprise, said: “We are grateful for the fantastic support we have had from Transport for Wales and the Welsh Government to establish the community hub which is accessible to all.”
“The facilities we have here are helping us have a positive and transformative impact on the lives of the people for whom we provide support and guidance.”
“Our mission as a social enterprise is to help people fulfil their potential so that they can progress and thrive.”
“Hopefully, the community hub here in Llandudno can serve as the torchbearer for similar initiatives across Wales.”
Andrew Bowden, the chief executive of Cartrefi Conwy, added: “Our new business plan outlines our ambitions to collaborate and create new partnership opportunities that directly benefit the communities we serve and the creation of this new hub is a great example of how working together can make a real difference to people's lives.”
“We own and manage around 900 homes in Llandudno and this hub will provide an invaluable one-stop-shop for our tenants and the wider community.”
“And that's what Cartrefi Conwy and Creating Enterprise are all about – creating communities to be proud of.”
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