PUB IS THE HUB OF COMMUNITY
Success of Iorwerth Arms
A PUB which three years ago was on the brink of closure has now re-opened as a new community hub.
The Iorwerth Arms now boasts functions rooms and a dedicated outdoor stage, having been officially taken over two years ago by Bryngwran Cymunedol.
The work, carried out partially thanks to a £28,000 grant from Anglesey Council via the Intermediate Care Fund (ICF), is now open to provide a meeting place for local groups and providers.
According to Neville Evans, the pub has come a long way from almost certain closure in 2014, which would have left Bryngwran with not a single pub nor shop.
He explained: “At one stage it was touch and go that we would lose the pub. As a result, we held a public meeting and thankfully there was tremendous support.
“The pub was for sale by Punch Taverns at the time, and we knew that developers were interested in buying the land, which is right in the middle of the village, but not to retain the pub.
“It’s been a long journey since then, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), who provided us with a £125,000 loan which we’re still paying off.
“This latest grant, however, has allowed us to develop a community hub.”
The new facilities are already being used by local running group, Cybi Striders, as their meeting point having also been used by the health board for drop-in sessions as well as for afternoon tea and other events for the village’s elderly.
The pub also installed a permanent outdoor stage earlier this year, which was especially busy during National Eisteddfod week in August, which was held just a stone’s throw away in Bodedern.
Rhun ap Iorwerth AM, who visited the pub on Friday, added: “It’s quite amazing what the local community here has done with the Iorwerth Arms and I’m not just saying that because the pub has a fantastic name!
“It’s a project the whole community got behind from the start. This building could have been flattened by now, but we see now the community hub being used in the daytime as well as the village pub.
“This is just the start of the story I’m sure, of the Iorwerth Arms being at the heart of the community.”