£6.5m revamp work under way
FORMER GLAN-LLYN HEAD TO CUT TURF AT CEREMONY
ATURF-CUTTING ceremony will mark the beginning of a £6.5 million investment to expand and upgrade facilities at a residential centre.
The project at the Urdd Gobaith Cymru centre at Glan-llyn Isa, near Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd, includes a standalone centre aimed at older Urdd members and a new water sport centre.
Glan-llyn Isa, an old stone house a quarter of a mile from the main Glan-llyn Urdd centre and traditionally the residence of the head of Glanllyn, will offer accommodation and teaching spaces aimed primarily at young people over 16.
Former Glan-llyn head John Eric Williams will cut the first turf.
He said: “It was wonderful to hear about this recent development that will breathe new life into the building and its magnificent setting, keeping the original unit intact.”
Urdd chief executive Sian Lewis said: “Glanllyn Isa is about to enter a new episode in its history, as an education centre and a fantastic new resource for the Urdd.
“More than 50% of all
Welsh schools attend Urdd centres on residential courses, and of those who visited over the past three years, 26% came from the 20% most deprived communities in Wales.”
According to a report last year, the Urdd’s economic effect on Wales in 2017-18 was £25.5million.
The three Urdd residential centres generated £6.9m in Wales, with the Glan-llyn centre generating £2 million through expenditure on goods, services and staff and through local expenditure by visitors to the centre.