Historic NHS building comes full Circle
A HISTORIC South Wales building with links to the founding of the NHS is being restored to its former glory.
A £500,000 project was organised by The Coalfields Regeneration Trust to bring 10, The Circle, in Tredegar town centre back to life. It was once home to the Tredegar Medical Aid Society, which was used by Aneurin Bevan as the blueprint for the National Health Service in 1948.
It will be converted into a heritage and education centre in the coming months, but the transformation of its exterior has already been revealed.
The office that was home to the society for the majority of its 105-year existence now boasts a sleek period exterior design.
It was the building where the subscriptions were paid and claims were made by local workers to access medical treatment that might otherwise have been unaffordable for them.
Local councillor Amanda Moore lives in Tredegar and said the regeneration of this famous building will only add to the sense of pride felt by locals in the town.
She said: “This is just another step in the development and regeneration of Tredegar, and the fact that the building looks so good is really important to people here.
“As we all know through membership of the town’s Medical Aid Society, people in Tredegar were able to receive medical care for decades before the founding of the National Health Service, and this was the blueprint that was used to set that up. It’s great that we can honour this fact in the very building they used back then, and the ability to teach future generations about the history of the NHS is very important. We want to thank all the people involved in this project for the brilliant job they’ve done, and look forward to seeing the centre up and running as soon as possible.”
The Coal Field Regeneration Trust said the group was thrilled to be able to carry out the makeover after almost two years of being unused.
A spokesman said: “Like a lot of other places on the Circle, we have returned the exterior to appear as it would have in the Edwardian Period, at around 1910, and it really does look lovely. The scaffolding has been removed and the renovations
should all be completed within the next couple of weeks, so leading in to the new year we can start to work on the new downstairs heritage centre, where we can truly show the significance of this unique building. There’s always been a deep connection with the NHS and the people of Tredegar, so we’ll be very proud to continue that when things get back to normal after the pandemic.”