WIP0013

Written evidence submitted by the Cyfarthfa Foundation

The Cyfarthfa Foundation

The Cyfarthfa Foundation is a registered charity. It has been formed to transform Cyfarthfa Castle and Park – a crucible of the industrial revolution – into a cultural centre and visitor attraction of international quality and an engine of social renewal.

The Cyfarthfa Foundation applauds the Welsh Affairs Committee’s decision to examine this matter as it addresses many of the issues that brought our Foundation into being. Our express purpose, as a registered charity is to rescue Cyfarthfa Castle and Park and associated furnaces at Merthyr Tydfil because we believe it to be an historic site of world importance, and emblematic of the extraordinary contribution of this community to the industrial revolution worldwide. Cyfarthfa has the potential to play a role in developing significant ‘good growth’ for the town via tourism, leisure and creative businesses, in a way that contributes to deeper economic, education and cultural development.

We acknowledge at the outset that the Foundation is not equipped to answer all the questions set by your committee, many of which are aimed at identifying a range of factors that may define an industrial future for Wales as a whole. However, we would add that the relics and the story of an industrial age that has largely past are still important in defining a place, and in giving people a constructive pride in their history that, in turn, can be an important resource in addressing the challenges of the future. With that caveat, we believe that our particular perspective does speak to the concerns of your committee.

1. What progress has been made in addressing the environmental legacy of Wales’ industrial past?

Background

1.1.               The ironworks of Merthyr Tydfil – Cyfarthfa, Dowlais, Penydarren and Plymouth – constituted the greatest concentration of iron production in the world from 1800-1860, and yet the relics of that industry have not had the attention and investment that they deserve. They have yet to make their full contribution to the commemoration of a vital part of our shared history, to the education of our children and the wider community, and to the economy of an area that has suffered greatly for at least a century since that primary industry departed. It is a story not just of importance to Wales, but also to the UK as a whole and, we would argue, to the industrial history of the world.

1.2.              The history of the iron industry in Wales has not had the same attention as either the coal industry in south Wales or the slate industry in north Wales. The coal industry is commemorated at Big Pit National Coal Museum at Blaenavon, Rhonda Heritage Park, the South Wales Miners Museum in the Afan Valley, Bersham Colliery Museum in north Wales, and some smaller local sites. The slate industry also has its national museum – Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru at the Dinorwic Quarry. The scars inflicted by the slate industry have, for better or worse, left a dramatic landscape that has its own economic potential. The iron industry’s principal sites, apart from Cyfarthfa, are the Blaenavon Ironworks and Neath Abbey ironworks. At none of these can one find a full and rounded story of this element of the industrial revolution, including its extensive social and political ramifications.

1.3.              It is true that among Amgueddfa Cymru’s sites the Swansea Waterfront Museum tells some part of the iron industry’s story, but, while valuable, it does not purport to give that rounded view of the development of our industrial society, and at a scale that the dimensions of the subject demand. It is an irony that we have industrial cottages from Merthyr Tydfil at St Fagans, and a replica of Trevithick’s locomotive – a world first, developed and tested in 1804 at Merthyr Tydfil – at Swansea. 

1.4.              There are some historic iron industry sites, not least the Blaenavon ironworks that has World Heritage status, as well as others dotted across the northern fringe of the south Wales valleys. But there is no one iron industry site that tells the whole multi-facetted story of the iron industry’s formative role in the industrial revolution - its economic, political, social and cultural dimensions, and its associated art – stories that have shaped our view of the world and the world’s view of us. There is at Cyfarthfa an opportunity to fill this gap while providing an important economic fillip to Merthyr Tydfil, at an historic and pivotal site: the crossroads of the A470 and A465 roads, just as the dualling of the east-west Heads of the Valleys road and the electrification of the north-south Cardiff-Merthyr Metro rail link are both being completed.

1.5.              Cyfarthfa Castle, built in 1825 by William Crawshay II, will celebrate its bicentenary this year. The family occupied the building until 1868. Following its transfer to Merthyr Tydfil Council it became a secondary school until, a decade ago the school moved to a new building. Since then, 80 per cent of the castle building has lain empty and decaying, and that empty portion now threatens even the part of the building that still remains open to the public. That part of the museum’s significant art collection that is not on display in the main rooms has had to be moved to storage elsewhere in the town. The Council, Wales’s smallest local authority, has struggled valiantly against the depredations of the elements, but the castle’s current state is both a reproach to our society and a massive opportunity to develop an exciting and truly national asset within a community that needs and deserves it.

Development of the Cyfarthfa Plan

1.6.            The gestation of the current plans for Cyfarthfa Castle stem from an initiative supported by the Design Commission for Wales and the Welsh School of Architecture, and funded by Merthyr Tydfil Council.  Its main elements have been:

1.7.              The masterplan provided us with a high level but also richly detailed report that posited three core themes – history and heritage, the environment, and culture and creativity. It also proposed that we use the history of the place as a springboard from which to explore the challenges of the future. These proposals are set in the context of the Welsh Government’s Wellbeing of Future Generations Act – a proposal that the Foundation’s Board has accepted readily. Since then, the Foundation has commissioned several more detailed studies in order to decide on priorities. These studies have dealt with strategic planning and narrative development, as well as development of the landscape. Taken together, they set out an ambitious future vision in which the story of the rise and fall of heavy industries and attendant social changes can point to a more hopeful future for the economy and society, our culture and environment. 

1.8.              We envisage that this will need to be funded by a combination of government sources, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and private donations. We are currently in discussion with these parties. We have also been offered, in principle, two sizable donations by private foundations and are in discussion about how those donations might be applied. 

• Can former industrial sites contribute to the green transition in Wales, and how could the UK Government help to maximise opportunities?

Environment

1.9.              In a world where environmental concerns are to the fore as never before, in a place where the landscape still bears deep scars, and in a Wales that prides itself on its Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, Cyfarthfa’s setting has meant that the natural environment and sustainable development must be central to our work, alongside history and heritage, culture and creativity. Cyfarthfa’s story must embrace the environmental consequences of industrial development – consequences that we are still living with today and posing the most urgent questions in the climate change agenda. From the outset we have adopted the mantra ‘From Green to Black to Green Again’, because the environmental dimension has been both a motivating factor and an exciting opportunity.

1.10.              The environment was an important element in the Ian Ritchie masterplan and will remain at the core of our ambitions for the site. Cyfarthfa Park is a parkland of 160 acres on the east side of the River Taff, just at its confluence with the Taf Fechan river. It is also the site of the Pont-y-Cafnau bridge, reputedly the oldest iron bridge in the world. The masterplan set out a vision of extending the park across to the west side of the Taff to embrace the spectacular fifty-foot high remains of the Cyfarthfa furnaces (already a Scheduled Ancient Monument). This would create a park of 240-acres (100 hectares), one of the largest in Wales. It would also involve extensive environmental remediation of a site that embraces two rivers as well as the Taff Trail, extending north to the Cefn Coed viaduct (a spectacular historical structure in its own right).

1.11.              But there is a deeper motivation for this environmental aspiration. The most high-profile story that Merthyr has to tell is the story of Aberfan. It is the story of a single disaster that occurred on 21st October 1966, when 116 children and 28 adults died, as the result of the collapse of a coal tip. It is still an enormously sensitive matter in the locality, but not one that we can or should shy away from. Aberfan deserves a gallery of its own within the museum. Its story is, in fact, three stories in one: i) the disaster itself, ii) the public inquiry and its excoriating verdict, iii) the environmental aftermath, a true turning point – the clearing of coal tips, and the greening of the valleys – an emblematic expression of the final stage of “from green to black to green again”, as well as an illustration of the human cost. It also ties into the ultimate run down of coal. It could also be linked to other disasters in the mining industry world-wide, and especially in the global south. For instance, there was a similar disaster in Peru only months after Aberfan. It is worth noting the effects of recent climatic changes that have exposed continuing dangers from waste tips in Wales. 

Display technologies

1.12.              On all these fronts we anticipate close collaboration with the higher and further education sectors in Wales. For example, there is the field of digital display technologies. There are scarcely any organisations in the cultural field that are not grappling with the issue of harnessing the benefits of digital technology – including AI - whether in the creative process, display techniques, educational activity, online access or marketing. From the outset the Cyfarthfa Foundation has been conscious of this issue and will seek to build it into all its future plans. For instance, in conveying the history of Merthyr Tydfil we have been conscious that much of the physical heritage has been swept away. There will, therefore, be a need, as well as an opportunity, to use the most advanced digital techniques to recreate the past and to tell stories in the most graphic way. This can become a powerful attraction in itself. It can also be a way of allying the already considerable digital skillbase in Wales – mainly, at present, in digital gaming - with the best expertise worldwide, as well as engaging with college courses in this field.   

Visitor numbers and funding

1.13.              As stated above, initial estimates of the cost of the development of the castle were c. £50m. Since then, inflation has meant that £50m would fund the first phase of the work that would address at least one half of the castle building. However, we believe this would still allow us to triple or quadruple the available display space, and create a viable business plan. Annual visitor numbers to the castle prior to the Covid epidemic were above 50,000, but post-Covid dropped to below 40,000. (More than 400,000 people visit the open public park each year.) Experienced consultants have advised us that, developed in the way we envisage, it should be possible to achieve c.200,000 visitors a year to the castle, and perhaps more, in the first five years. We believe that, given Cyfarthfa’s location and the imminent transport improvements, this is perfectly feasible. We are also actively exploring – with experienced commercial operators - the possibility of a themed adventure playground, unique to the region, that would sharply increase both visitor numbers and revenue, at an early stage in the development of the overall project.

1.14.              Not only does Merthyr Tydfil include areas of great beauty, but it also has an existing stake in the tourism industry. Bike Park Wales receives 100,000 visitors each year. A commercial company is seeking to develop a leisure resort at Rhydycar West, that would include two hotels. It is also easily forgotten that the boundaries of Merthyr Tydfil stretch right up into the Brecon Beacons. The borough is contiguous with the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park that receives 4 million visitors per annum. A recent Arbtech report, analysing data from the National Biodiversity Network, cited Merthyr Tydfil as one of the most biodiverse areas of the UK. It identified, on average, 67 species of plant, animals and fungi per square kilometre, compared to 46 species in Cardiff and 37 in Bristol. This level of ecological interest – even if counter-intuitive - sits alongside the area’s industrial heritage, creating an added dimension that that can contribute to new opportunities and well-being. Such synergies have a potential to alter lingering negative perceptions.

• How could the UK Government further support the remediation of former industrial sites in Wales?

1.15.              Since Cyfarthfa Castle is currently the responsibility of the local authority, and cultural matters are devolved to the Welsh Government, there has been relatively little contact with the UK government, although we have informed both the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, and the Minister of State for Culture, Chris Bryant, of our intentions. It is a conversation we would be keen to pursue. We are conscious that this is a proposal of considerable scale and that the resources of a small local authority and those of the Welsh Government are currently stretched. But we are also aware that major cultural schemes in places like Germany and Austria have often been funded jointly by several tiers of government. We believe that cross-tier collaboration of this kind would be entirely appropriate for a project at Cyfarthfa’s scale, especially in the context of the very difficult economic conditions in Merthyr Tydfil and the heads of the valleys area, and the potential benefits that could accrue. The needs of the area are incontrovertible. In a UK competitiveness index in 2023, Merthyr Tydfil was judged 375th out of 379 localities.

1.16.              Such collaboration would also be appropriate to the nature of the story we have to tell, and the place of its setting.  For the story of the iron industry in Merthyr, and across the Heads of the valleys, is far more than a local story. Its development had worldwide ramifications. For that reason alone the museum will have to foreground the international dimension, and its manifestation in both war and peace: the supply of arms in wars across three centuries; in the intervals of peace, the supply of rails for the railways of the world; the sons of ironmasters and other workmen from Merthyr who helped set up iron industries in America, France and Russia. Of even keener relevance today is the story of John Hughes (son of the head engineer at Cyfarthfa) who, with 100 men from Merthyr, established the ironworks that were foundational to the city we now call Donetsk, formerly known as Hughesovska (Yuzovska).

1.17.              This international aspect to Merthyr’s story dimension makes it imperative that we develop relationships with museums and galleries both in the UK and beyond, as well as attracting visitors from around the globe. We are already in touch with the European Route of Industrial Heritage, a Europe-wide organisation that links industrial heritage sites across the continent.

1.18.              But this is to risk placing too much emphasis on the headlines of the industrial story and neglecting the grinding and sometimes titanic struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries: stories of riot and revolt, of battles for education and the franchise  and votes for women, the rise and fall of political parties, boom and bust, war and peace. And Labour’s first MP, Keir Hardie.

1.19.              Cyfarthfa can lay claim to a very fine art collection that has been built up over the last century and a half. Sadly, the deterioration of the building means that display of the collection has been severely limited. We believe that Cyfarthfa should retain its focus on art for several reasons:              

• The earlier works in the Cyfarthfa collection are closely linked to life and work in Merthyr.
• Cyfarthfa already has a substantial and important collection, including many gifts from the Contemporary Art Society of Wales (CASW). CASW has contributed more works to Cyfarthfa than to any other gallery in Wales.
• Given its existing collection, as well as the prospect of  a substantial increase in the available gallery space, Cyfarthfa will have the potential to develop into an important centre for contemporary art, filling a major gap in the south Wales valleys. It should also be linked to the chain of galleries across Wales displaying contemporary art. 
• There are areas where history and art can enrich each other. We should not keep them in sealed containers.

1.20.              This is not the place to lay out the totality of what we hope to achieve at Cyfarthfa. We do not shy away from the fact that it is an ambitious scheme. We have stressed from the outset that Cyfarthfa should become much more than a local museum, although it must also be that. We do not see any inconsistency in aspiring for a scale and standards that would apply in the foremost institutions, while at the same time being wholly committed to active and imaginative community involvement. The community forums we have already established are of critical importance, as is the programme of work we have put in place with the current castle staff and the community to celebrate this year’s bicentenary. The BBC has already committed to a season of radio and television programmes in the summer of 2025 to commemorate Cyfarthfa’s bicentenary.

1.21.              In short, the task at Cyfarthfa is, rather, to create an imaginative national institution of international quality that will not only celebrate our industrial heritage but also, in the widest Raymond Williams sense, become a cultural force-field that will radiate outwards. It would be a mistake, in both conceptual and financial terms, to pitch this low. Small is beautiful, but small is not always appropriate if the task is large. This project must have a national purpose and the international outlook that its history and its art demands. What happened here was of world importance in its rise, and emblematic in its economic decline. We will need to address both.

2. How has deindustrialisation shaped socio-economic conditions in Wales today?

• What does access to the labour market look like in former industrial areas of Wales that were once centred around heavy industries?

2.1.              Post 1985 the industrial story of south Wales has tended to focus on the demise of the coal industry. Less remarked has be the run down in iron and steel. In summary, this is the story:

1885               Neath Abbey iron works, that opened in the early 18th century, closes

1904               Blaenavon, that opened in 1789, closes

1919               Crawshay’s Cyfarthfa works, that opened in 1763, closes

1936               Guest’s Dowlais works, that opened in 1759, closes

1961               The original Port Talbot works, that had opened in 1902, closes.

1975              Steelmaking at Ebbw Vale, that opened in 1790, closes

1978               Guest’s East Moors work in Cardiff, opened in 1895, closes

2024               Abbey works at Port Talbot – blast furnaces close, plan to switch to electric arc production. Direct loss of 2,800 jobs, and many more indirect losses.  

2.2.              In iron and steel (excluding steel processing) peak employment in the UK was reached in 1971, with a workforce of 323,000 across the UK. By 2022 that UK figure had dropped to 23,000. The same figure for Germany is still 80,000. Compared with EU countries, the UK now ranks fifth - behind Germany, Italy, France, and Poland. At the same time, we have also seen the complete demise of coal, from a peak workforce of 1.2 million across the UK in 1920 - of which no less than 271,000 were employed in Wales alone – to nil. Taken together, a total, 100 per cent loss of employment in coal, and a 93% reduction in steel.

2.3.              The masterplan report estimated that the full 20-year Cyfarthfa plan would create between 150 and 200 new full-time jobs, plus a further 95 during construction. We estimate that the initial phase would create at least 45 jobs, with an economic impact of £3.8m per annum., as well as supporting indirect benefits to businesses, the self-employed, community organisations and volunteers. It is worth stressing that the development of an active, outwardly focused museum will also require the constant nurturing of the skill base, not only withincuratorial teams, but also for the environmental management of the park. The park already has an active environmental education programme, run by the British Institute for Geological Education. We would want to build on this foundation.

2.4.               Although south-east Wales is increasingly described as a city region, it has not always enjoyed the aggregation effects normally associated with city regions, largely because the topography of the northern part of the region is one of separated valleys. However, it is important not to take too mechanistic a view of the geography. In the last half century immense steps have been taken to surmount those geographical factors by the construction of east-west road links at the northern and southern ends. Further steps are currently being taken to improve linkages via the Metro rail project. The halving of journey time between Cardiff and Merthyr, and increased frequency of service will also facilitate journeys to Merthyr, as much as from Merthyr. Neither should it be forgotten that, despite strong local loyalties, these steps are reinforcing long-standing and deep common bonds across the valleys.

3. Is deindustrialisation an ongoing process, and how might it affect Wales’ role in the UK Government’s growth mission?

• What part will heavy industry play in the future of the Welsh economy, and what support could the UK Government provide?
• How could Wales best manage transitions to digital and green economies without exacerbating socio-economic inequalities?

3.1.              The story of industry in south Wales is also the story of innovation. At the heart of region’s ability to exploit its rich natural resources during the 18th and 19th centuries was the agility with which industry developed new commercial and industrial standards that enabled more efficient processing of natural resources and created employment opportunities and subsidiaries at scale. More recently, whilst the impact of deindustrialisation has been significant and is ongoing, the wider region has become an emerging hub for other types of innovation - in particular, for green, environmental and the creative and cultural industries (CCIs).

3.2.              Research from Cardiff University’s Centre for the Creative Economy shows that Wales’ creative industries have constituted a success story for the region, with 80 per cent of Wales’s c. 8000 creative sector businesses located in south-east Wales. The creative sector is currently worth more than 5 per cent of Welsh GDP, with a total turnover of £4.2bn in 2022, and is growing faster since the pandemic than the Welsh economy as a whole.[1] This has created a bedrock of creative talent and an accelerating reputation as a hub for creative services, experiences and content creation.  This has been especially apparent in the media sector, with nearby Cardiff now ranked third for volume of media content production in the United Kingdom, after London and Manchester.[2]

3.3.              We also know that investment in the heritage sector has an aggregating affect on the wider creative economy, with research from English Heritage in 2024 demonstrating that cultural heritage enhances creativity and supports the growth of the creative economy, serving as inspiration for new creative works and innovation that increases entrepreneurship and fosters local economic growth. On average, this symbiosis drives real-time increases in local GDP of 0.14%.[3] This relationship can be leveraged even further through proper activation of heritage sites, e.g. events and activities which support destination and ‘place making’ and deepen community embeddedness.

3.4.              Further, the boost to personal wellbeing and ‘life satisfaction’ from close engagement with heritage sites[4] (+[5]) demonstrates the importance of developing the Cyfarthfa site – and other industrial heritage sites across the region – in order to address some of the wider wellbeing impacts of socio-economic deprivation which have marred so much of the region following the decline of its traditional industries. This is the chain reaction we aim to achieve: securing an important heritage site; developing it into an attraction of national and international significance; and driving structural renewal in the area to generate wider social, economic and wellbeing benefits.

3.1.              We are firmly convinced that, pursued at the right scale, standards and vigour, the implementation of our plans for Cyfarthfa can bring about a sea-change in the world’s perception of Merthyr Tydfil as well as in Merthyr’s view of itself. The environment of the south Wales valleys has changed dramatically in the years since the Aberfan disaster, but the extent of that change may not have been fully recognised further afield.  We hope that implementation of our plans for Cyfarthfa will provide solid and enduring benefits for the the economy and the community, providing a pivotal development in the transition to a different balance of employment, not at the expense of any other work sectors, but in addition to them. We also hope it will be a powerful reason for the rest of the world to beat a path to our door.

2 February 2025