Councillors discuss future of mothballed Llancaiach Fawr

Senior Caerphilly councillors discussed Llancaiach Fawr’s future at a private meeting this week.

The Tudor manor was mothballed in 2024 as part of plans to help the council's budget by Caerphilly County Borough Council, which was spending nearly £500,000 annually to subsidise the heritage asset.

Council leaders have since promised to reopen it under new, subsidy-free arrangements, but critics say progress has been too slow.

Cabinet members discussed Llancaiach Fawr’s future behind closed doors on Wednesday, November 11, saying commercial sensitivities outweighed the public interest.

A cabinet report by the council’s monitoring officer noted the matter contained “personal information about the identity of the potential operator and detailed financial information about the work undertaken to date”.

The cabinet meeting would also involve discussions about “the proposed revised lease arrangements for Llancaiach Fawr including detailed terms to achieve the alternative delivery model”.

The council said in the summer of 2025 it had chosen a preferred operator for Llancaiach Fawr, but a year later, Senedd Member Lindsay Whittle – who was previously the Plaid Cymru opposition leader in the council chamber – questioned why there had been no apparent progress and branded the ongoing uncertainty a “farce”.

He said in August: “The second most important historical landmark in the county borough – after Caerphilly Castle – is lying closed and we have absolutely no idea if or when Llancaiach Fawr will reopen.”

A council spokesperson said negotiations with the preferred operator were “progressing well” and that it had “developed an exciting and sustainable business model which promises to breathe new life into this much-loved visitor attraction”.

The council added, in its spokesperson’s August statement, that it hoped to make a “positive announcement about the future of Llancaiach Fawr in the near future”.

In June, council leader Jamie Pritchard said no lease or agreement had been completed and that legal, financial and operational due diligence remained ongoing.