Private talks held over future plans for mothballed Llancaiach Fawr

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The future of Llancaiach Fawr was discussed at a private meeting of senior Caerphilly councillors this week.

The Tudor manor was mothballed in 2024 as part of a cost-cutting plan by Caerphilly County Borough Council, which was spending nearly £500,000 annually to subsidise the heritage asset.

Since then, council leaders have reiterated plans to reopen the venue under new arrangements free of subsidies – but critics have questioned the pace of progress.

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At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday November 11, an update on Llancaiach Fawr’s future was heard behind closed doors after members agreed commercial sensitivities outweighed the public interest in what was being discussed.

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”.

“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,” he said in August.

In response to Mr Whittle’s claims, a council spokesperson said negotiations were “progressing well” with the preferred operator, who 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”.

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