The legacy of a former school in Neath Port Talbot is being remembered and restored as it makes way for a new housing development after more than 5,000 tonnes of materials from the old building are being saved and reused.
Linc Cymru, a housing association and care provider based in South Wales, has stripped everything from flooring to ceramics and cookers to stone from the former Lower Dyffryn School and is reusing it in a variety of innovative and creative ways.
The project known as ‘What once stood’ is the brainchild of social value manager Natalie Hawkins at Linc Cymru. “When we got the approval to develop new affordable homes on the site of the former Lower Dyfrryn School, I decided to investigate what we could do with the fabric of the building and its materials.
“There was some beautiful parquet flooring and ceramic fireplaces within the building, as well as things like speakers, basketball hoops, tables, chairs, and cooking equipment. We have tried to find a home for everything by either donating it to a local school or care home, or recommissioning it for use in our business.
“For me, it is not just about creating a legacy to the former school, it is also about recycling and reusing all the fabric that made up the building. I have really had to think creatively and produce creative and innovative ways in which to use the materials. It is not the easy option, but it is the right option.”
As well as saving 5000 tonnes of materials, which is the equivalent weight of 30 houses, Linc Cymru has made use of over 1300m2 of dressed stone, which is the equivalent of a quarter of a football field and and 100m2 of flooring, which is 30 times as big as a parking space.
A lot of the materials are being put to skillful use, for instance, Natalie has commissioned an arts charity, Tanio, to create artwork with the ceramic from the fireplace that depicts the heritage of the school or area, with the local community. The parquet flooring will be repurposed by carpentry students at Neath College in partnership with Cyfle Building Skills to create benches and other items for the garden areas around the new development.
They are also planning on using the stone from the existing building, which will be ground up and used in the foundations of the new development.
As well as using all the materials from the former building, Linc Cymru is creating a large open green parkland space and planting over one hundred trees to help enhance and encourage biodiversity in the area.
Natalie added “We wanted to create a sense of pride in the community and promote community cohesion. And an environment where both people and the environment can flourish.”
Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change, Huw Irranca-Davies said, “This is a great example by Linc Cymru of finding innovative ways of reducing waste and keeping materials in use for as long as possible. As well as the carbon emission savings, they have involved local community groups to repurpose materials into new products such as benches.
“This is just one example of action being taken across Wales to help tackle the climate and nature emergencies. Together we really can make a difference to help create a greener, cleaner Wales.”
Linc Cymru is a housing association and care provider based in South Wales. It is committed to embedding social clauses in all contracts which add value environmentally, socially, economically, and culturally to people and communities.
