About the site
The site has had many owners and has expanded over the years. It started as a farmer’s co-op in the late 1920’s and was bought by Cow and Gate in 1928. It later went on to be known under the names of Unigate Creameries, the Milk Marketing Board, Dairy Crest and St Ivel. When the complex closed under St Ivel in 2001 the site was bought by Carmarthenshire County Council with the hope of turning it into a ten pin bowling centre, which now finally looks set to happen in a unique partnership between the county council and Towy Community Church and other agencies.
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Tenpin Bowling Alley
A new 12 lane state of the art ten pin bowling arena, known as Xcel bowl, will be installed in what was formerly a large cold store. This will provide the centrepiece of the new complex and be the first part of the 2.7 acre site to be refurbished over a three year period. It will include pool tables, a coffee bar and an affordable fast food outlet. The facility will be open 7 days a week and also cater for parties, as well as offering concessions for senior citizens, students and others – with full disability access. It will be a safe and welcoming environment for families. A quality ten pin bowling arena for the Carmarthen area is well overdue with bowling enthusiasts currently having to travel out of the county to enjoy this popular leisure activity
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Community Cafe
Our attractive and relaxed community café will seat 50 people and provide healthy breakfasts, snacks and lunches at reasonable to the public, contributing to a healthy diet and playing a part in tackling obesity. This catering facility will also serve our conference clients and we also have plans to introduce a Senior Citizens’ Luncheon Club and training in catering for those seeking work experience in this field.
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Auditorium / Conference Centre
The largest dedicated conference venue in Carmarthenshire is also planned, with seating for at least 500 people and doubling as a venue for theatre, music, the performing arts and with high quality audio visual systems. It’s expected that some major events will be attracted to the facility, bringing visitors and consumer trade to the town. Quality catering for conferences will also be on offer as will special deals for discounted bowling arena use.
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Food Bank
With figures showing that 12.4 million people are living below the poverty line in the UK, Towy Community Church is partnering with The Trussell Trust to run a foodbank in Carmarthen. This will provide emergency and compassionate food supplies in partnership with voucher holders across the county. Boxes of nutritionally balanced food and support will be given to people experiencing emotional or financial crisis. Each box will contain 3 days worth of non-perishable food and will include menu planners to help people make healthy meals. The food will be donated by supermarkets, shoppers and members of the community. The service will be run by a team of trained volunteers.
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Furniture Recycling Centre
This will also be located on site and will be run in partnership with the local authority and another experienced local agency. It will provide good quality, used furniture and household items for those in need of practical support through adverse circumstances. As with the Foodbank, there will be opportunities for volunteers to get involved with collecting, re-furbishing and distributing the items within the community. This re-cycling initiative will be eco-friendly – reducing the consumption of resources needed to make new items and helping to reduce the county’s landfill tax.
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Debt Counselling Centre
A debt counselling centre will also be located on site and will be run in partnership with CAP (Christians against Poverty. CAP centres offer hope and a solution to anyone in debt through its unique, in-depth service.
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Proposed Plans
