We need a decision on the Workies.

Hi everyone,

I want to tell you plainly where we are. We have spent September getting everything ready for WCVA: the business plan, cash flow, the old club's accounts and debts, the community survey, the reopening plan and answers to their follow-up questions. The Workies members voted for the sale to our new Community Benefit Society, and the proposed price is £140,000, subject to the legal work. The Society is registered with the FCA's Mutuals Register, number 9847.

We are asking WCVA for a £200,000 repayable loan: £140,000 to buy the building and £60,000 towards getting it open. This is not a grant. We plan to pay it back.

The support behind this is real. There are 328 survey responses, letters from Tumble Rugby, local schools and the Family Centre, and a joint letter from Cefin Campbell, Nerys Evans and Adam Price. People have given their time, money and skills because they want the Workies to be useful again.

What WCVA told me yesterday

WCVA told us on 30 September that they had panel responses, but not enough to make a decision. I spoke to them again yesterday at about 4pm. I was told the panel chair is arranging a meeting in person, where they will discuss it and make a decision there and then. We do not have the date yet, and we have not been turned down.

There is a lot of support for what we are doing, but there are worries too. I understand questions about the old club's debts and how a huge building will be run. We have answered those questions. Our solicitor will check the sale, title and how the debts are settled before the Society completes a purchase. We are buying the property, not taking over the old organisation. We will need the right manager and a proper operating team; I have never pretended those appear overnight.

And the repayments are not just wishful thinking. Our 15 September snapshot showed £2,743 a month in recurring pledges. The proposed first-year, interest-only loan payment is £1,386 a month. Pledges alone are almost twice that payment. Later repayments would be higher and the building has running costs, so the trading plan matters too. But this is a serious starting point, not a promise with nothing behind it.

The figures above refresh from the campaign feed when available; otherwise they show the 15 September snapshot. Monthly pledges are not cash held in the bank.

Why this matters

I don't want to reopen the old Workies exactly as it was. I want a place people can actually use: a café by day, a bar at night, space for the rugby, sport and community events, and the upstairs rooms brought back into use. A warm place to go, not another empty building. There is work to do before all of that can happen, but we have a plan and people ready to help.

WCVA's Community Asset Loan Fund is backed by Welsh Government and is meant to help communities own places like this. I know a lender has to look at risks. I am not asking anyone to ignore them. But I am asking them to make a decision while we still have time to act. The auction is 15 October. A panel date a week later is no use to us.

I keep thinking about priorities. Around £2.5 million is going into the former Wilko site and car park in Carmarthen. I know it is a different budget. But here we are asking for a fraction of that as a loan to keep a place in community hands, and every day counts. Tumble has always had to fight for its share. It feels like the same fight again.

What now?

We are pushing for the panel date and speaking to possible local backers in case we need another route. Our solicitor is ready if the finance comes through, subject to the legal checks and lending conditions. We do not have a decision yet. As soon as I do, I will tell you, whether it is good or bad.

I hope the panel can zoom out a bit and see what a no could mean. The Workies has been part of Tumble for 133 years. If this loan doesn't come through and we can't find another way before the auction, we could lose the chance to keep a heart of this village in community hands. That is not a small thing.

We set up an asset-locked Community Benefit Society because this building should be for the community. I know that doesn't remove the lender's risk. But there is a real repayment plan, strong monthly pledges and a solicitor ready to move. In my opinion, this is exactly the sort of risk a Welsh Government-funded community ownership loan should take.

Look how far people have taken this already. Sam Thompson recorded an appeal for us. BBC Wales, Radio Wales and Radio 5 Live have covered the story. ITV Wales and S4C have been in touch. Our campaign has even been part of a whole day of radio discussion about working men's clubs. A documentary maker wants to follow us saving the Workies, with the hope of pitching a series to the BBC. None of that means a broadcaster has promised a programme. It does show this has reached far beyond Tumble.

So what message would a no send to the next village that gets organised, raises money and tries to save its own place? I hope the panel thinks about that before the 15th. This is what WCVA's community asset loan is for. Please give us the decision in time to use it.

Thank you for sticking with this. Please keep pledging and sharing. And if you know someone who can help with a credible finance option before 15 October, get in touch.

Read the campaign timeline · Read the 15 September update · Read the 2 September update