The Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust held an event at the Goods Shed on Friday 18 July to celebrate an award from the National Railway Heritage Awards scheme.
The award was given in recognition of the efforts of the Trust in preserving the historic Llanelli Goods Shed Office building and bringing it back into use for the benefit of the community and was announced at a ceremony in London in December 2024..
The unveiling of the plaques was undertaken by Dame Nia Griffith MP in the presence of representatives of the National Railway Heritage Awards (Andy Savage, Simon Gyde, Malcolm Wood and Peter Waller), sponsors Avanti West Coast (Owain Morgan) and over 70 people representing the funders, community groups, designers, contractors and volunteers.
Yvonne Rodgers, the Chair of the Trust, said she was delighted to have received the award and added, ‘this award recognises the huge amount of work undertaken by the Trust in saving this iconic building for the people of Llanelli – this of course would not have been possible without the generous support of our main funders, The Railway Heritage Trust, The Welsh Government, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Pilgrim Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund. The commitment of our architects and contractors and the dedication of our team of volunteers were also key to the success of the project. This award has further energised us as we embark on the next phase of restoration.’
Dame Nia Griffith MP said: “I am absolutely delighted that the high-quality work in the first phrase of the restoration of the Goods Shed has been recognised in this prestigious National Railway Heritage Award, so a huge thank you to all the professionals and volunteers involved. This Award is for the office block which now provides eight beautifully restored rooms, retaining original features like the sash windows and the staircase, rooms which are in daily use for our local community for meetings, adult education classes and office space.’
One of the two plaques unveiled at Llanelli on Friday 18 July with, from the left, Andy Savage, Chairman of the National Railway Heritage Awards, Owain Morgan, Senior Performance Manager of Avanti West Coast (representing the award’s sponsor), Dame Nia Griffith MP and Yvonne Rodgers, Chair of the Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust.
The façade of the restored goods shed offices at Llanelli. The quality of the workmanship, the engagement of the local community and the use to which the restored accommodation has been put made the project excellent winners of the Avanti West Coast Community Award at the 2024 National Railway Heritage Awards.