The historic Canolfan Owain Glyndŵr Institute in Machynlleth has a £2 million refurbishment plan on the cards.

The 600-year-old building where Owain was crowned Prince of Wales is set to get a 21st-century upgrade including a disabled lift, solar panels and air source heat pumps.

The ambitious plans for the Grade 1 listed building which sits on the high street were submitted for planning permission on 8 March.

The Institute (OGI) will have to please Historic Wales and raise the £2 million from different funders to complete the work.

The proposal was put together after community and business engagement identified a ‘lack of cohesion’ between the main spaces and a need to improve income revenues whilst a main constraint for the use of the first-floor meeting rooms was the lack of disabled access.

The current blueprints for the OGI
The current blueprints for the OGI (George + Tomos Penseiri : Architects )

The work proposes installing a disabled lift to make the first floor accessible for the first time, whilst also installing a disabled toilet.

The application requests consent for “repairs and upgrade of internal fabric” as well as installing solar panels on the east roof.

The Institute aims to install secondary glazing on the windows, some of which are lead sealed and up to 100 years old, whilst the gas boiler heating system is to be replaced with three air source heat pumps to ‘future proof’ the building as the ban on gas boiler installs begins in 2025.

Ifan Edwards, caretaker for the Institute described this work as a “long time coming” whilst the actual work will probably take years to begin.

The proposal includes improved signage out front to indicate the historical significance of the building whilst informing the public of the thriving community hub the space has become.
The proposal includes improved signage out front to indicate the historical significance of the building whilst informing the public of the thriving community hub the space has become. (Cambrian News)

Making the building safe and eco-friendly is the priority for these works, as the roof is also set to get new tiling and insulation.

The Institute and Parliament building next door are heritage centres and home to a cafe, shop, and used as a community space for events, weddings and the Machynlleth Youth Club.

The application is yet to be considered by Powys Planning Committee, but County Councillor Michael Williams wrote to offer the application his “total support”.

This comes as an OGI toilet was recently broken with no funds for repairs due to overuse following the closure of Machynlleth’s public toilets.