A local businessman based at Yr Hen Lyfrgell, Cardiff’s Welsh Language Cultural Centre, says the building ‘seems dead’ without a cafe despite the rest of the Centre being a success.
Ashok Ahir says centres such as this are key for the Welsh Government to hit their target of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050.
Mr Ahir said: ”We can’t get anywhere near that very ambitious target without the language being obvious across the country. The language is flourishing but for children to see the language living around them we need spaces like this to operate successfully.”
Mr Ahir said Cardiff Council now needs to step in to help find a tenant.
The Centre opened in February 2016 but the original cafe had to shut before Christmas as it was making too much of a loss. The cafe was ran by Clwb Ifor Bach, a Welsh nightclub in the city.
Yr Hen Lyfrgell is owned by Cardiff Council, who are currently looking for a new tenant to open a not-for-profit cafe in the building. But there are concerns the high cost of the annual rent for the space may put off potential tenants.
Other services such as Welsh lessons, conference rooms and office spaces have been running since the Centre opened but the creche area also closed last year.
CJS News have contacted Cardiff Council for comment.
