A PROJECT to restore a treasured Towy Valley estate to its former glory has received a large amount of support from the community.

New trustees took over the management of the Golden Grove Estate, tasked with caring for the stunning gothic buildings and maintaining the beautiful views over the Towy valley as well as an arboretum.

The new trustees faced a tough task with a number of setbacks including past mismanagement, damage from a leaked roof, and deterioration of the building and park.

The estate was privately owned until 2011, when it was turned over to the public with a board of trustees. The estate was closed to the public in March 2023 because of increasing liabilities.

The new trustees – Daljit Singh, Henk Smit and Bron Jones – have since launched a fundraising campaign to reopen the park to the public.

Since going public with the fundraising campaign and their immediate plans for the future of the Estate, the trustees have been busy connecting with people grateful for their efforts. 

“An earlier large donation enabled us to address the water ingress issue, resulting from lead being stolen of the main mansion house roof,” said Mr Smit.

“In addition, support has come in many shapes, from events planners and wedding organisers to all kinds of people keen to make use of the wonderful arboretum.

“It has boosted our optimism for the future immensely.”

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“We are keen for people to know that the previous chairman is no longer involved in any shape or form,” said Mr Singh.

“In addition, we apologise for any statement that laid blame for past mismanagement on trustees other than the former chairman, and people also need to know that we want to keep the estate a community asset to be enjoyed by everyone.”

Following the change in management, Llandeilo mayor Christoph Fischer said: “We’re all so lucky that a group of new people have come forward to become trustees and turn things round.

“The new team are unpaid volunteers who are working really hard. They have inherited a bunch of problems but won’t be deterred.”

Under the new management, there are also plans to bring back events that were held at the estate in the past.

The trustees thanked members of the public for their donations to the crowdfunding appeal, and for their support in helping to make the recovery plan a success. 

To view the crowdfunding page and donate, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/p/gelli-aur-golden-grove and for more information, visit goldengrove.org.uk.