PLANS to sell off a popular wedding venue and community centre have been “misunderstood”, the Vale council leader has said.

The Kymin, in Penarth, could soon be sold on a long lease as a restaurant or hotel, after the Vale of Glamorgan Council deemed the Victorian house “surplus to requirements”

Councillors on the cabinet voted on Monday, September 21, to advertise the Kymin on the market.

But councillors hit back at criticism of the plans, claiming people misunderstood the word “disposal”.

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The plans for the Kymin were recently revealed by Miles Punter, the Vale’s director of environment and housing, in a report to cabinet.

Mr Punter said the council was planning the “disposal” of the former community centre: local government jargon for getting rid of something.

A private bidder, community group or Penarth town council could be chosen to take over the Kymin.

Mr Punter claimed use of the building would be limited, and any successful bidder would have to use the building as a hotel, restaurant, or community centre.

During the cabinet meeting, councillors sought to allay concerns the building would be lost to the public, by saying Mr Punter had been misunderstood.

Council leader Neil Moore said: “This is being disposed of by a long lease.

"It’s not being sold off ‘per se’.

“People need to start reading things, because most people don’t.”

Deputy leader, Cllr Lis Burnett said: “This building hasn’t been used for over a year.

"We’re all keen this building comes back into productive use as soon as humanly possible.

“Sometimes the legal language we have to use gets in the way of understanding, like the words ‘disposal’ and ‘marketing’.

“‘Marketing’ seems to imply that we’re going for the biggest amount of money possible. 

"But no, we’re going for the best public use in a sustainable manner.”

Cabinet member for leisure, arts and culture, Kathryn McCaffer said: “I have lived in Penarth for most of my adult life and I know how well loved the Kymin is by so many residents here.

“Some people have totally misunderstood the language and the terminology that the council uses a lot.

"When you say the word ‘disposal’, it suggests we have no care or concern for it, and that’s not what it means.

“It’s just going to be so interesting to see what does come forward, because we all would love it to stay within the community use, and we all want to see the building thrive and the grounds thrive in the future.”

The Kymin had been run by Penarth town council for decades.

But last year the town council surrendered the lease to the Vale council after a funding row.

Now, Penarth town council leader Rhiannon Birch slammed the plans to instead offer the Kymin to a “commercial entity”.

Writing to the Vale, Cllr Birch said: “I am disappointed that the Vale council and the town council were unable to come to an agreement about the use of the property, either in full or in part, for the direct benefit of the people of Penarth.

“I am also surprised that the Vale council feels able to offer a 25 year lease to an outside organisation when this was not offered to the town council.

“Whatever the history, it is obvious that the town council would make decisions about the property for the benefit of Penarth residents, rather than a commercial entity.”

While parts of the public gardens around the Kymin would be lost, some will be kept for the public to access.

Conservative Penarth town councillor, Gary Allman said the Vale should use clearer language, and criticised the comments made during the cabinet meeting.

Commenting after the meeting, he said: “Cllr McCaffer has the temerity to rap the public of Penarth across the knuckles for apparently being too stupid to understand what the council means when it uses big words like ‘disposal’.

“I can assure her of this: the voters of Penarth know very well that the word ‘disposal’ actually means what the Oxford Dictionary says it means: ‘get rid of’.

"And that’s exactly what the council wants to do in the case of the Kymin."

“If she considers the Vale council’s ‘terminology’ is too opaque, then the onus is on her and her fellow councillors to make sure that, in future, the council uses clear transparent language that everyone can understand.”