����ý

A church minister has bought 12 derelict valleys chapels with a plan to reopen them as places of worship.

The Rev Robert Stivey, a congregationalist minister from Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT), believes he's spent up to £200,000 so far.

His latest acquisition, Calfaria Chapel in Aberdare, cost just £25,000.

Six of the chapels are in the Cynon Valley, three in the Rhondda Valley and three in the Merthyr valley.

They are mostly former Baptist chapels.

The minister said it was an "act of faith".

"Many years ago I had visits to the Welsh valleys and noticed a lot of the chapels were being closed down or turned into flats or being demolished and so forth, and I thought that's really, really bad," he said.

"I felt I've been called to do something about this, these chapels must be saved and reopened and used again for their original purpose.

"We're looking to the future for reopening, I don't know when, maybe next year, but it [Calfaria] is a magnificent building and deserves to resound with the praises of God once again."

Hundreds used to visit Calfaria every Sunday before congregations started to dwindle, and the minister said he did not expect to recreate those times.

"I don't think we're in revival time yet to fill these chapels, but there are people out there who are willing to listen to the gospel... I see no reason why we shouldn't start small and build up over the years.

"We are a free church which welcomes everybody and I hope to establish a free church in all these locations."

The minister, who largely used inheritance from his mother to buy the chapels, said he recognised he may not be able to reopen them all.

"People might say 'well he's never going to reopen them all', I may not personally reopen them all but at least they've been saved from demolition... and they're ready for other Christian workers perhaps to come along and take over where I've finished," he said.

"They go pretty cheap, especially in the Welsh valleys, especially if they're listed. If they're not listed then they fetch more money because developers see potential... but if they're listed, they go cheaper, we're able to secure them and keep them as they were.

"Most of them are a little what we might call 'needing refreshment', some of them have holes in the ceiling from long-standing roof problems and leaks but they're all saveable I'd say.

"Some could be open tomorrow, some would need renovation, but it's all possible."

He said some will have community activities, but they would not extend as far as introducing crazy golf which is available at Rochester Cathedral in Kent.