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| Meeting on £1.5m Burberry legacy | Meeting on £1.5m Burberry legacy |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| A trust has met for the first time to decide how to spend £1.5m left to the Rhondda by Burberry after it closed its factory in Treorchy. | |
| The fashion giant agreed to give £150,000 every year for the next decade to the community after it shut the factory last March with 300 job losses. | The fashion giant agreed to give £150,000 every year for the next decade to the community after it shut the factory last March with 300 job losses. |
| Local MP Chris Bryant, who is a member of the Rhondda Trust, said the money was likely to be spent on education. | Local MP Chris Bryant, who is a member of the Rhondda Trust, said the money was likely to be spent on education. |
| Groups and individuals can apply to the trust for funding. | Groups and individuals can apply to the trust for funding. |
| Mr Bryant, who led the celebrity-backed campaign to keep the Treorchy factory open, said before the meeting: "I'm pleased we have got a trust fund and I hope we will be able to make a difference. But I would still rather have a factory employing people." | |
| The trust, made up of Mr Bryant, Rhondda AM Leighton Andrew, Mervyn Burnett, from the GMB union, a solicitor and two former Burberry workers, met on Friday to discuss its aims. | |
| A lot of the girls have now got jobs in Asda but it's only part time. It's not enough. It's a problem for the youngsters of the future Joan Young, ex-Burberry worker on life after the factory | A lot of the girls have now got jobs in Asda but it's only part time. It's not enough. It's a problem for the youngsters of the future Joan Young, ex-Burberry worker on life after the factory |
| Mr Bryant said with the agreement of the trust the money was likely to be used to improve education and skills in the area, providing grants for schemes and projects. | Mr Bryant said with the agreement of the trust the money was likely to be used to improve education and skills in the area, providing grants for schemes and projects. |
| "For example, someone who knows they're going to university but wants to go to Antarctica for a few months [on an educational project] and needs money towards that. We might fund that," said Mr Bryant. | "For example, someone who knows they're going to university but wants to go to Antarctica for a few months [on an educational project] and needs money towards that. We might fund that," said Mr Bryant. |
| "Or a youth club says their roof has fallen in and they need money for repairs, we might fund that. | "Or a youth club says their roof has fallen in and they need money for repairs, we might fund that. |
| "We want to give more people educational opportunities in the Rhondda." | "We want to give more people educational opportunities in the Rhondda." |
| The first grant could be given by Easter, he added. | The first grant could be given by Easter, he added. |
| Ex-Burberry worker Joan Young said she would be pleased if the money was spent helping young people. | Ex-Burberry worker Joan Young said she would be pleased if the money was spent helping young people. |
| 'No jobs' | 'No jobs' |
| "I had suggested using the money for education - that's the road I had wanted to go down," said Mrs Young, who now works as a support worker in a nursing home. | "I had suggested using the money for education - that's the road I had wanted to go down," said Mrs Young, who now works as a support worker in a nursing home. |
| "But I don't think the money is enough. That won't buy many teachers, which is what we need. But if something can come out of it for the youngsters, that's a good thing. | "But I don't think the money is enough. That won't buy many teachers, which is what we need. But if something can come out of it for the youngsters, that's a good thing. |
| Mervyn Burnett, from the GMB which represented the factory workers, said: "We want to help the young people in training schemes, for example. We feel they have been robbed of a future with the closure of the factory." | Mervyn Burnett, from the GMB which represented the factory workers, said: "We want to help the young people in training schemes, for example. We feel they have been robbed of a future with the closure of the factory." |
| Burberry announced last year it was moving production of its polo shirts from south Wales to China. | Burberry announced last year it was moving production of its polo shirts from south Wales to China. |
| Months of protests around the world followed, attracting support from celebrities, including Emma Thompson, Rhys Ifans, Sir Tom Jones, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. | Months of protests around the world followed, attracting support from celebrities, including Emma Thompson, Rhys Ifans, Sir Tom Jones, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. |