EditorLabour accused of dirty tricks as row over future of Maesteg Hospital intensifies
Concerns about the hospital have been building for months as Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board develops plans for a new Health and Wellbeing Centre for the Llynfi Valley. The board says it has access to around £30 million of Welsh Government funding to expand local services, but that the existing hospital site cannot be redeveloped within that budget. That position has fuelled fears about the loss of beds, the future of the building and whether the community is being properly consulted.
The latest flashpoint came after Labour representatives claimed that protest organisers, including Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate Dean Ronan, had “declined to engage” with the health board. The allegation appeared in a series of letters signed by Huw Irranca‑Davies MS, David Rees MS, Stephen Kinnock MP and local councillors, who accused some campaigners of “politicising” the issue.
Huw Irranca Davies MS outside Maesteg Community Hospital, alongside protestors calling for transparency and opposing the potential closure or sale of the site.Labour representatives wrote:
We now understand that you have indeed reached out to the main organisers – including a candidate for the Liberal Democrats – and they have declined to engage with you.
They also warned that the £30 million investment must not be put at risk.
Labour representatives wrote:
We certainly do not want to lose the £30m which Welsh Government have already put forward… this matter is of such huge importance it should be well beyond party politics.
Dean Ronan has rejected the claim outright, saying he has never been contacted by the health board and could not have refused a meeting that was never offered.
Dean Ronan, Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate, said:
Not once have I been contacted about the future of Maesteg Hospital. I could not have declined a meeting that was never offered. If Labour or the health board have evidence to the contrary, they should publish it immediately.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats say the campaign to protect the hospital has always been community‑led and cross‑party, involving the League of Friends, independent councillors and Plaid Cymru candidates. They argue that the focus should be on the future of services, not political point‑scoring.
Dean Ronan, Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate, pictured at a Maesteg Hospital protest calling for transparency and community-led decision-making over the future of local healthcare services.David Chadwick MP, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster spokesperson, said:
This looks like a classic dirty tricks operation — brief against local campaigners, make untrue claims, and hope nobody challenges them.
On Sunday, Dean Ronan issued a new public statement confirming that he had been invited to meet Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca‑Davies to discuss the future of healthcare in Maesteg. He said he was open to meeting, but only if a public apology was issued for what he described as “false statements” made about him earlier in the week.
Dean Ronan, Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate, said:
I informed Huw that I would be open to meeting with him and sharing my views, on the condition that a public apology was issued by himself and the local councillors who attached their names to false statements made about me earlier this week. I was told that Huw would not issue a public apology, as he did not wish to focus on ‘politics or personalities’. As a result, I have declined the meeting.”
He said the issue was not political, but personal.
Mr Ronan added:
Morally, it does not sit right with me to allow lies to be told or left unchallenged. These are my values as a person, not a political position. The people of Maesteg deserve representatives who are honest and transparent at all times. Integrity and honesty matter more to me than any party policy.”
He added that he remained open to dialogue if a public apology was issued.
The full stone frontage of Maesteg Community Hospital, a landmark building at the centre of the debate over future health services in the Llynfi Valley.(Image: Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board)
What the health board says it is planning
Behind the political row sits a much larger debate about what the health board is proposing for the Llynfi Valley.
The board says it wants to deliver a wider range of services locally, including urgent care, expanded outpatient clinics, mental health support, integrated community teams and space for third‑sector wellbeing organisations. It argues that these improvements cannot be delivered within the existing hospital buildings, which would cost at least £42 million to redevelop and potentially up to £48 million if further structural issues are uncovered.
A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said:
We have not taken any decisions to close Maesteg Hospital or sell the site. Whatever the future holds for this important, much‑loved building will take into account the views of local people and the heritage of the site.
The board says it is exploring a potential new site near Ewenny Road, close to Maesteg town centre and the railway station, because it offers better access and can accommodate the size of building required for modern services. It also says it is considering alternatives to hospital‑based community beds, including block‑booking beds in local nursing homes for rehabilitation, reablement and palliative care.
The health board said in its latest update:
Local people who are anxious about the future deserve the facts. We will continue to meet with representatives and provide information through other means.
Maesteg nestled in the Llynfi Valley, where plans for a new health and wellbeing centre have sparked debate over access, investment and the future of local services.(Image: Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board)
Calls for transparency and engagement
Labour representatives say they share concerns about the future of the hospital building and have urged the board to protect the site’s heritage. They argue that the building is iconic and must not be left “empty or unloved”.
Labour representatives wrote:
There is no‑one in these communities who would allow this iconic building to lie empty or unloved or unused.
They also said they have pressed the health board to meet urgently with the League of Friends and all elected representatives, and that the board has now agreed to do so.
The health board says it has already held engagement events and will carry out further public consultation once more detailed work on both the existing site and the potential new site is complete. A decision on the preferred location is expected in early 2026.
For now, the political row continues to overshadow the process, with both sides accusing the other of misrepresenting the facts. What remains clear is that the future of Maesteg Hospital — its services, its beds and its building — has become one of the most contentious local issues in years, and the community is demanding answers.
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Darren Fower
