Campaign briefing · Tumble, Carmarthenshire · updated 24 July 2026

Independent campaign asks Tumble to prove it wants the 133-year-old Workies saved

Local pledges are demonstrating public backing while volunteers test every credible rescue route before the advertised September auction.

The Great Mountain Workingmen's Club — “the Workies” — has stood opposite the old pit gates in Tumble (Y Tymbl), Carmarthenshire since 1893, built and paid for by the miners of the Great Mountain Colliery. Its freehold is now advertised with a £200,000 guide price for auction on 10 September 2026, with a sale possible beforehand.

Save the Workies was started and is currently coordinated by Scott Flear with local volunteers. Scott is not a member of the club committee. He and committee member Dale Flear share a surname, which has caused some understandable confusion, but Save the Workies is an independent community campaign.

The campaign has requested the financial records needed to assess a rescue of the existing organisation but has not received them yet. Without those records it cannot recommend that the community assumes historic liabilities it cannot verify. Working with the existing club remains an option if the information becomes available and supports a safe plan.

Three days ago the village launched savetheworkies.com — monthly pledges from £2, “less than one pint”, with an all-or-nothing guarantee: if the village hasn't pledged £2,500 a month by 1 September, every payment is refunded and every pledge cancelled. In the first 72 hours, more than 1,900 people visited, and 72 households pledged roughly £900 (about £475 a month recurring plus £430 in one-off donations — figures as of 21 July, live totals published openly on the site).

Local businesses are also backing the movement. Esgidiau'r Cwm, the village shoe shop, gives supporters 10% off, while OLP Accountants of Cross Hands offers discounted accounting to supporter-owned businesses. Supporter status does not create legal membership of the existing club or any future organisation.

The club's history reads like the history of the coalfield itself: an 1896 Inland Revenue sting, a fifteen-year licensing war with hostile breweries, a colliery that took 61 village lives — whose funeral teas were poured in this hall — and a village rugby club, the Magpies, that produced three British & Irish Lions and calls the Workies home. Tumble remains one of Carmarthenshire's Welsh-speaking heartlands, with 57% of the village speaking Welsh.

No ownership route has been selected. The campaign is testing four: working with the current club, a responsible new operator, a partnership, or community purchase if no other route protects the building. The purchase option is being developed in detail because it would need the most preparation. A community buyer would require a legal body, due diligence, a viable operating plan and a capital package potentially combining community-asset lending, grants, community shares and larger gifts. No purchase or funding is guaranteed.

Two official Welsh routes are being tested: WCVA's Community Asset Loan Fund advertises loans up to £300,000 for eligible community organisations buying property, while the Welsh Government Community Facilities Programme advertises grants up to £300,000 for eligible community-facility projects, including purchase. Current programme guidance requires match funding. Both routes require a formal application and assessment.

“People have asked who is behind this, and they deserve a straight answer. My name is Scott Flear. I started the campaign, I am not on the club committee, and the shared surname with Dale is the only reason I mention him. Independence leaves us free to test every credible option and work with anyone who can help. Right now we need people to show that they want the Workies saved while we get the facts.”
— Scott Flear, Save the Workies campaign

Nobody has covered this story yet. First interviews are available with the independent campaign founder and supporters. Interviews with the club committee and access inside the property must be arranged with them separately. Welsh-language interviews can be arranged.

Notes to editors

The property
Great Mountain Workingmen's Club, 1 Heol y Neuadd, Tumble (Y Tymbl), Carmarthenshire SA14 6ER. Founded 1893. The registered title names four individuals and records a bank charge; the auction legal pack is awaited.
The movement
savetheworkies.com — live since 18 July 2026. Started and currently coordinated by Scott Flear with local volunteers, independently of the club committee. Scott and committee member Dale Flear share a surname but are not the same person. Pledges start at £2/month, with an all-or-nothing refund guarantee at £2,500/month by 1 September 2026.
The routes
Working with the current club, a responsible new operator, a partnership, or community purchase. No route has been chosen and no purchase or funding is guaranteed.
Figures
Live supporter and payment figures are published on the homepage. The campaign has not received the club records needed to verify its historic liabilities or trading position.
Local support
Esgidiau'r Cwm (Tumble) and OLP Accountants (Cross Hands) have offered supporter discounts.
Contact
hello@savetheworkies.com · +44 7854 190921 (Scott Flear)

Assets (free to use, credit “Save the Workies”)