A community hall in Monmouthshire is hoping its village could become a safe haven for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Catbrook Memorial Hall is looking to see what support there might be locally and in the surrounding area to support the plight of Ukrainian refugees escaping the war in their country.

Chair of the committee, Andy Pullman has said they would like to offer the village hall as a community centre for refugees if there was enough interest in residents wanting to provide a safe haven for families and groups.

“We know many want to do what they can to help those who have been displaced in their hour of need” he posted on their website.

“Rather than individual people offering to provide a room, as a village we might be able to offer several rooms thereby enabling a larger group of people to stay together and remain as a family”.

The Russian attack on Ukraine has caused the displacement of many tens of thousands of Ukrainian people from their homes and marked the onset of what could be the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe for decades.

Recent events closer to home during the Covid lockdowns has shown that the Catbrook community has a strong sense of community spirit and a ‘can do’ attitude to support others in need and who might need assistance.

More than 10,000 people in Wales have expressed interest in housing Ukrainian refugees, Simon Hart the Welsh Secretary has said.

He said the response had been “remarkable”, with 10,236 people registering their interest in the Homes for Ukraine scheme as of Thursday.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said the “scheme will help people facing desperate circumstances who are in desperate need”.

Andy hopes that a joint effort in Catbrook may help refugees “who might know each other, maybe people from the same Ukrainian village, and who might want to be able to support each other by staying in close contact”.

The Memorial Hall is an ideal building considering it was originally part of a timber-framed American WW1 Military Hospital. It was transported to the village from the London area and erected on land donated by a resident in 1920.

There are cooking facilities and the committee suggested the hall could remain open all day to help a network of refugees fleeing the conflict to meet and support each other.

He admitted it was not an easy thing to do as “this is not like hosting someone who is on holiday; people will be suffering from the trauma of war, they may have lost all of their possessions or even loved ones”.

Given that Catbrook is a rural area with limited transport links, he suggested that others may be able to offer transport for people if they are able to do so, “with all of the community involved it would spread the work and support would be available for those needing help and also just as importantly, those offering their help” he added.

So that the committee can gauge if there is sufficient support for the idea, he asked for expressions of interest in the proposal and any other suggestions to be sent to him or John Griffin so they know what accommodation, assistance or support residents might be able to provide.

The next step would be to arrange a hall meeting and come up with a plan and then register on the UK website of what the Catbrook Community could offer. Contact details are on their website: www.catbrook.org.uk

In the meantime Councillor Richard John leader of Monmouthshire County Council and councillor for Mitchel Troy is planning to join an aid convoy to Krakow in Poland.

Cllr John said: “I’m only too happy to offer to help transport these essential medical supplies to support refugees whose lives have been turned upside down in recent weeks.

“I’m looking forward to supporting the work of some really dedicated charity volunteers and veterans like Cllr Hannah Jarvis, who have been leading efforts to deliver medical supplies to those in need.

“It’s a 1,150 mile drive each way, so it’s going to be a long journey but we’ll split the driving between us with the goal of delivering these vital supplies, bought with the generous donations of members of the public.

“In terms of the work being done closer to home, I’m really proud that in Monmouthshire, we’re ready to play our part in welcoming Ukrainian refugees and I’m grateful to the many residents who’ve registered to accommodate families.

“We have a moral duty to do everything we can to help and I can reassure Monmouthshire residents that as a council our teams are working really closely with the Home Office, Welsh Government and local community groups to offer Ukrainian families a warm welcome.”