7UP!

IDEAS FOR AN EVEN BETTER BARRY

Museum launches ‘7up!’ with seven ideas for 

transforming Barry’s future ahead of 

regeneration launch 

The Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre CIC has produced ‘7up!’  a report containing 

seven ideas for creating a better future for Barry ahead of the launch of a major new 

regeneration initiative for Wales’s largest town. 

Barry’s only museum is putting forward ideas from creating a ‘Gareth Jones Square’, 

organising a ‘Gavin & Stacey Week’ celebrating the town being home for Britain’s best-loved 

comedy series, co-creating a ‘pocket museum’ telling ‘The story of Barry in 50 objects’, 

extending its Human Library of film interviews with local people sharing their memories of 

when Barry was home to a Butlins holiday camp and in the 60s and 70s when many of the 

top bands played at the town’s Memorial hall, new education resources for its ‘Evacuees 

Experience’ for school visits, and how Britain’s wartime story has lessons for contemporary 

issues of adversity, climate change, and greater community togetherness. 

The ‘7up!’ report is published ahead of the launch of the Plan for Neighbourhoods initiative, 

a new major regeneration project dedicated to making a long-term, positive difference to 

the town. The museum has a critical role to play at the heart of a more vibrant, cohesive 

Barry. 

Over the next 10 years, Barry will receive £2 million each year through a Barry Plan for 

Neighbourhoods. The plan will be guided by a board local residents, businesspeople, and 

public servants, chaired by David Stevens, local resident and former CEO of Admiral Group. 

The Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre CIC is run by its community, over the last 13 years 

attracting visitors from around the world, school groups across Wales, and featured on 

national TV. 

The museum’s Barry Island Station home is the last surviving public building of the Barry 

Railway Company. It served as a reception point for evacuee children during World War 2, 

escaping the Nazi air raids and bombing of their homes. 

Going forward, the museum now has an expanded role beyond its original remit, beyond its 

original function as War Museum to be the hub for the wider story of the Barry community’s 

rich heritage. 

Commenting on its ‘7up!’ report John Buxton, Chair of the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre 

said, “An even better future awaits Barry - by working together. We harness the passion of 

our community to tell its story. The museum is an exemplar of community self-help to 

hopefully inspire others in transforming Barry’s future.” 

Further details about Barry War Museum, or if interested in spending an hour or two helping 

out at the Museum, visit www.barrywarmuseum.co.uk