Everyone who cares about their town has opinions about the direction that town should be going in. Penarth Nub News serves as a platform upon which you can voice those opinions.

This morning, Anne Evans of the Penarth Civic Society lends her voice to the debate over The Kymin's future.

The Kymin, both the house and its grounds, have held an important place in the life of Penarth for several hundred years.

It was once a working farm, and then a modest villa by the sea with extensive grounds, before becoming a fashionable residence to the Batchelor family in Victorian times.

Until recently, it was used by a number of groups meeting in the house and for outdoor events. Many residents have fond memories of using the house and gardens. It remains a popular park, open to all.

The Penarth Civic Society is adamant that this must continue to be the case and is very concerned about reports that the Vale of Glamorgan Council is planning to lease the building as it is deemed surplus to requirements. It is imperative that a suitable use is found for the building and - in particular - the grounds so that they can continue to be enjoyed by all.

For many years, The Kymin was the venue for showcasing The Penarth Society's annual competitions when entries were displayed around the rooms and visitors enjoyed a celebratory buffet. Prizes were distributed by special guests able to mingle with others outside on the lawn with a glass of wine.

These were memorable events, perhaps the most memorable being the photographs taken by local schoolchildren to illustrate the Penarth Town Trails - a joint enterprise between Penarth Town Council and The Penarth Society.

Schools featured in the Trails were invited to choose a class to follow the routes and photograph anything of special interest along the way. Schools were allocated Trails in their own areas and the Society managed to obtain free "one use" cameras from a photographic company to give out to the children. Schools included Albert Primary, the Church in Wales Primary, Headlands, Cogan Primary, Westbourne and Ashgrove School for the Deaf, whose children were particularly keen to be involved. Their photographs were developed locally and mounted for a display that covered the downstairs walls of The Kymin. Each photograph featured the name of the relevant school.

Revisiting these photographs, we notice many of the buildings have disappeared. Some have been rebuilt in similar style on the same site, others have given way to new developments and some have become derelict eyesores. In some cases every detail has been retained but in others there has been modernisation of certain features.

Whose eyes have ever been drawn to a brass letter-box or door handle, the pattern of a line of bricks or even petrol pumps set in a wall? But these are things that children noticed, allowing us to look back today and see how Penarth has changed in less than a quarter of a century.

For Penarth these photographs are very special precisely because they were taken by children who looked around and recorded what they saw - the things that captured their interest in their own town.

And where are all these photographs today? Until very recently they were actually stored at The Kymin in the Civic Society's Archive, with kind permission of Penarth Town Council.

The Society recognises that The Kymin is an expensive property to maintain and that cash-strapped local authorities are faced with making very difficult decisions. We would be delighted to be involved with any organisation, group or company that took on the house and grounds with the proviso that it continued to be open to the public.