Plans to breathe new life into a redundant school building in Carmarthenshire have been backed by a Welsh rugby great and now a council planning committee.

Former Wales and British and Irish Lion Sir Gerald Davies, who was born and bred in Llansaint, near Kidwelly, described the village’s church school as a “venerable institution”.

Sir Gerald expressed his strong support in an email to the council’s planning department for an application by a group called Hwb Llansaint CIC to turn the empty building into a community cafe and shop on the ground floor and workspace, including a consultation room, above.

“Yr Ysgol Hen – as it was known – the old school is a venerable institution in the village and is of historical significance,” wrote Sir Gerald. “It is a valued emblem and is an important piece of memorabilia. But more than simply a piece of memorabilia, a thing of the past, the application wishes to continue to give the cherished building a useful purpose for the present and a life for the future.”

Hwb Llansaint CIC has spent a long time obtaining deeds for the former church school and has now registered it with the Land Registry. A £10,000 grant from development agency Cwmpas has helped in this regard and also gone towards planning and architects’ costs.

A Hwb Llansaint CIC joint director, who asked not to be named, said the building had been bought by Llansaint Silver Band after the school closed. He said his grandfather was the conductor and that the band won a major British competition in the 1980s.

“I think they disbanded in 1992, and unfortunately the building fell into disrepair,” he said. “We are very passionate about it and think it could be a fantastic place. It has a lot going for it.”

Llansaint, which is on the Wales Coast Path, has lost a school, chapels, post office and shop over the years but still has a pub, church and welfare hall.

The plan now for not-for-profit Hwb Llansaint CIC is to hold a public meeting, appoint a committee, put a business case together and apply for funding to renovate the building. “Even though we’re a small village we’ve got people with impressive backgrounds,” said the joint director.

He added that the intention was for the refurbished building to operate in harmony rather than compete with the welfare hall – something which concerned objectors to the application.

Carmarthenshire County Council planning officers recommended the scheme, which will include additional windows and an extended rear outhouse becoming a kitchen, storage area and toilets, for approval and it has been unanimously approved by the planning committee.

There won’t be dedicated parking but highways officers did not consider the proposal would “materially increase” the number of trips given its previous school use.

Planning committee chairman, Cllr Tyssul Evans, said his grandmother attended the former school 95 years ago. “It’s strange to look at how the building has deteriorated over that time,” he said.