Parks will share £7m investment from link-up

A BID to link parks across the Valleys region has taken a further step forward. Six Valleys parks and heritage sites are the first to be named as Discovery Gateways sites for the Valleys Regional Park.

They are set to share in £7m of investment as part of the work to create a regional park in a bid to make the most of the area’s rich natural and cultural heritage.

Alun Davies, chairman of the ministerial taskforce for the South Wales Valleys, named Dare Valley Country Park, Caerphilly Castle, Cwmcarn Forest, Blaenavon World Heritage Visitor Centre, Cyfarthfa Park and Bryngarw Country Park as the first sites.

Mr Davies said: “The Valleys Regional Park is at the heart of our ambition to help Valleys communities maximise their rich natural and cultural heritage to deliver real social, economic and environmental benefits.

“Our Valleys contain some fantastic natural landscapes and cultural treasures. This Valleys Regional Park will kick-start work to raise their profile internationally, while better connecting them to our towns and villages and encouraging more active lifestyles.”

The aim of the investment is to support the development of a high-quality network of uplands, woodlands, nature reserves, country parks, rivers, reservoirs and canals, as well as heritage sites, and connect them with towns and villages.

Updating AMs on the Our Valleys, Our Future delivery plan, Mr Davies said priorities at the heart of the task force’s work were based on feedback received from people living and working in the Valleys. They had said they wanted good jobs and the skills to do them, better public services and a focus on their local community.

“As part of this work, I have visited other regional parks across Europe, and the Discovery Sites announced today have a great deal to offer visitors,” he said.

“From the fantastic mountain biking on offer in Cwmcarn Forest to the industrial history of Blaenavon and the pageantry of Caerphilly Castle, there is so much to offer. With this investment, we will work to make these sites world-renowned, while doing more to attract people locally to the landscapes and heritage on their doorstep. I intent to announce further sites in the coming weeks.”

Geraint Thomas, Merthyr Tydfil Council’s cabinet member for Regeneration and Public Protection, said the council was delighted that Cyfarthfa was going to play a crucial role in the Valleys Regional Park.

“We, of course, have our own plans to transform the Cyfarthfa area into a heritage centre of international significance,” he added.

A report, The Crucible, published earlier this year by the Design Commission for Wales, called for an investment of at least £50m over the next decade to develop a modern interpretive centre that would “showcase Merthyr Tydfil’s standing as the world’s largest centre of iron production in the 18th and 19th centuries”.