City of Cardiff Council has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Parc Cefn Onn Access Project. Parc Cefn Onn is a Grade 2 listed historic country park in the Lisvane ward.
The project aims to restore and interpret the historic Dingle at the heart of the garden, improve access and provide facilities within the park to encourage people with a wide range of abilities to visit and use the park as a gateway to the wider countryside beyond the city.
Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Bob Derbyshire, said: “The news that we have received a stage 1 pass for our application is incredibly encouraging. Work will now begin on preparing a detailed submission to the HLF for approval and if successful we can get down to the business of ensuring that the natural beauty, heritage and social history of this unique park is conserved and enhanced for everyone to enjoy.”
“I must also pay tribute to the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn. We have been working closely with them to deliver improvements to the way in which the park is managed and maintained and the contribution made by the group has been a catalyst for the production of this Parks for People application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and the stage 1 pass.”
Beyond the historic garden, new footpaths, signage, viewpoints and biodiversity improvements will elevate the site’s country park status and promote links to the river corridor paths which underpin the city’s sustainable transport network, including the footpaths and bridleways linking to the neighbouring authority of Caerphilly.
Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales, Jennifer Stewart, said: “We’re happy to support these initial plans that will safeguard both the natural and built heritage that can be found in Parc Cefn Onn. Our recent State of UK Public Parks report revealed how incredibly important our parks are to our physical and emotional well-being but also that they face an uncertain future. It’s exciting to see how this new investment is going some way towards helping parks like Parc Cefn Onn find new ways of funding and maintaining them so that they are protected for people of all ages to enjoy. We look forward to seeing how plans develop.”
The award of a stage 1 pass will allow the council, in conjunction with the Friends and other partners, to prepare a detailed submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £348,000 of funding towards an estimated total project cost of £540,000. Subject to HLF approval, project delivery will be from 2016 onwards.
