FRIENDS OF CRAIG GWLADUS
OCTOBER 3rd 2018
£3,750 – MICRO FUND – FEB 2017
Craig Gwladus is a woodland and country park, planted ancient woodland site, providing a haven for wildlife, birds and flora and it’s well-used by local people and visitors. It is a significant public green space at the southern end of the Neath Valley and has the active Friends group working to secure its future. This community green space application had the potential to benefit many people and deliver a range of well-being and skills development benefits.
They applied for 5 benches, a secure container and artist sessions with schoolchildren to design and develop a mural for the park and met the following prospectus points:
Making the area more visually attractive and useful
Restoring and recreating historic, native habitats
Natural assets valued and developed across the area
Create a sense of community ownership of their environment as an asset place to go for recreation, learning and enjoyment
“The project has helped to kick start a revival of the park’s fortunes, reviving energy and interest in the park from local schools, the Friends and wider community. Regular volunteer days are now held in the park, made a lot easier with container for storing tools and materials. Involvement with the schools through this funded project has helped to ignite interest for other future projects including development of a school’s education pack and trail. We were able to deliver more than expected with community arts workshops due to generosity of artist’s time. The mural makes a real statement from main car park and has been much admired.” Quote from Ian Davies – Friends of Craig Gwladus
What has happened:
Secure storage container purchased benefitting voluntary work of the Friends of Group
Artis workshops with schools leading to design of mural
5 new benches made from reclaimed timber in the park built and installed around the park.
Due to enthusiasm of schools and artist and with extra funding from Local Authrity the group have been able to involve Comprehensive school pupils also to develop a larger mural that will wrap around the whole container
The Friends of Group were able to use own funds to purchase shelving for container
The Friends of Group have now been awarded a total of £76,000 from HLF and NRW for a special project in the park that aims to engage local people in managing and planning the future of the park.
Pen y Cymoedd “The project went really well and we are really pleased that a small Micro Fund grant helped the group to revive interest and energy, made real improvemnets to park and involved local school children in engaging with the park. A huge congratulations on the new grant funding and we wish them all the best with their next venture.”
The Fund was established by energy company Vattenfall to benefit the communities hosting the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm across the upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. It exists to support local people, groups and organisations to invest in themselves, their ideas and their communities.
The Community Fund has a substantial annual budget that is index-linked, meaning it increases in line with inflation. As an example, this equated to around £2.5 million in 2025. The Fund will continue to support communities until 2043, creating long-term opportunities for growth, resilience and positive change.
The Fund is managed by an independent, locally based not-for-profit Community Interest Company. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with strong local connections and delivered by a small but dedicated staff team with extensive community engagement experience. We are here to help ensure the Fund delivers on the vision and priorities of local communities.
Over the next 10 years, the Fund is focusing on investment in people, places and businesses — helping the Valleys to thrive, driving bold ideas, supporting transformation and creating lasting impact for current and future generations.