Historic Cardiff Park Awarded £459,000 Heritage Lottery Fund Grant

Parc Cefn Onn, a Grade 2 listed historic country park in north Cardiff has been awarded a £459,000 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The funding will be used to: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

• Develop the historic summerhouse as a garden feature using it to interpret the story of the historic gardens.
• Upgrade the historic Dingle rockery, including the restoration of historic views.
• Upgrade the main pond in the park.
• Make access improvements including upgrading paths to be suitable for mobility scooters; providing ramped, wheelchair friendly access to the upper picnic lawn and providing 4 x 4 electric mobility scooters (and charging points).
• Develop links with local health providers to encourage local use of the park to improve management of chronic health conditions.
• Improve seating provision to accommodate the less mobile.
• Upgrade toilet facilities in the park.
• Carry out nature and biodiversity improvements.
• Provide new interpretation and education offers including improved signage information, creation of an outdoor classroom area and new interpretation and educational materials to encourage access by educators, therapists and carers.
• Enhance the maintenance regime of the park.
• Create a 3 year part-time Ranger post to support the management of the site based mobility scooters. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Bob Derbyshire, said: “I’m delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has chosen to support this fantastic project which will ensure that that the natural beauty, heritage and social history of this unique park is conserved, enhanced and more easily accessible for everyone.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I must pay tribute to all the partners who have worked so closely with us to bring the project to this point, including the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn, Cardiff Access Focus Group, our own Occupational Therapy teams and also North Cardiff Medical Centre. Parks can have such a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our communities and the strength of these partnerships will really help ensure that those benefits are maximised for the people of Cardiff.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The funding for Parc Cefn Onn comes as part of an announcement of £30.7million for 16 parks across the UK. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

HLF’s Chair Sir Peter Luff said: “It’s clear that our parks are important to us in countless ways – from physical and mental wellbeing to a connection with nature and our heritage. It’s also clear however that public parks must work in new ways to respond to the funding challenges they face and this investment, thanks to National Lottery players, will help them to do this. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We’re delighted to announce this funding today, especially in time for the tenth Love Parks Week, and look forward to a bright future for these parks.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Expressing his delight with the news, Gareth Thomas, Chairman of the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn, said: “On behalf of the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn I’d like to acknowledge the significant work that Council staff have done in putting together such an excellent funding bid. The innovative and all-inclusive nature of the proposed work will really emphasise the historical and peaceful aspects of the Park. We are really looking forward to continuing to work with the Council to put these exciting plans into practice to help restore and improve this much loved Welsh Country Park on the edge of Cardiff. It will take a couple of years to complete and will benefit visitors long into the future. Diolch yn fawr Cardiff Council and Heritage Lottery!” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​