Eight acres may be just the thing for gardening volunteers after lockdown
TREFOREST residents are being asked to imagine what land on Meadow Street land could be used for.
“It’s really important for us as a town council that we do not what we want, but what the community wants,” said Pontypridd community development officer, Helen Williams.
The eight-acre plot could house several projects. Ideas already put forward include a nature market, a bike swap and a growing project for local food banks.
Miss Williams has also been contacted by organisations for adults with learning disabilities and the Probation Service to discuss potential schemes.
“I don’t just see it as a community garden but bigger than that,” she said. Her aim is to create an eco-friendly space that would be self-sustaining and produce zero emissions.
The land used to be privately owned and run as a growing project but recently came back under council ownership.
The previous owners lost their volunteers, so the area has gone untended for nearly eight years and will need a lot of work to transform it into a usable space.
“It was really overgrown, and it was a real mess after the floods, the site was totally wrecked like a tsunami had been there, there’s debris everywhere,” added Miss Williams.
She said: “It is basically a money pit; the money is going to be swallowed.”
Following the consultation, Miss Williams will apply for council and National Lottery funding to bring the local people’s ideas to life.
The area will likely be developed in phases. Lockdown means the council is unable to allow volunteers onto the land so it may not be ready for this year’s growing season.
But Miss Williams is keen to complete something this year, as she believes this project is what people will need coming out of the lockdown.
“Not everybody’s got a garden, not everybody’s got people to talk to and hopefully, if we can do it this year, it will provide opportunities for people to meet, in a safe environment, to discuss their worries,” she added.
“These volunteers who want to be part of it need to be stakeholders because if you feel like you’ve got a stake in it, then you’re going to do everything you can, to look after it,” she said.
- To have your say on how the land is used, contact Helen Williams at helen.williams@pontypriddtowncouncil.gov.uk
