Back in 2018, the Friends of Aberdare Park approached us with a bold plan to create a splashpad in the beautiful setting of Aberdare Park.
They had:
- Worked with local authority for planning and lease
- Talked to users of the park and carried out consultation with local community and families
- Obtained quotes and carefully costed the whole development
The work began to secure funding and the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund were proud to support them with a grant of £143,994.25. The total cost of the project was over £300,000 and they had secured match funding as well as doing lots of fundraising themselves.
Though a small group they had a business and project plan, a plan for recruiting volunteers and paying for ongoing maintenance and insurance and 3 years cash flow forecasts.
Developing and opening the splashpad during a global pandemic was a challenge but they opened the splashpad in 2021 with an official opening ceremony in 2021.
“this project represents what can be achieved when a group of dedicated volunteers work with the community, local authority and various funders. It was ambitious and the impact is clear to see now, already a beautiful, well-used park for a variety of users the addition of the splashpad means an extra facility to encourage families into green spaces and provides a low cost / free resource to enrich young people’s lives. As well as public access they reserve it for quiet sessions for Cynon Valley PALS and plan events there throughout the year” – Kate Breeze, Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund
If you value this as a resource and have some time to spare, they are always looking for volunteers and they would love to hear from anyone that has even a small amount of time to help them out.