Dare Valley Trout Fishing
Pen y Cymoedd area of benefit has some of the most beautiful outdoor parks and walks that attract people from all over Wales. The Pen y Cymoedd Board are keen to support bold and exciting projects which maximises what is on offer for visitors from near and far, whilst ensuring access to funding to support plans.
Dare Valley Trout Fishery director Neil Jones has visited Fishing lakes all over the UK and could see the huge potential in a redundant reservoir situated at Dare Valley Country Park to offer something different to people living close by and further afield. He worked closely with Business Wales to pull his plans together and was successful in securing a private lease on the reservoir from Welsh Water. He approached Pen y Cymoedd for support in developing the lake and surrounding land to ensure it was safe and accessible for all abilities. Dare Valley Trout Fishery was successful in receiving a loan of £25,000 from Pen y Cymoedd to support the development of the area and you will notice pathways and fencing already installed, with fishing platforms easily accessible for those with restricted mobility. He hopes for the reservoir to welcome its first visitors in Spring 2022. We wish Neil all the luck over the coming months in finalising his plans before opening in the new year.
“Neil has worked tirelessly for the last year on developing his plans and has shown perseverance and commitment to his plans at every step. He has worked closely with Business Wales and Pen y Cymoedd throughout and provided clear evidence that this is something that will provide something different to those visiting the Country Park and we are inspired by his hard work to date and excited to see him opening the gates to his first visitors in Spring 2022” Michelle Noble Enterprise Support Officer PyC
Afan Valley Bike Shed
With the Afan Valley attracting over 200,000 visitors annually, the Afan Forest Park is one of the fastest growing mountain bike centres in Britain, offering some of the world leading mountain bike trails and walks locally. Afan Valley Bike Shed was established in 2012, trading from their van in a layby just outside of the Forest Park. The business grew quickly and they have called the visitor centre at Afan Forest Park home ever since, expanding into other rooms as they have become available.
Their vision has always been to put Afan Valley Forest Park on the map for people visiting from across the UK, however to compete with larger mountain bike centres, they have worked tirelessly on plans for two years to utilise disused land at the site to create a purpose built mountain bike centre, with workshops and classrooms to pass on skills to all ages locally.
Pen y Cymoedd were proud to support Afan Valley Bike Shed with a flexible loan of £25,001 as a contribution towards their larger plans to develop the site. The Pen y Cymoedd Board recognised the importance such a development would have on the tourism offer in the Valley and are committed to supporting plans with favourable terms of funding initially, whilst recycling money back into the fund to support many more projects in across the fund area in the future.
“Victoria and Ben are a great example of having an exciting vision that could make a huge difference. They have worked on their plans for over two years and with patience, perseverance and hard work have secured the support from many people locally and further afield to help realise this vision for themselves, other businesses in the Afan Valley and am sure it will add to what attracts even more visitors to the valley. We are excited to be able to support them in their plans to develop a purpose built mountain bike centre and wish them all the luck as building work finally starts ready for competition early 2022” Michelle Noble Enterprise Support Officer PyC