Waterfall Country

Community Engagement Plan 2020 – 21

Introduction Historically there has been a lack of communication from stakeholders to the community regarding the projects and initiatives underway to tackle over-tourism issues. This has led to misunderstanding and resentment from the community who were unaware of the work undertaken, the different responsibilities of the different organisations or how they could contribute. Communication within the area has been better since Facebook groups have been used, but not all residents use this platform and often do not get the information they require.

Engagement between partners will encourage cooperative working and community involvement. The key partners in this area are the Community Councils of and Pontnedfechan Council and Penderyn and Councils. The newly set up community group Proactive Pontneddfechan is proving invaluable for engaging with residents and identifying and managing events and celebrations to bring people together.

Newsletter A quarterly newsletter, which can have additional shorter publications if needed, has already proved a successful way of disseminating information from stakeholders and within the community about the projects underway and has helped to promote community led initiatives.

 This is leading to greater understanding about the complexity of delivering these projects,  the different responsibilities of the authorities and stakeholders involved  information and stories about the natural environment and heritage  a platform for community groups and members to advertise events and share activities.

Online Survey – Connection to Nature COVID 19 has provided a unique environment where residents are forced to stay within their locality and exercise there. In normal circumstances the area would already see a high number of visitors but during the pandemic the lock down has prevented this. Has this had an impact on how residents view and connect to their local environment? Has this made them appreciate their area more and if so in what way?

The survey (run in collaboration with a PhD student from Cardiff) is designed to capture the change if any in connection and understanding that residents have to their local natural environment. From these results themes may be seen which can identify future environmental community led projects.

Maintaining Footpath Infrastructure/Warden and Environmental Work Parties Due to lock down and footpath closures the essential footpath maintenance that would usually be carried out has not been able to be undertaken. It is anticipated that there will be a heavy work load for the BBNPA Wardens and volunteers to take on to ensure that all paths are in a suitable condition to be used by residents and visitors once the footpath network is re-opened. Historically there has been a feeling of dissatisfaction towards the damage to footpaths caused by high visitor numbers, but it’s not well known how limited in resources are the Warden/volunteer teams. Community involvement in re-opening footpaths and taking on environmental projects would:

 expand the ability to successfully manage the area  Create opportunities to work alongside Warden teams to increase skills in basic land management  Give the opportunity to feel included and take ownership in caring for the natural environment.  develop stand-alone community work parties if there was sufficient uptake with support given from BBNPA for training as necessary.

Litter Picking Events and Litter Team Litter is a perennial problem in Waterfall Country due to high visitor numbers and lack of understanding of the environment they will be visiting and that it is a wild environment with limited facilities including litter bins. Understandably residents often feel frustrated and angry with the litter in the area including along footpaths and feel powerless to prevent this. Though the Wardens and volunteers regularly litter pick, the size of the area and limited resources mean that this may not happen as frequently as needed.

Outside the National Park in Pontneddfechan litter is often a problem as this falls outside the remit of the Warden/volunteer teams. Due to the size of Waterfall Country it is often difficult to spot littering/Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) issues, whereas residents who are in the area may well be able to be more reactive.

An organised Litter Picking Team comprised of residents would:

 enable the community to regularly organise litter picks across the whole Waterfall Country  be able to focus on areas where are there are high levels of littering.  have a supply of correct equipment and PPE available  give advice on health and safety  work with the Police on best practices in how to deal, or not, with problem members of the public as well as how to report any ASB they may well witness..

Proactive Pontneddfechan have been in discussions with Keep Tidy to become a litter picking hub where residents and visitors can borrow litter picking equipment. A core team was identified prior to COVID – 19 and the team was going to launch at the postponed Activity Day. This initiative will be re-started as soon as it is safe to do so.

Verge and Village Planting Projects Regular verge maintenance is done by the councils but the area has little sense of its own identity and currently the green spaces are largely covered with grass. This has little value to the residents and provides minimal habitat for wildlife. The waterfalls, the gorges and their surrounding environment are outstandingly beautiful and the communities that surround them should be able to reflect this in their environment.

An area-wide planting scheme has been identified and funding being sourced from various bodies including the Keep Wales Tidy’s Local Places for Nature Scheme. Approval has been granted from the local authority and BBNPA planners. The project will:

 develop wildflower verges to increase biodiversity and support pollinators  plant fruit trees and other native trees  seasonal planters in all communities to raise the profile of the area and encourage a feeling of ownership  develop areas for planting edible gardens that can be accessed by all

If an area looks cared for then this encourages respect and care for that area by all who use it.

SWOAPG (South Wales Outdoor Activity Provider Group) Community Activity Day There are tensions between the residents around the village hall and elsewhere in Pontneddfechan and the outdoor activity groups who use the Sychryd and Mellte for gorge walking and for climbing. At the height of the season the area is often full to capacity with issues such as littering, toileting, inappropriate parking and Anti Social Behaviour seemingly attributed to these groups. It is felt that these groups damage the environment, disturb residents and bring no benefit to the community.

South Wales Outdoor Activity Providers Group (SWOAPG) was set up about a decade ago to address these issues and has developed a code of conduct that all members using the area must adhere to. This is continually updated and developed in partnership with the main landowners, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and BBNPA. This has led to better behaviour from organised groups in the area and a minimising of the impact of these activities on the environment.

A community event led by SWOAPG just before the start of the season each year would:

 give residents a free taster of the activities that many people come into the area to experience  enable SWOAPG to publicise how they work and the measures in place to protect the community and environment  let residents know the point of contact for any ASB they witness  work in partnership with Proactive Pontneddfechan, BBNPA and other groups to run other activities that are less active to ensure inclusivity, but all activities encourage people to connect to their environment.

It is hoped to organise this event at the before the start of the 2021, season COVID permitting.

Community Events – Seasonal Celebrations There is living memory of regular community events and festivals in Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte which brought communities together. Without regular events there are little opportunities for people strengthen the communal ties and get to know each other. This has led to fracturing of relationships between communities, difficulties in organising cooperative working and lack of opportunity to celebrate the unique history, heritage, myth and environment of the area.

Proactive Pontneddfechan held a very successful Christmas fayre and parade on 1st December 2019. This brought together many people from across the village, especially those living at either end who have little chance to interact with each other. The success of this highlighted the desire from the community to find other opportunities to celebrate on a more regular basis and for this to be a community focussed event and promoted to visitors. There is much interest in events such as:

 myths and storytelling due to the high quantity of local legends  history and heritage events focusing on the industry in the area  music and food  seasonal celebrations such as Christmas, May Day, Summer Festival.  oral history – collecting memories and images and producing a digital story. There is a potential to pilot this project to see if there is interest in undertaking an much larger project. Residents would be given the opportunity to learn skills in oral history recording to more easily facilitate capturing residents who may be reluctant to speak to someone they don’t know.

Waterfall Country Futures Community Interest Organisation

BBNPA supported Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte Community Council in employing Severn Wye consultancy to research the viability of setting up of a Waterfall Country-wide community interest organisation to capture visitor spend for the benefit of residents. It is estimated that 300,000 people visit the area annually bring with them a potential spend of £10m. Much of this money leaves with them due to there being insufficient spending opportunities. The Community Council were successful in getting funding from Pen y Cymmoedd and the Sustainable Develepment Fund for this project which all covers all areas known as Waterfall Country including Pontneddfechan, Ystradfellte, Penderyn, Rhigos, Glynneath and Coelbren.

Phase 1 has been completed with communities, businesses and councils consulted and many opportunities identified. The next phase is underway and will:

 invite interested parties to form a steering group  decide on legal structure and constitution to form a country wide umbrella organisation  agree on initial projects  identify funding requirement and suitable funders  identify training needs and suitable training establishments  develop a Waterfall Country brand that can be used by all business and identifies their  products as high quality, high environmental standards and locally produced  invite businesses and producers to become partners

This initiative is due to be completed by the end of 2020 having set up a functioning company, instigated initial projects and funding secured.

Pontneddfechan Village Hall Toilets The village hall is situated by the highly popular Dinas Rock that is the focus of gorge walking and climbing groups plus several walking trails start from this location. Due to limited parking and no facilities, issues often arise that have a negative impact on residents nearby. The include:

 Littering  Inappropriate toileting  Obstructive parking  Nudity, when groups get changed close to houses

SWOAPG have strict rules against these behaviours from group but groups are forced to toilet where they are able due to lack of facilities. BBNPA are working with the Ystradfellte and Pontneddfechan Community Council and the Village Hall Council to undertake a project to provide external toilets and showers to the village hall. The project will: • be as environmentally sustainable as possible with rain water harvesting and solar panels and built from local sustainable materials • pay as use to generate finances for upkeep and community projects • refurbish and extend car park • update and repair village hall

Several other aspirational community toilets have been identified in Llangors and Talgarth and visits to these and members of the organisations managing them are the next step post COVID.

Other Initiatives Supporting the wider project and the work of the Visitor Management Officer to organise focus groups, consultations and public meetings for projects in:

 Transport  Parking proposal  Traffic Control Measures

Gunpowder Works

The remains of the Glynneath Works on the Mellte river are designated by Cadw as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Owned by the BBNPA initial stabilisation works took place in 2000 with a much bigger HLF project started in 2016 to stabilise and conserve these precious buildings.

A core part of the HLF project was interpretation of the site and to engage with local communities. This was to share their local heritage, collect memories and educate the younger generation. The community engagement of that project saw:

• Heritage skill apprenticeships for local people to gain conservation skills • Voluntary wardens scheme • Community archaeology week • School visits and activities from over 400 local children • Work experience for secondary students • Guided walks and history talks • Public consultation events • Reminiscence events • Community consultation events • Local history research group • Recording oral histories of local people

The final phase of this project is to provide interpretation on site to inform people of the buildings’ use and their history. This has been met with a certain amount of negativity as it is thought that this would attract more visitors to an area that at present cannot cope with the current numbers.

Consultations with the community have been undertaken to see how to take this forward and a modified interpretation plan has been produced after speaking with residents. This has now been submitted to the Planning Team at BBNPA. COVID-19 2020 Non COVID-19 2021 Jan - March  Newsletter  Newsletter  Facebook updates  SWOAPG/Community Activity Day  Pre-season community/BBNPA/business meeting.  Litter Picking team set up and community picking events organised.  Warden/environment work parties inc training for land management skills.  Verge and village planting projects.  Supporting CIC for coming season.  Visitor Survey

April – June  Newsletter inc COVID updates  Newsletter  Facebook updates  May Day community  Online survey to wider celebration. community.  Warden/environment work parties.  Litter Picking  Supporting CIC for coming season.

July - Sept  Newsletter inc COVID updates  Newsletter  Consultants meeting with  Summer Community Event interested business parties.  Litter picking/environmental  Community consultation for update/maintenance work traffic orders. with Wardens.  Community support to maintain footpaths before opening.  Verge and village planting projects in PNF/Ystradfellte.

Oct – Dec  Newsletter  Newsletter  Christmas community event/  End of season online community/business review.  Setting up CIC and co-  Community Christmas Event ordinating with  Village Hall toilet project – parking/transport updates. plan delivery for 2022.  Village Hall toilet project start inc consultation and visits to other comm groups.