Wrexham Parks Strategy 2009

Parks Strategy 2009

Contents

Executive Summary Vision Statement 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Scope of the Strategy 3.0 Strategic Context 4.0 Why do we need parks? 5.0 Legislation 6.0 Description of the Parks 7.0 Ecological value of the parks 8.0 Development of parks in Wrexham 9.0 Park Distribution 10.0 Quality and standards of parks 11.0 Performance Indicators 12.0 Funding of the parks 13.0 Management of the Parks 14.0 Park Management Skills 15.0 Use of the Parks- Visitor Numbers 16.0 Use of the Parks- Visitors 17.0 Use of the Parks- Community Involvement 18.0 Use of the Parks-Events 19.0 Use of the Parks- Environmental Education 20.0 Population and health 21.0 - 25.0 Consultation 26.0 Summary of Consultation 27.0 Aims of the strategy 28.0 -36.0 Delivery of the strategy-Action Plan 40.0 Monitoring and Evaluation Appendices

2 Executive Summary Wrexham’s Parks are very heavily used and their popularity continues to rise, close to three quarters of a million visits were made to the parks in the year 2007/8 (1st April 2007 to 31st March 2008). Attendance at the events programme at the parks last year was 32,000 people and over 5,000 children took part in environmental educational activities in the parks. People gave over 7,000 volunteer hours to the parks that year. These figures show how well used the parks are and the quality of some of our parks is demonstrated by the four Green Flag national awards we hold for Alyn Waters Country Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Bellevue Park.

Wrexham has probably some of the best parks in Wales, if the Green Flag criteria is used and parks and open spaces are probably the most heavily used of Council facilities (People’s Voice Panel 2006).

Consultation shows us we still have work to do to improve the parks, dog fouling and litter in some parks remains a concern. There is a need to improve the quality of Acton Park and Moss Valley Country Park and we still need to improve the quality of the physical facilities to help disabled people better use the parks.

Parks provide a great opportunity to help us become fitter and healthier, they are on the doorstep of most people in Wrexham, they are free and they are accessible. We know from surveys, once people start to use the parks they become regular users. The challenge is to get the people who are not using them now, to start using them.

Parks also have a role as outdoor sports facilities, places to run and cycle or hold large events such as ‘Race For Life’.

We need to continue to improve the information we provide about parks, what each park has to offer and how to get there, remain basic needs that visitors say we need to improve upon.

The events, volunteer and educational programmes for visitors, adults and children, continues to be very popular and helps raise environmental awareness in the local community.

The growth in use of the parks means we need to increasingly consider the needs of wildlife and to improve the wildlife value of the parks through good management to encourage people to use the paths and leave some areas quieter.

We will not put in place dog control orders excluding dogs from the parks or require dogs on leads in the parks at the present, but this maybe reviewed in the future.

The play areas in the parks are some of the most popular in the County Borough and receive heavy wear and tear. We need to continue to invest in

3 the play areas and consider youth facilities in parks such as Acton, where there is space and an appropriate location can be agreed.

The Friends of the Parks are now developing across many of the parks, they have an important role in helping raise funds to support the parks and to provide advice on how we manage and develop the parks.

The challenge over the next five years will be to manage the parks network with a declining budget and rising expectations and visitor numbers.

4 Vision for our parks Wrexham’s parks will be clean, accessible places, havens for wildlife and safe for people to use. They will be well used both by local people and visitors and people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities will enjoy visiting them, whatever the season.

The Parks will be maintained to a high standard, protected from inappropriate development and will be for quiet enjoyment. Local people will feel a sense of ownership of their local park and will be involved in their management and care, whether as a friend of the park, park user, or as a volunteer.

The parks will be places for learning about wildlife and the environment, places to use to keep fit and healthy and places to escape the noise and bustle of life. The people of Wrexham will feel a sense of pride in their parks and be aware of the range of good quality facilities available to use and enjoy. Access to the parks will be free and people will be encouraged to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to the parks. Good quality information on what to see and do in the parks will be available in a variety of media.

5 1.0 Introduction 1.1 This is the first Parks Strategy for Wrexham County Borough as the parks development has been guided through the Countryside Recreation Strategy (1993) and Countryside Strategy (2002) in the past. The strategy covers the period 2009 to 2014.

1.2 The purpose of developing a Parks Strategy is to develop a shared vision between Wrexham County Borough Council members, the local community and park users of what our parks should look like and how we will use them over the next 5 years. It was felt due to their size, complexity and competing demands placed upon them, a Parks Strategy was needed to guide their development.

1.3 The Parks Strategy seeks to define the value of our parks and create a policy framework to enable us to protect, enhance and make the parks more accessible. It will help to ensure the parks enhance the quality and diversity of our wildlife and landscape. The strategy will help people to understand what role they can play in caring for their parks.

1.4 The Parks Strategy provides the framework and the Action Plan sets out how we will achieve the work. The park management plans translate the over all aims of the strategy into specific actions on the ground. Where grants are indicated as a source of revenue, a specific grant has not been allocated to each project as grants information becomes quickly dated. Any project requiring large funds would have to be supported though grant aid.

1.5 The strategy is non statutory, but is set within the framework of key national and local strategies and policies.

1.6 The management and delivery of the strategy will be through the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service, in partnership with other Wrexham County Borough Council Departments, Countryside Council For Wales, Community Councils, Friends Groups, community groups and other interested partners.

6 2.0 Scope and purpose of the Strategy 2.1 The strategy considers the management and development of the 11 Urban Parks and Country Parks of Wrexham County Borough. These are:­

� Alyn Waters Country Park, � Ty Mawr Country Park, � Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Park, � Minera Lead Mines Country Park, � Stryt Las Park, � Bonc yr Hafod Country Park, � Moss Valley Park, � Acton Park, � Ponciau Park, � Bryn Kinalt Park � Bellevue Park.

2.2 All these parks are relatively large areas of open space, owned and managed by Wrexham County Borough Council, with fairly complex management needs, many of them have permanent staff based in the park. The strategy does not cover other areas of publicly managed informal open space.

2.3 There is a Wrexham County Borough Allotment Strategy (2007), Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan (2007), Tree Strategy (2008) and Outdoor Fixed Equipment Play Strategy (2009) and Play Strategy (2009). These strategies interlink with and support the Parks Strategy.

3.0 Strategic Context National Policy framework 3.1 Parks support a number of national policies related to health, the environment and climate change, either directly or indirectly. Some of the key strategies are outlined below.

3.2 Climbing Higher, the Welsh Assembly Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity, 2005 3.2.1 The Parks Strategy 2009 supports the aims of “Climbing Higher”, the Welsh Assembly Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity, 2005. Climbing Higher is a key document with stretching targets for the health of people living in Wales. The strategy focuses on improving the health of the nation through improving physical access to green space and sporting facilities and encouraging children and adults to take more exercise.

3.2.2 Relevant key targets are:­ Target 2: All children of primary school age will participate in sport and physical activity for at least 60 minutes, five times a week. Target 10: The percentage of the people in Wales using the Welsh natural environment for outdoor activities will increase from 36% to 60%. Target 12: No one should live more than a six minute walk (300m) from their nearest natural greenspace.

7 3.2.3 The strategy aims to increase physical activity across all ages, gender and social groups and to realise the synergy between sport and the natural environment for the people of Wales.

3.3 The Environment Strategy for Wales, 2006 (the Welsh Assembly Strategy for the Environment) 3.3.1 The Environment Strategy sets out as a vision that by 2026, “we want to see our distinctive Welsh environment thriving and contributing to the economic and social well-being and health of all of the people of Wales”. The strategy sets out important principles and outcomes expected from us all, in particular:­ “Individuals understand and are enabled to take responsibility for their environmental impact; changes are apparent in behaviour”. Indicators for this outcome include percentage of people taking actions to improve the environment and trends in the number of people taking part in environmental volunteering.

3.3.2 Another important principle within the strategy is “There will be sustainable, widespread and equitable access to the countryside and coast, which recognises the need for a balance between tranquil areas and areas supporting larger numbers of people and a range of activities. Damaging access will be discouraged”.

3.3.3 The strategy focuses on working to increase equality of opportunity in physical access by identifying and removing inappropriate barriers to access. The strategy also addresses the need to access green space by encouraging the retention or provision of green spaces in urban areas and supporting communities to take ownership of their local environment and making improvements to it.

3.4 Local Plans- Wrexham’s Community Strategy 2009 – 2020 Wrexham’s community vision is set out in The Community Strategy for the Wrexham County, the Wrexham’s Community Strategy 2009 – 2020.

This strategy sets the framework for the key statutory plans, such as the Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy, the Local Development Plan and the Children and Young People’s Plan that will guide how Wrexham develops, how people’s health will be improved and protected and how children and young people will be cared for. The aims of the strategy are to make Wrexham County Borough a place that:­

• Cares for people’s health – improving the health, social care and well­ being of children, young people and adults.

• Enables people to reach their full potential – providing excellent education, training and personal development opportunities and equipping people with the skills needed for work.

8 • Values citizenship, community spirit and social responsibility – where people get on well together and respect each other, take responsibility for themselves and their actions and take pride in where they live.

• Looks after its built and natural surroundings – protecting and enhancing the County Borough now and for future generations.

• Is safe – with communities where people feel safe and secure and levels of local crime and anti-social behaviour are reducing.

• Is economically prosperous – with reduced deprivation, where communities and businesses work together to create good economic opportunities now and in the future.

Of particular relevance to the Parks Strategy are the priorities:­

• Respect and promote built and natural environments, parks and green- spaces for everyone to access and enjoy; keeping them well-kept and attractive.

• Enable and encourage people to be active citizens and get involved in their local community.

• Encourage the provision of a wide range of cultural, sporting and physical activity, heritage and shopping opportunities throughout the County Borough.

3.5 Caring for our Health 2008- 2011, The Health, Social Care and Well- Being Strategy for Wrexham 3.5.1 The overall vision for Caring for our Health 2008-2011 is:­ To improve the health, social inclusion and well-being of children, young people and adults.

The strategy highlights some of the following key facts:­ � Nutrition and obesity: more than half (54%) of adults living in Wales are reported as being overweight or obese. The percentage for Wrexham is 56.7%. � Circulatory disease: the proportion of people with circulatory illness in Wrexham is significantly higher than the Wales average (Wrexham ranks 7th in Wales). � Coronary Heart Disease (CHD): CHD mortality in Wrexham, is not only significantly higher than the rest of Wales but is the highest in Wales along with Caerphilly.

3.5.2 Encouraging people to become more active is an important part of the strategy and it notes ”Adults who are physically active have 20-30% reduced risk of premature death, and up to 50% reduced risk of developing major chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancers”. Currently 52% of Wrexham adults are overweight or obese.

9 3.6 Children and Young People’s Plan 2008-11 3.6.1 The Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) has been developed by Wrexham’s Children and Young People’s Framework Partnership (CYPFWP). This partnership involves a range of organisations which deliver services to children, young people and their families in Wrexham. The strategy outlines 4 underlying principles, Be Healthy and Active, Safe from Harm, Learn and Achieve, Enjoy Participate and be Valued. Twelve aims flow from these underlying principles, the most relevant to this strategy are:­

3.6.2 Aim -Encourage and enable children and young people to be active. Strategic outcome - More children and young people are physically active on a regular basis, and more are walking and cycling to school safely.

3.6.3 Aim- Enable children and young people to grow and develop by participating in stimulating activities. Strategic outcome - More high quality leisure, sporting and cultural opportunities are easily accessible locally to children and young people, and more of them participate in these activities. More children and young people feel good about the places they play in, have easy access to quality play spaces within their own communities and use those spaces regularly.

3.6.4 Aim- Involve parents, carers, families, partners and communities in valuing and supporting education, skills and training for children and young people. Strategic outcome - The full range of the achievements of children and young people are widely valued, appropriately accredited and overtly celebrated. More parents, carers and communities value lifelong learning and are involved in supporting the learning and skills of children and young people at all stages.

3.7 Countryside Strategies 3.7.1 A Countryside Recreation Strategy was written in 1993 to guide the development of Country Parks and other related countryside recreational facilities. The Wrexham Countryside Strategy (1997), a more ambitious plan in terms of its scope covered landscape, nature conservation, countryside access, environmental education, visitor management and community involvement. This was updated in 2002 and new targets set, country parks and some targets for the urban parks were included as part of the strategy. These countryside strategies have largely guided the development of the country parks over the last 16 years, enabling the parks to develop services, visitor facilities and improve the quality and care of the landscapes. The urban parks began a programme of restoration and improvement in 2000 with Bellevue Park, followed by the Ponciau Banks Park in 2008/9.

10 4.0 Why Do we need Parks ? There are many reasons for providing parks. • Parks provide important homes for wildlife in our towns and villages. • Parks improve the quality of the landscape, through their trees, woodlands, open greenspace and good quality buildings. • Parks provide help in reducing the effects of climate change through reducing the effects of the heat in summer and flooding through absorbing heavy rainfall. • Parks can help absorb carbon dioxide and improve the quality of the local air, through the trees and woodland. • Parks provide wildlife habitats, rivers and ponds to enable them to be easily accessed and studied as part of environmental educational studies for schools and colleges and as locations for Foundation Phase Learning and Forest Schools experiences. • Parks provide freely accessible open space for improving health and fitness, through walking, cycling, riding and sporting activities. • Parks provide community facilities and a focus for community activities, such as fun days and carnivals. • Parks provide opportunities for volunteering and practical experience of nature and caring for animals. • Parks provide places for children to play, learn about nature and roam safely. • Parks provide safe routes to schools away from traffic. • Parks provide a quiet greenspace for people to enjoy and relax in. • Parks have a role in improving people’s mental health and well-being. • Good quality greenspace can encourage businesses to locate in an area, it adds value to houses in that place, it can boost tourism and economic regeneration. • Parks can provide a protective environment for the conservation and interpretation of landscapes of archaeological and historic value.

5.0 Legislation A variety of legislation guides the work of the parks staff, some of it is listed below:­ � National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 � Countryside Act 1968 � Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 � Occupiers Liability Act 1957 and 1984 � The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 � Conservation (Natural Habitats & c) Regulations 1994 � Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000

6.0 Description of Wrexham’s Parks 6.1 Each of the parks are different, Ty Mawr Country Park is the only park with farm animals, situated between the Cefn Viaduct and the River Dee. The park has a visitor centre, shop and picnic facilities. The park is mainly unimproved meadows and grassland, with an all weather path network. Alyn Waters Country Park, a former sand and gravel quarry, is the largest of Wrexham’s parks covering 400 acres across the Alyn Valley. The park is a mixture of

11 woodland and grassland, with a visitor centre, education centre and café. The park has a large network of cycle routes. Ty Mawr Country Park will become part of the Poncysyllte Aqueduct Dee Valley World Heritage Buffer Zone, if designation is confirmed.

6.2 Nant Mill Visitor Centre and park has displays, a mole tunnel and good visitor centre facilities, such as toilets and picnic tables adjacent to the river Clywedog.

6.3 Bellevue Park, Acton Park and Ponciau Banks Park are more urban parks serving the large town population. The Ponciau Banks Park was refurbished in 2008/9 and provides good quality youth facilities, such as tennis courts, BMX track, skate park and play area. It also possesses bowling greens and a refurbished pavilion, suitable for events and activities. Bellevue Park also provides a high standard of facilities with tennis courts, bowling greens, football pitch, children’s play areas and keep fit equipment, adjacent to the path network.

6.4 Acton Park is a historic park land landscape, with a central lake, park land trees and path network, surrounded by a large urban population. There are tennis courts and a bowling green.

6.5 Bonc yr Hafod Country Park and Stryt Las Park are part of a site of special scientific interest, due to the presence of great crested newts. Bonc yr Hafod is a large former coal waste tip, now a community woodland. A good network of paths, suitable for walkers and horse-riders, provides access across the park.

6.6 Stryt las Park is partly owned by Wrexham County Borough Council, partly owned by North East Wales Wildlife Trust. There is a large lake managed through a weir system to control the water and a series of small ponds, within scrubland. A network of paths provides good access and a route between communities.

6.7 Moss Valley Country Park is a reclaimed colliery site, with grassland bordered by woodland providing a long narrow park between urban communities. The park is easily accessible and provides such facilities as a children’s play area, two lakes, one managed by a fishing club and a network of paths suitable for walking and cycling.

6.8 Minera Lead Mines Country Park is a reclaimed lead mining site with a mining museum and path network providing access down the Clywedog Valley.

6.9 Bryn Kinalt Country Park is a former colliery site. There are wooded and grassland areas and a network of paths. There are good views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the hill.

12 7.0 Ecological value of the parks 7.1 The parks represent substantial areas of publicly accessible woodland and wildlife habitats within the County Borough. Bonc Yr Hafod Country Park and Stryt Las Park are sites of special scientific interest, due to the presence of great crested newts. Alyn Waters Country Park covers 400 acres and forms an important semi natural habitat of woodland and grassland as part of the River Alyn corridor. Many species of flowers thrive on the poor quality soils of the former sand and gravel quarry. Ty Mawr Country Park contains grazed hay meadows along the river Dee floodplain, which are a fast disappearing habitat. Nant Mill and Minera Lead Mines contain populations of bats, which are protected species. Acton Park is a historical parkland landscape with some important older tree species. The parks represent significant wildlife habitats due to the combination of woodland, unimproved grassland, scrub habitats and water features.

8.0 Development of the Parks network 8.1 Wrexham’s first park, Bellevue Park, was created in the Edwardian period and opened in 1910. The Ponciau Banks Park was brought into existence through the work of the international voluntary society for peace volunteers and the Rhos Miners Institute, using local coal miners and international volunteers in the Ponciau in the 1930’s. Acton Park is a historical parkland landscape created in the 18th century as part of the Foster Cunliffe Estate, but was not opened to the public until the 1950’s.

8.2 The majority of the remaining network of parks were created through land reclamation and the development of tourism facilities starting in the 1970’s, but mainly in the 1980’s.

8.3 Moss Valley Park was created through a major land reclamation scheme in the early 1970’s to remove coal mining scars.

8.4 Ty Mawr Country Park was created in 1984 as a by product of the purchase of the farmland to establish a football pitch in Cefn. The large landholding at Alyn Waters Country Park came into existence after the completion of sand and gravel quarrying followed by landfill activities in the 1980’s.

8.5 Nant Mill Visitor Centre and park (created 1989) and the Minera Lead Mines were large scale restoration projects which were part of a larger tourism development of the Clywedog Valley. The project involved restoring the derelict old mill and removal and containment of the lead mine waste at Minera Lead Mines to create a landscaped park. A visitor centre was established at Alyn Waters on the Gwersyllt side in 1995.

8.6 Stryt Las, Bonc yr Hafod and Bryn Kinallt were all coal mining sites restored through land reclamation work in the 1990’s.

13 9.0 Park Distribution 9.1 Wrexham’s parks are concentrated in the urban areas of Wrexham, approximately 87% of the population of Wrexham live within two miles of one of the main parks. Alyn Waters Country Park serves the community of Gwersyllt, Llay, Rossett and Gresford. Nant Mill Visitor Centre and park is located adjacent to Coedpoeth.

9.2 Minera Lead Mines Country Park is close to New Brighton, Gwynfryn and Minera. Moss Valley Park provides green space for Brynteg, New Broughton, Brymbo and Gatewen. Acton and Bellevue Park provide parks for the Town Centre. Bonc yr Hafod Country Park is accessible from Johnstown, Ruabon and Rhostyllen. Rhos. Pen y cae and the Ponciau have the Ponciau Banks Park and Stryt Las Park. Ty Mawr Country Park provides the park for the Cefn, Acrefair, Trevor and Plas Madoc area. Bryn Kinallt park is in Chirk.

9.3 The areas not served by the main park network are the more rural communities of the Maelor and Ceiriog.

14 10.0 Quality and standards of parks 10.1 The quality of the management and care of Wrexham’s parks has improved over the last 3 years, since the entry of some of the key parks into the Green Flag Awards and the Heritage Lottery funded park improvement work at Bellevue and the Ponciau Banks Park.

10.2 Wrexham currently has 4 Green Flag Award parks, these are Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr, Nant Mill and Bellevue Park. The Green Flag Award remains the key national indicator of the good management of parks. The standards required for a Green Flag park are high, both in terms of onsite management and commitment of staff and the need to back this up with a current management plan which provides the strategic direction and day to day management of park operations.

10.3 There are current management plans in operation for the parks at Ty Mawr, Alyn Waters, Nant Mill, Bellevue, Acton and Ponciau Banks. The park management plans will translate the broader aims of the strategy into action on the ground. The standard of care of the parks outside the Green Flag awards remains good, with work to keep the sites clean and cared for continuing by the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service.

11.0 Performance Indicators 11.1 There are no national performance indicators for parks. Visitor, school, volunteer and event numbers are collected where possible to give an indication of usage of facilities and activities.

12.0 Funding of the Parks 12.1 The funding of the development and improvement of parks comes from a variety of sources. Funding has been accessed through European sources, the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, Countryside Council For Wales, Forestry Commission, directly from the Welsh Assembly Government, Lottery funds, such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Lottery. Funding has also been accessed through partners who can apply for funding which Local Authorities cannot apply for themselves, eg Groundwork Wrexham and Flintshire.

12.2 Funding through the developing Friends Groups is becoming more important to help support specific projects. Donations provide small amounts of money to help support work.

12.3 External grant funding has provided the money for the developments of the parks during the last two decades. Without this funding, much of the improvement of the parks, such as better paths, cycleways, visitor centre facilities, community arts projects, play areas, animal housing and conservation work would not take place, as there is not enough money in the revenue budgets for the parks to carry these projects out.

12.4 During 2007/8 Ty Mawr Country Park benefited from £20,000 funding for a new access for all trail, Bellevue Park in partnership with the Friends group obtained funding for a new fitness trail worth £15,000 and Alyn Waters

15 Country Park put in a route to help the Race for Life activity, all through the Welsh Assembly Active Lifestyles fund.

12.5 During 2008/9 funding of half a million pounds was obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the refurbishment of the Ponciau Banks Park. The Heritage Lottery Fund also gave £50,000 to support the cost of detailed conservation management and audience development plans for Acton Park. The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme provided funding of £35,000 for new youth facilities in the Ponciau. Nant Mill Visitor Centre received funding of £80,000 from European funds for a new education centre and £10,000 for the development in partnership with the Community Council of an environmental education garden.

12.6 The revenue cost of managing the 11 parks per year in 2009, is £450,000, which represents a cost of £3.44 per resident. Approximately a quarter of the cost of the management and care of the parks is supported through income generation and grant aid work.

12.7 An income of £67,702 was obtained in 2007/8 through the sale of refreshments and souvenirs in the Visitor Centres. This figure also includes the small amounts of income from grazing, fishing and flat rent. Grants of £43,272 to support staff in the conservation, environmental education and volunteer work in the parks were obtained from the Countryside Council For Wales.

13.0 Management of the Parks

Environment Department Chief Officer

Divisional Manager

Parks, Countryside and Rights Of Way Manager

Rights of Way Landscape Arboricultural Parks Section Section Section Section

Definitive Map Allotments Management of Country Parks Council Trees Enforcement & Landscape Urban Parks Maintenance Design Environmental Education Community Play Areas & Development ­ Open Spaces Events Volunteers Community Development ­ Volunteers

16 13.1 The management of the 11 parks sits within the Parks, Countryside and Rights of Way section of the Environment Department. The three visitor centres at Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr and Nant Mill are staffed by information assistants who provide information, refreshments, caretaking duties and cleaning work, as and when required. The centres are open and staffed 7 days a week from Easter until September and weekends only from September until Easter. Alyn Waters Education and Visitor Centre is open across the year.

13.2 There are 4 full-time Rangers, 3 part-time Rangers, 1 Animal Husbandry worker, 2 park officers, 3 park maintenance staff, 2 part-time information assistants, 1 full-time information assistant and two seasonal information assistants. The service and staff are managed by two Senior Parks and Countryside Officers, one covering the south parks and one covering the north parks. The overall management of the section is by the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Manager (see Appendix B for staff structure).

13.3 Rangers, park officers and park maintenance staff provide the day to day care of the parks, lead the large environmental education and events programme, develop community partnerships, park sports and conservation work, encourage volunteers to be involved in the parks and support the friends groups. They also ensure the parks are clean and tidy, manage incidents and problems in the parks, provide information for visitors and develop the facilities of the parks. There are parks staff based at Alyn Waters Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park. The other half of the parks are managed through regular visits by staff.

14.0 Park Management Skills 14.1 The management of the parks requires a diverse range of skills and an ability to adapt to different situations and problems:­ • Horticultural, grounds maintenance, estate, animal husbandry and conservation skills • visitor management skills • presentational skills • public event management and development skills • interpretation and visitor information skills • risk management and health and safety skills • volunteer management skills • environmental education skills • people management skills • community development skills • grant application skills • site management planning and recording skills

14.2 In addition to these skills the senior managers need:­ • staff management and training skills • financial management skills • complex grant application and management skills

17 • public consultation and presentational skills • strategic planning skills

15.0 Use of the Parks- Visitor Numbers 15.1 Measuring visitor use of the parks is very difficult due to the number of entrances to the parks. A variety of techniques are used, ranging from carrying out visitor counts over a period of time, to the use of vehicle counters and visitor centre counters. Visits to the visitor centres at Nant Mill, Ty Mawr and Alyn Waters have risen over the last 5 years from a figure of 90,910 for the 3 centres in the year 2003/4 to a figure of 204,788 in the year 2007/8.

Visits

90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 Ty Mawr

30,000 Alyn Waters No. of Visits Visits of No. 20,000 Nant Mill 10,000 0 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 Year

15.2 The largest rises have been seen by Alyn Waters Visitor Centre which has seen its usage rise from 16,172 visits in 2003/4 to 84,228 in 2007/8. Car park figures are also recorded at Ty Mawr Country Park and the two sides of Alyn Waters Country Park. Car park figures have risen from 38,820 in 2003/4 at Ty Mawr Country Park to 45,784 in 2007/8. Car park figures for the Gwersyllt and Llay side at Alyn Waters Country Park have risen from 82,850 in 2003/4 to 117,327 in 2007/8, making it the most popular country park in Wrexham by a large margin.

15.3 Figures for usage of the urban park of Bellevue have been recorded since 2005/6. They have shown a small increase from 325,935 to 348,560. The Ponciau Banks Park have been recorded recently as part of Heritage Lottery Fund work, using visitor counts by staff and consultants. Ponciau Banks Park had a figure of 25,665 people using it in 2006, before the park was refurbished. There are no visitor figures recorded for Acton Park, Bryn Kinallt Park, Minera Lead Mines Country Park, Stryt Las Park, Bonc yr Hafod Country Park or Moss Valley Country Park.

18 15.4 Taking the figures for the visitor centre use of Nant Mill, the car park figures for Ty Mawr and Alyn Waters and the Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park visitor figures, this gives a total for 5 of the parks of 578,124 visits in 2007/8. It is highly likely if the counts were recorded for the other 6 parks the annual usage would be moving towards the three quarters of a million figure.

16.0 Use of the Parks- Visitors 16.1 The parks are used for a wide variety of reasons, the commonest are dog walking, enjoying the wildlife and landscape, picnicing and playing. Some of the parks are used for horse-riding, fishing, golfing and other special interests. The parks are used by people for keeping fit and active in activities such as running, cycling and using keep fit equipment (Bellevue Park), some of the parks have calorie counter maps to enable people to gauge the calories they are using, when walking. An orienteering course at Alyn Waters Country Park is used by groups and schools.

16.2 The Ponciau Banks Park has particularly good youth facilities and a first class BMX track.

16.3 The parks are important places where children can enjoy nature, getting muddy, wet and playing in the woods. The parks provide well surfaced paths for people who are older and wish for easy walking. The Environmental Educational Centre at Alyn Waters Country Park is used by a variety of different groups for training or as a base to go out and learn about the wildlife and ecology of the parks.

17.0 Use of the Parks- Community Involvement 17.1 Community involvement in the park is encouraged, this is through Friends of the Parks Groups, the setting up of groups to manage a facility, such as the Moss Valley and Acton Park Fishing Clubs or through the encouragement of volunteering by children (Ty Mawr Junior Ranger Club) and adults. The parks staff also encourage people with disabilities to help in the care of the parks through placements with carers.

17.2 The number of volunteer hours has risen over the last few years from 4,690 in 2003/4 to 7,325 in 2007/8. Volunteers help with cleaning and caring for the parks, help with animal care at Ty Mawr Country Park, some help with projects and survey work and some carry out conservation work. The Junior Ranger Club at Ty Mawr Country Park encourages children to work to conservation and animal care badges and gives children the opportunity through the Children’s University to earn credits, through their work.

17.3 The Friends Groups support the parks through fundraising, provide advice and support to parks staff and help with events and activities.

18.0 Use of the Parks- Events 18.1 The Parks staff run an events programme for the general public, to raise environmental awareness and encourage good use of the parks. Around 100 events are offered to the public each year, led by Park Officers and Rangers.

19 This includes guided walks in the countryside, craft activities in the centres, biodiversity work, both practical conservation skills and led walks in the parks. Healthy living activities and sports development work is undertaken with the parks staff and WCBC Sports Development team to encourage active use of the parks and community fun days.

Events

12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 Ty Mawr 4,000 Alyn Waters

2,000 Nant Mill No. of Participants Participants of No. 0 03/04 05/06 07/08 Year

18.2 The number of people attending the events programme has risen from 10,322 in 2003/4 to 32,039 in 2007/8. The largest rises have been for attendance at Alyn Waters Visitor Centre, but Ty Mawr and Nant Mill have seen the number of people attending the events double. Bellevue Park events are also extremely popular, 7,987 people attended in 2007/8.

18.3 Part of the reason for the large rise in events is the popularity in the summer events programme in the parks, which draws large numbers and the rise in charity events, such as ‘Race For Life’ and other various appeals which are staged in the parks.

19.0 Use of the Parks – Environmental Educational Work 19.1 An environmental educational programme is led by Rangers and Parks Officers for schools. The aim with the school work is to develop in children a lifelong affinity with the parks, through school visits and curriculum work. A Forest Schools programme is also offered to schools to develop awareness of woods and the enjoyment of being outdoors. The majority of the school visits led by staff are by key stage 1 and 2 pupils. Secondary Schools and Further Education and Higher Education visits are usually led by their own staff.

19.2 The figures for Key Stage 1 and 2 educational visits to the parks by schools has remained relatively constant, figures for 2003/4 were 5,773 pupils, which declined slightly to 5289 in 2007/8.

20 Schools

2,500 2,000 No. of 1,500 Ty Mawr Pupils 1,000 Alyn Waters 500 Nant Mill 0 03/04 05/06 07/08 Year

19.3 The availability of staff to lead the schools programme is the main limiting factor in the number of schools visiting the parks. Schools have also shown some reluctance to use the parks on their own for educational work, without the help of staff that provide tailor made curriculum activities.

20.0 Population and health 20.1 Wrexham has a population of approximately 131,900 (mid year 2005 estimate).

20.2 In terms of the general health of the population, The Family Resources Survey 2003/04 estimated that 28% of the adult population (aged16+) in Wales are disabled, compared to an average of 21% across England, Scotland and Wales. Assuming no significant local variation, the number of disabled adults in Wrexham is estimated at 24,263. The 2001 census indicates that 27,567 people in Wrexham (all ages) have a "limiting long-term illness" (Wrexham Health and Well-Being Strategy 2008).

20.3 In 2005 the population of Wrexham was estimated to be 4% higher than it was in 1996, the 45-64 age band experienced an overall substantial increase, ie 13% higher in 2005 than in 1996. The 85+ age band has the largest overall increase of 27.7% since 1996. The 75 and over age band is expected to increase by 50% across North Wales by 2023 (Wrexham Health and Well-Being Strategy 2008).

20.4 In terms of physical activity of the population, more than half (54%) of adults living in Wales are reported as being overweight or obese. The current percentage for Wrexham is 52% (WCBC Leisure, Libraries and Culture figures).

20.5 These figures suggest there is a large percentage of the population with a disability in Wrexham, the local population is growing, with the largest increase in older people. The activity level of the population is not very high (current figures form Wales Health Survey 05/07 is 36%) and over half the population of Wrexham is overweight. The changes in the mix of the

21 population are more difficult to quantify, it is hard to quantify how big the ethnic minority population is.

20.6 There are well established ethnic minority communities in Wrexham with established support mechanisms including the Filippino and Muslim communities. However, Wrexham faces particular challenges because of the recent changes to its population. The demographic composition of the County Borough has changed significantly over the last two years, with growing numbers of migrant people coming here to live and work. These include economic migrants, asylum seekers and people with approved refugee status. There has also been a substantial Gypsy and Irish Traveller community in Wrexham for many years. In the last two years the largest groups have been economic migrants from Portugal and more recently from the EU Accession States, particularly Poland. (Community Cohesion Strategy 2008).

Consultation 21.0 Who is and isn’t using the Parks? 21.1 A survey of park users was undertaken in 2008 at Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Alyn Waters Country Park. Surveys were undertaken from May to August inclusive, to give a spread across the summer months. Considerable consultation work was undertaken as part of the Acton Park (Ryder Landscapes study 2008) and Ponciau Banks Park Heritage Lottery Funded projects (Ferguson McIlveen 2007) in 2007 and 2008. Consultation with users and non users was undertaken at Cefn Mawr close to Ty Mawr Country Park as part of a course study by A.Holroyd in 2008 (see Appendix A for further information).

21.2 From the consultation work it can be seen that families with children and dog walkers are key users of the park. People of all ages, both men and women use the park, but usage drops over the age of 75. Some parks attract young people due to their good quality youth facilities, such as Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park.

21.3 People with disabilities visit the parks in reasonable numbers, typically around 8-10% of people surveyed have a disability. Under represented groups appear to be older people generally, teenage girls, adults with independent children and pre- family adults. Ethnic minority use appears to be in keeping with the local population census figures.

21.4 People who visit the parks tend to be frequent users, a third of visitors use the parks weekly and a quarter on a monthly basis. This figure rises even higher for some of the parks which are walked to, such as Acton and the Ponciau Banks Park.

21.5 Just under 80% of visitors travelled by car to the park, 83% took under half an hour to travel to the park, but within this figure, 40% travelled by car, but lived within 10 minutes drive of the park

22 21.6 The top four activities were going for a walk, getting some fresh air, enjoying the wildlife and relaxing. Using play facilities, picnicing and attending events were important too. Half the visitors stayed between 1 and 2 hours.

21.7 Around 40% of visitors knew about the parks from word of mouth, but after that there was a spread of how they heard about the parks, such as road signs, newspapers and park leaflets. People did not seem to use the web or local radio to find out about the parks. Over 90% of people were satisfied with the visitor centres, high satisfaction levels were also recorded for the toilets, refreshments, paths, information provided and staff.

21.8 The People’s Voice Survey 2006 which is a representative sample of the people living in Wrexham County Borough indicated Parks and Open Spaces are the most frequently used Council facility, as over one in ten respondents (13%) use them almost everyday, and a further quarter use them at least once a week (27%). Only 6% of respondents have never used a Wrexham County Borough Council park or open space. Frequent park users are significantly more likely to be aged 25-44 as 14% of this group use them everyday and a further third (33%) at least once a week.

21.9 Households with children are marginally more likely to use these open spaces than those without children, but the key difference regarding frequency of use was amongst disabled residents. One in five disabled respondents (19%) stated that they visited parks almost everyday, the highest of any demographic group. Therefore disabled users are frequent users of parks and open spaces, yet have relatively low perceptions of their quality (People’s Voice – Survey 7 BMG Research 2006).

22.0 Community consultation on strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for the parks 22.1 To gain people’s views about what they liked and disliked about the parks and what they would like to change, consultation was undertaken with the Friends of the Parks groups, the Accessible Wrexham Group meeting and children from schools and Junior Ranger Club.

22.2 Friends of the Parks 22.2.1 The Friends of Acton Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Bellevue Park, Ponciau Banks Park, and Nant Mill were involved in the consultation process. The key strengths the parks offered were the scenery, easy access, safe facilities, play areas, bowling greens and areas for disabled people to exercise in. Key strengths in the service provided were the events and education programmes, walks programmes, friendly staff and the Pedal Power project at Alyn Waters Country Park.

22.2.2 Key weaknesses of the parks included toilets (needing improvement or lack of them), litter, dog fouling, anti social behaviour and car parking facilities. weaknesses on the service side were lack of staff/rangers and underfunded parks service.

23 22.2.3 Changes the friends wanted to see were more diverse depending on the park, play areas were a key area for improvement and once again more ranger staff and events.

22.2.4 Threats to the parks were vandalism, dog fouling, budget and staff cuts and reduction in maintenance. The threat of building on the parks was shared by some of the Friends of the Parks.

23.0 Consultation with Children 23.1 Consultation was undertaken with the Ty Mawr Junior Rangers, the Bryn Alyn Consortium (7 schools) undertook a consultation with children on Moss Valley Park and consultation was undertaken with schools in Gwersyllt to get a sample view of what children thought about the parks.

23.2 Children liked the wildlife found in parks, enjoyed the animals (at Ty Mawr), enjoyed walking, cycling and fishing in the parks.

23.3 They did not like dog fouling, litter and surprisingly wet and muddy areas. The Bryn Alyn Consortium gave the most focused views on what they wanted to see improved at Moss Valley Country Park, these were more bins and dog bins, clean the lake, toilets, better shelter, wheel chair access and information boards.

24.0 Consultation with the Wrexham Access Forum 24.1 The Wrexham Access Forum were asked what were the barriers for people with disability in visiting the park. Access for wheel chairs was a problem in some parks, due to park barriers, bikes were of concern to some disabled people who cannot hear or see them very easily, accessible buildings were important, (Nant Mill was on two levels), accessible seating and play equipment was also raised. Dog Fouling was considered to be a barrier.

24.2 The forum members liked the scenery, the well kept nature of the parks and the tranquillity of the places. Alyn Waters Visitor Centre and café were considered to be good with its Pedal Power facility and café managed by Social Services. The staff in the parks were helpful and courteous, the mixed use of Bellevue and the opportunity to enjoy free concerts were excellent.

24.3 Weaknesses included dog fouling, litter, the need for a Ranger for every site, possibly audio guides, more seating and lighting. The way to improve the parks and reduce barriers included ideas such as, better information on accessibility of parks, better toilet and refreshment facilities and links with the Health and Well-Being Agenda.

25.0 Staff Views 25.1 The parks staff were asked their views on the parks, strengths included the geographic spread , the fact each park is different in its features, the green flag standard for 4 parks, the good access for people and the equality and diversity of use, everyone is treated fairly, were some of the points they put forward. In terms of the service, the low cost of events and activities, good

24 range of events, the 24/7 opening of the parks, the work with volunteers, people with disability and the schools work were important. The skill in fund raising and working with community groups were important too.

25.2 Weaknesses included, poor park facilities in some parks, such as toilets at Ty Mawr, Moss Valley and the Llay side of Alyn Waters. The lack of car parking at busy times in the busy parks of Ty Mawr, Nant Mill, Alyn Waters and Acton. Dog fouling and dogs not under control can be a problem. Weaknesses of the parks service included, not enough staff, lone working and the service is discretionary, easy to cut.

25.3 Opportunities include, the parks can help in delivering climate change and healthy living agenda, parks are free, more opportunity for community involvement in the parks, there are opportunities for business involvement and getting involved in volunteering. Threats include staff cuts, lack of support for the work, selling off of greenspace and anti social behaviour.

26.0 Summary of Consultation 26.1 The consultation suggests the parks are highly valued by the people that use them, they enjoy the wildlife, the scenery, the quietness, the easy access and the good facilities in some of the parks. Dog fouling and litter (in some parks) seems to concern people and the need for better information and better facilities (in some parks). People consider the staff are helpful and friendly. The events programme and educational work is popular. The desire for Rangers at every park is another key feature of the group consultation work.

26.2 Parks appear to be popular with the majority of users, particularly people with disabilities, but there are some concerns from this group about the quality of the parks.

27.0 Aims of the strategy:­ • Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage • Aim – protecting wildlife • Aim – consulting and involving the community • Aim – widening the use of the parks • Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards • Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active • Aim – providing information • Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers • Aim – developing staff and volunteers

The strategy action plan will be delivered over the next 5 years from 2009, with reviews for various actions included in the targets. Costs in the plan are estimates and may vary according to the date of any project start and more accurate price work, if the projects are developed further. We will continue to update existing management plans for the parks and write management plans for the other sites over the period of the strategy. The management plans will provide the detailed information for the site management.

25 Action Plan – Delivery of the Strategy

28.0 Aim - caring for the landscape and heritage 28.1 Issue Trees, woodlands and grasslands support wildlife, improve the quality of the local landscape and make a significant contribution to the wider environment. The heritage value of our parkland is important to local people, the parkland landscape of Acton has stood relatively unchanged for the last 200 years, Bellevue Park still has the feeling of an Edwardian Park created nearly 100 years ago. The landscape of the wooded Clywedog valley surrounding Nant Mill feels tranquil, giving the sense of the heart of the countryside, even though it’s only a few miles from Coedpoeth. Yet landscape does change and rapidly, the community woodland of the Gwersyllt side of Alyn Waters Country Park was planted in the early 1990’s and is already a well developed woodland. Bonc yr Hafod Country Park, Minera Lead Mines Country Park and Moss Valley Country Park have recovered from the past mining scars and are now integrating into the surrounding landscape. Landscapes evolve and change, the challenge is deciding whether the change is for the better or worse.

Policy Statements 28.2 Policy – we will manage the landscapes of the parks to conserve their individual character and protect and conserve the historic parkland of Acton, Ponciau Banks and Bellevue.

28.3 Policy- through the planning process we will try to use materials and building design which is sympathetic to the local environment when designing new facilities.

28.0 Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will conserve Remove Medium. WCBC Staff time, unless the historic trees by transplanted(cost landscape of 2012. not quantified). Acton through removing inappropriate modern tree planting and create new planting where needed. We will conserve Dependent High. WCBC/HLF Estimate­ the historic on HLF £375,000 landscape of lottery fund Acton through bid- 2011. replacing the lake

26 28.0 Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale liner We will conserve New tree Medium. WCBC Dependent on the historic planting to trees/facilities landscape of follow tree planting/ Bellevue Park management developed. and Ponciau guidelines in Banks Park by Bellevue ensuring tree Park and planting and Ponciau facility Banks development Management. onsite is Plans. appropriate and Timescale – follows the ongoing. management plan.

29.0 Aim – protecting wildlife 29.1 Issue The parks represent important accessible wildlife habitats for people. Stryt Las and Bonc yr Hafod Country Parks are in the heart of the urban area and are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Areas of Conservation. Alyn Waters Country Park has a Local Nature Reserve, the only designated LNR in the park network. The parks form part of the wildlife and green corridors across the County Borough and their habitat value could be improved without large costs, with small scale changes to their care. To better manage wildlife habitats, better knowledge of the species that live in them is needed, this can be achieved through survey information and this can then feed into the management plans for the sites.

Wildlife is sited as one of the most important reasons people come to visit the parks, yet the large numbers of visitors and their dogs can cause a problem for some wildlife, particularly ground nesting birds. Balancing the needs of wildlife and people is difficult, but needs to be addressed if wildlife species are not to suffer.

Some of the largest areas of publicly accessible woodland are located in the parks of Wrexham, they are valuable for wildlife and key landscape features. It is important that we care for our woodlands through active woodland management. This involves thinning woodland, coppicing trees and protecting important habitats, such as standing and fallen deadwood.

27 Policy Statements

29.2 Policy – we will work to balance the needs of wildlife that live in the parks with the people that visit and use the parks.

29.3 Policy – we will actively manage wildlife habitats to protect and conserve wildlife species.

29.4 Policy – we will seek to obtain a greater understanding of the wildlife that lives in the parks through survey work.

29.5 Policy – we will manage the park woodlands to improve their biodiversity value.

29.0 Aim – protecting wildlife

Action Target and Priority Partnership Cost Point timescale We will Carry out pilot Medium. WCBC/Parks. Staff time. improve the work in Acton habitat value Park and of Bellevue in appropriate 2010/2011. grassland in the parks through changing the grassland mowing regime. We will work 1. Medium. WCBC/Volunteers/ Staff to improve Complete/update LBAP time/Volunteers species plant species group/Parks. time. knowledge in surveys in 3 the parks parks by 2012. through 2. Complete survey work. butterfly survey in 2 parks by 2011. 3. Complete skylark review at Alyn Waters and Bonc yr Hafod by 2011. 4. Complete water shrew survey at Nant Mill, Alyn Waters and Ty Mawr by

28 29.0 Aim – protecting wildlife

Action Target and Priority Partnership Cost Point timescale 2012. 5. Continue to obtain Great Crested Newt survey information for the site of special scientific interest at Bonc yr Hafod Country Park and Stryt Las Park. We will Review results ­ Medium. WCBC/Parks. Staff consider the 2011 time/Volunteers. results of the skylark surveys to determine whether to introduce voluntary dogs on leads policy for areas where birds are nesting, during the season. We will Review results ­ Medium. LBAP Volunteers consider the 2012 group/Parks. Time. results of the water shrew survey at Alyn Waters Country Park and Ty Mawr Country Park to determine if any management changes of the river banks are needed. We will enter 1. Enter Alyn Medium. WCBC/Parks. Not quantified the Parks Waters Country (grants).

29 29.0 Aim – protecting wildlife

Action Target and Priority Partnership Cost Point timescale woodlands Park, Moss into the Valley Park and appropriate Bonc yr Hafod Forestry Country Park Woodland into the Grant Woodland Grant Scheme to Scheme by allow active 2014. management 2. Enter Ty Mawr of the Country Park woodlands and other for their woodlands into recreational, the Woodland wildlife and Grant Scheme landscape by 2015. value.

30.0 Aim – consulting and involving the community 30.1 Issues Consultation with the local community and interested groups is important when undertaking significant park developments to ensure people understand what and why it is proposed. Friends of Parks Groups can be helpful in giving advice on local issues and suggesting ways of improving and developing the parks. Encouraging the development of local groups that can manage facilities such as Fishing Clubs is important to enable local people to feel involved in the care of their local parks. Involving other interest groups such as young people and people with disabilities in partnership working is important to develop their understanding and knowledge of parks.

Policy Statements

30.2 Policy – we will consult the local community when undertaking significant park developments.

30.3 Policy – we will carry out regular visitor surveys in selected parks to gain an understanding of park users views.

30.4 Policy – we will encourage community involvement in the parks.

30.5 Policy – we will work with local communities and interest groups to form partnerships to improve park facilities and involve interested people in the development of the parks.

30 30.0 Aim – consulting and involving the community

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will consult 1. Park High. WCBC/Parks. Staff with park users consultation to time. and Friends be completed Groups on a through visitor regular basis to surveys in gain their views selected parks about how the every 2 years. parks are cared Next review for and how 2010. they would like to see the parks 2. Friends develop and Groups improve. regularly consulted on park improvements and developments. Timescale – ongoing.

We will support Ongoing (see High. WCBC/ Parks. Staff the Friends of park time. the Parks management Groups and plans) . encourage the healthy development of the groups. We will consider Ongoing (see High. WCBC/Parks. Staff how the local park time. community can management be more plans). involved in the care of the parks and continue to encourage community clean ups and support Acton and Moss Valley Fishing Clubs. We will work Project basis Medium. WCBC/Parks/Community Staff with WCBC (no target set). Development Officers. time.

31 30.0 Aim – consulting and involving the community

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale Community Development Officers to help form partnerships with interested groups and communities interested in working with us to develop and improve the parks.

31.0 Aim – widening the use of the parks 31.1 Issues Parks and open spaces are the most frequently used Council facility (People’s Voice Survey 2006). Large numbers of people visit the parks each year as indicated in the section on visitor numbers, but the majority of these groups are families, dog walkers, children, people with disabilities and young people. The Heritage Lottery funded work at the Ponciau Banks Park and Acton Park indicates there are groups that do not use the parks, such as older people (over 75), teenage girls, couples without families and adults with independent children. There are also still barriers for people with disabilities in using the parks, related to the quality of the facilities and accessibility. Some people do not wish to visit parks as it does not fit in with their lifestyle, but we will try to encourage as wide a section of people to use the parks as we are able to.

Policy Statements

31.2 Policy – we will promote the parks to older people, women and people with disabilities to encourage them to use the parks more.

31.3 Policy – we will continue to work to make the parks more accessible through physical park improvements.

31.0 Aim – widening the use of the parks

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will promote the Specific High. WCBC/Wrexham Staff parks to older people, events in Access Forum/ time. women and people with the events Over 50’s disabilities through programme Forum/Parks. specific events and for these activities. groups

32 31.0 Aim – widening the use of the parks

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale from 2010. Monitor uptake and success of events (2012). We will work to make Check High. WCBC/Wrexham the parks more quality of Access Forum/ accessible through facilities Parks/Friends improving the surfacing through Groups/Scope/Parks. of paths where needed, audits with considering entrance disability features, improving groups seating and considering (rolling the needs of disabled programme children in the play starting areas. 2010).

32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards 32.1 Issue Wrexham’s parks are some of the best in Wales, we currently have 4 Green Flag Awards for our parks at Nant Mill, Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr and Bellevue Park. The quality of the care of the parks in the Green Flag scheme has improved as a result of the entry into award scheme. It takes considerable staff, volunteer and the Friends of the Parks work to maintain the Green Flag standard each year, not every park is suitable to enter the scheme, nor could current staff numbers support a large scale expansion in the number of Green Flag parks.

As a Heritage Lottery Fund condition for the grant for the park improvements at the Ponciau Banks Park, we need to obtain the Green Flag Award for this park by 2010.

One of the important issues people raised as part of the consultation was the continuing problem of dog fouling and litter in some of the parks. Litter clearance is good in most of the parks, Moss Valley Country Park, Acton Park and Stryt Las Park are the most difficult to keep clean. In terms of dog fouling, regular campaigns are run at Alyn Waters Country Park, which has a large number of dog walkers and the Amenity Wardens catch and fine people regularly. As a general rule, people are getting better at picking up their dogs mess, we are collecting more dog faeces in the bins, but it continues to be a problem to some extent in most of the parks. The behaviour of some dogs and their owners also causes concern for visitors, when dogs frighten children and fight with other dogs. We will request owners to place their dogs on leads in Parks if the owners allow their dogs to behave in appropriately and cause problems for other users.

33 The need for better visitor facilities is something that constantly arises in visitor consultation, in particular the need for environmental educational facilities and café at Ty Mawr Country Park, better toilet facilities on the Llayside of Alyn Waters Country Park and basic visitor facilities at Acton Park. Requests have also been made for toilet facilities at Moss Valley Country Park too. The problem with new facilities is the cost of the capital investment to build the facilities and then the subsequent cost of staffing the facilities and running them with a declining revenue budget for the parks. Any new facilities would require grant aid to build them.

The Urban Parks programme has seen the refurbishment of Bellevue Park in 2000 and the Ponciau Park in 2008. Acton Park is the last of the 3 urban parks to require improvement works. It is anticipated that the park will be entered into the Heritage Lottery Fund scheme in 2009, but if this application fails work will continue through other grant sources to fund improvement in this historic parkland.

Policy Statements

32.2 Policy - we will continue to maintain the key Parks to the Green Flag standard.

32.3 Policy- we will continue to improve the standard of park maintenance through reducing the incidence of dog fouling and litter in the parks.

32.4 Policy – we will not put in place dog control orders excluding dogs from the parks or require dogs on leads in the parks at the present, but this maybe reviewed in the future.

32.5 Policy – we will continue to improve the quality of visitor facilities in key parks.

32.6 Policy – we will complete the urban parks renewal programme through the improvement to Acton Park.

32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will enter Maintain the High. WCBC/Friends Staff time/ fee to the Ponciau Green Flag Groups/Parks. Green flag ­ Banks Park awards for the £600 per year. into the existing award Green Flag winning parks award and achieve the scheme and award for the continue to Ponciau Banks enter Alyn Park in Waters, Nant 2010.Timescale

34 32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale Mill, Ty Mawr – ongoing. and Bellevue Parks. We will Reduce the High. WCBC/Amenity Staff time. continue to incidence of dog Wardens/Parks. prosecute fouling in the people who parks (check allow their through visitor dogs to foul in satisfaction the parks and levels by 2012). will provide the necessary bins to allow people to dispose of their waste. We will work Reduce the High. WCBC/Amenity Staff time. to reduce the amount of litter Wardens/Parks. complaints in the about litter in parks(check the Parks, through visitor particularly at satisfaction Stryt Las levels by 2012). Park, Acton Park and Moss Valley Country Park, We will Monitor number Medium WCBC/Amenity Staff time. continue to of incidents and Wardens/Parks. monitor the problems behaviour of associated with dog owners dogs. Timescale and their – ongoing. dogs and will review the current dog control orders if needed.

We will request owners to place their dogs on leads in Parks if the owners allow

35 32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale their dogs to behave in appropriately and cause problems for other users. We will work 1. Upgrade Ty 1. 1. WCBC 1. Estimate- to improve Mawr Country Medium Parks/Friends £1million(grants). the visitor Park facilities to Groups. facilities at provide café key parks to and ensure these environmental parks are educational able to facilities by accommodate 2014. large numbers of 2. Develop visitors. visitor facilities 2. High. 2. WCBC 2. Estimate- at Acton Park to Parks/Friends £400,000(grants) provide Park Groups. Officer accommodation, toilets and community facilities by 2014.

3. Develop visitor facilities 3. 3. . WCBC 3. Estimate- on the Llay side Medium Parks/Friends £350,000(grants) of Alyn Waters Groups Country Park by 2014.

We will work 1. Enter Acton High. 1. WCBC 1. Estimate-£1 to complete Park into the Parks/Friends million(grants) the upgrading Heritage Lottery Groups. of the Urban Fund Parks for Parks People network programme in through 2009 to refurbishing refurbish the Acton Park. lake area and create better visitor facilities onsite.

36 32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will work 1. Continue to 1. High. 1. WCBC Estimate-£2500­ to improve improve the Parks/Friends 5000 per year the park park footpath Groups/CCW. (grants). facilities at and cycling Moss Valley network. 2. High. 2. WCBC Country Park. 2. Develop Parks/Friends 2. Cost - not other facilities Groups/CCW. quantified such as better (grants). access and improvements to the Boating Lake, seating and information. Timescale – ongoing actions, review success 2012.

We will Monitor each of Medium. WCBC/Parks. Cost not continue to the parks quantified. improve through the general park monthly parks facilities, such survey. as paths in all Timescale – the parks ongoing. when the need arises and the money is available.

33.0 Aim– encouraging the local community to become more active 33.1 Issue Encouraging people to lead a healthier lifestyle is an important part of the work of the Welsh Assembly Government (Climbing Higher Strategy, 2005) and locally through The Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy for Wrexham. If we can encourage local people, both adults and children to use their parks more frequently through play or by walking or cycling, then we will be helping people to become fitter and healthier and it will be of little cost to them, as the parks are free and easy to use.

The parks represent a largely undeveloped resource as outdoor sports facilities for running, cycling and orienteering. The parks have good surfaces suitable for running and are close to the main centres of the population of Wrexham. The ‘Race for Life’ attracts 1,500 women runners every year to

37 Alyn Waters Country Park, the challenge is to encourage more of these runners to then continue to run and enjoy the parks across the year, once the main race is completed. Similarly, some of the schools could make more use of the parks for sporting activities during the year, following the example of schools around Bellevue Park which make good use of the park all year.

Parks represent easily accessible wild spaces for children to explore, get muddy and have fun in. The parks play areas are the best used in the County Borough. It is important that we continue to invest in and improve the play facilities, to ensure they remain good places for children to come to and play in. The urban parks have developed good youth facilities at Bellevue Park and the Ponciau Banks Park, there is a need to consider better youth facilities at Acton Park to provide for local young people.

Policy Statement

33.2 Policy – we will encourage the parks to be used to help people become fitter and healthier.

33.3 Policy – we will encourage the parks to be used for quiet, outdoor sporting activities.

33.4 Policy – we encourage children to use the parks for play and we will continue to invest in the play facilities in the parks to ensure they remain a high standard.

33.5 Policy – we will continue to invest in youth facilities (skate parks, Mugas, BMX tracks) where this is appropriate.

33.0 Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active

Action Target and Priority Partnership Cost Point timescale We will 1. Support 1. High. 1. WCBC/ 1. Staff promote regular walks Parks/Walkabout time. healthy by Walkabout Wrexham/volunteer activity days Wrexham or groups. in the parks, other volunteer lead guided groups at walks and Acton, Ty other Mawr, Alyn activities Waters, Nant aimed at Mill, Bellevue encouraging and Ponciau use of the Banks Park. parks and (ongoing). continue to 2. We will 2. High. 2. WCBC/ support the encourage Parks/Walkabout 2. Staff regular other groups, Wrexham/volunteer time. walks such as mums groups.

38 33.0 Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active

Action Target and Priority Partnership Cost Point timescale programmes and toddler in the parks groups to use led by the parks and volunteers. become self supporting. (ongoing).

3. We will 3. 3. WCBC/ Parks/Friends develop a Medium. of group/other community volunteers. 3. Staff garden at Ty time(grants). Mawr to encourage healthy living activity (2009/10).

4. We will 4. High. 4. WCBC/Parks. continue to promote guided 4. Staff walks, healthy time. activity days and sports coaching to encourage use of the parks(ongoing).

We will 1. We will 1. High. WCBC/Parks/Sports 1. Staff encourage continue to Development. time. the use of host the Race the parks for for Life event at quiet Alyn Waters sporting Country activity such Park(ongoing). as running . and cycling. 2. We will work 2. WCBC/Parks/Sports with Sports Medium. Development. 2. Staff Development time. Officers to encourage the development of more sporting activities held at the parks by

39 33.0 Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active

Action Target and Priority Partnership Cost Point timescale the local community or schools (check progress 2012). We will 1. Refurbish 1. High. 1. 1. Staff encourage and improve Ty WCBC/Parks/Landscape time(grants). the use of Mawr, Acton, team. the parks for Bellevue and play and Nant Mill play continue to facilities by invest in the 2013. improvement of play 2. We will work facilities. with the WCBC 2. 2. WCBC/Parks/Play 2. Staff Play Medium. Development Team time(grants). Development Team to encourage more use of the parks through play activities(check progress 2012). We will 1. Create new 1. 1. 1. Staff continue to youth facilities Medium. WCBC/Parks/Landscape time(grants). invest in at Acton Park Team. improving by 2013. youth facilities, 2. Refurbish 2. 2. 2. Staff where this is facilities at Medium. WCBC/Parks/Landscape time(grants). appropriate. Bellevue Park Team. by 2014.

34.0 Aim – providing information 34.1 Issue Information about what the parks have to offer in terms of what there is to see and do and what facilities the parks have, such as toilets, a shop or café and how to get to the parks are all top of the list of what sort of information visitors want. The main way of letting people know about the parks is the events and activity programme, which provides information on all the parks, including bus information, contacts and the events and activities on offer during the year. This leaflet is distributed across the local area and is supported by the Easter and Summer Madness events leaflets which are distributed across the

40 schools to let school children know about the events and activities during holidays.

Some Parks such as Ty Mawr, Alyn Waters and Nant Mill Visitor Centre have individual site leaflets, all the parks have information boards and notice boards with contact details. Some parks have more detailed information boards on specific areas, such as the calorie counter information at Ty Mawr and Alyn Waters. Information on the web is good for the country parks, but the urban parks are separated from these parks, which must be confusing for visitors who will be interested in park information and won’t differentiate between the two types of park.

Visitor survey information indicates that word of mouth is still the most important mechanism for visitors finding out about the parks.

White on brown signs are only provided for the most popular parks at Ty Mawr, Nant Mill and Alyn Waters, the other parks have no road signage to guide visitors. The cost of these roads signs is very high.

Policy Statement

34.2 Policy – we will continue to provide visitor information and promote the events and activities programme.

34.3 Policy – we will improve the Wrexham County Borough Council website information through ensuring park information is easily located on the website.

34.4 Policy – we will publicise what each park has to offer and what facilities they contain.

34.0 Aim – providing information

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will 15,000 print run of High. WCBC/Parks/CCW. WCBC produce an leaflet produced revenue(grants). annual Parks each year and Information distributed and Events locally(ongoing). leaflet.

We will Complete by High. WCBC/Parks. Staff time. improve the 2010. parks information on the WCBC website. We will Complete review Medium. WCBC/Parks. Staff time for review work by 2010. review, cost of new

41 34.0 Aim – providing information

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale existing leaflet not leaflets and quantified (low consider how cost). to publicise park facilities. We will Review the current Medium. WCBC/Parks. Staff time for consider the signage and cost review, cost of new need for up any signs not further white improvements to quantified. on brown sign allow decision to posting in the be reached. parks Complete review network. work by 2012. We will Complete the Medium. WCBC/Parks/Leisure/Li Staff time for review visitor review by 2013. braries and Culture. review, cost of centre Implement improvements not information to findings as soon quantified. consider what as complete . information is needed to meet visitors needs and whether other WCBC information can be marketed from the centres. We will Ensure parks are Medium WCBC/Parks Staff time. promote the included in use of parks community within information such Wrexham as through the County Community Borough Inclusion Council to information and staff and to items for WCBC community staff in staff groups. magazines and the intranet(ongoing). We will Continue to Medium WCBC/Parks Staff time and continue to monitor visitor cost of visitor monitor and numbers at the counters- £2000 gather visitor visitor centres. per site to install.

42 34.0 Aim – providing information

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale information to Carry out visitor help identify counts at Acton how popular Park and Bellevue the parks and park through park services are counters(ongoing) and who is . using them.

35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers 35.1 Issues The Parks, Countryside and Rights of Way Service promotes environmental awareness through the events programme and through the environmental educational work with schools. Working with volunteers, Junior Rangers, work experience placements, on environmental projects also raises environmental awareness in the children and adults that take part in the activities.

We will continue to try and consider ways of encouraging people to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle or take public transport to the parks.

Environmental art whether through sculptures, through arts residencies or through poetry can inspire communities to be involved in the parks and enjoy nature. Art can enrich the lives of the people that take part in the programmes of work with the artist and often leave a lasting legacy.

Policy Statement

35.2 Policy – we will provide an environmental educational programme in the parks for schools.

35.3 Policy – we will support High Schools and related outdoor facilities in developing environmental awareness in key stage 3 and 4 pupils.

35.4 Policy – we will continue to support volunteering opportunities in the parks.

35.5 Policy – we will provide an events programme with a range of environmental activities for people to take part in.

35.6 Policy – we will encourage the use of community environmental art projects.

35.7 Policy – we will continue to look at ways we can encourage people to leave their cars behind when visiting the parks.

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35.8 Policy – we will try and ensure the park buildings utilise energy efficient heating and lighting methods.

35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will 3,500 pupils to High. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Charge is continue to take part in levied for offer National staff led schools. Curriculum environmental based education work environmental in the parks educational each studies for year(ongoing). key stage 1 and 2 pupils and Forest Schools programmes at specific parks. We will No target set, Medium. WCBC/Parks/Schools/Outdoor Staff time. network with will depend on Education Establishments. other outdoor specific facilities, such projects. as Nantyr to avoid duplication and help support each others activities, where relevant. We will No target set Medium. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Staff time. continue to as work is work with ongoing and Wrexham depends on Schools in staff supporting availability. work experience placements and volunteering opportunities on an

44 35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale individual basis. We will 5,500 volunteer High. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Staff time. continue to hours per year support the in the Ty Mawr parks(ongoing). Junior Ranger Club and volunteering opportunities in the parks. We will No target set Medium WCBC/Parks/Economic Staff time continue to as work is Development support work ongoing and placements in depends on the parks. staff availability. We will 25,000 people High. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Staff time. continue to take part in the Nominal provide an events charge is exciting and programme made for varied events each some programme year(ongoing). events. each year. We will take No target set, Medium. WCBC/Parks/Other Partners. Not advantage of depends on quantified, grant aid opportunities. depends opportunities on the to fund project. community arts projects in the parks. We will No target set, Medium. WCBC/Parks. Staff time. continue to but will review publicise situation in public 2012. transport information on events publications and encourage people to leave their cars behind

45 35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale when visiting the parks. We will Pilot project ­ Medium WCBC/Parks/West Wheels Cost born continue to encourage Community project. by users encourage people living in and people with West Wrexham project. poor access to use West to cars to use Wheels other forms of Community transport to Link project to access the use service to parks, such access the as walking or West Wrexham buses, but Parks. Check also access progress 2012. community transport schemes. We will No target set, Medium. WCBC/Parks Cost not replace but will review quantified. outdated situation in heating and 2012. lighting with the most energy efficient systems when carrying out property improvements in the visitor centres.

46 36.0 Aim – developing staff and volunteers 36.1 Issue Visitor satisfaction levels with the front line staff, rangers, parks officers and information centre assistants are high, they are considered friendly and courteous. It is important to continue to develop staff skills in conservation, people management, events, school and horticultural skills. Staff need to be multi skilled and to continually update skills. Park management skills are needed to balance the needs of wildlife, community aspirations and budgets. Volunteers play a very important role, whether as Friends of the Park, helpers, members of clubs or as children in the Junior Ranger Club. Volunteers also need help and support to develop and understand their role. Fund raising is a key area in which training can help in developing expertise, whether it’s for a staff member applying for grant or a Friend’s Group raising money for the park.

Policy Statement

36.2 Policy – we will continue to support and develop staff and park management officers to enable them to carry out their work effectively.

36.3 Policy – we will support the Friends Group’s in their development.

Aim – developing staff and volunteers

Action Point Target and Priority Partnership Cost timescale We will ensure staff All staff to High. WCBC/Parks Staff training is appropriate for work within the time. the needs of the service competency through the Wrexham framework County Borough Council (ongoing). competency framework We will help the Friends Dependent on Medium. WCBC/Parks Staff Groups and volunteers to need(ongoing). time. identify training needs and help them identify funding to support the cost of the training.

47 40.0 Monitoring and Evaluation

It is important to monitor the effect on wildlife with the continued popularity of the parks and the way visitors use the facilities. There is a need to monitor the flora of the parks to determine if it changes over time with management and whether this change is desirable or not.

It is also important to monitor visitor numbers through the counting of visitors, to establish a profile of the visitors to the parks and monitor satisfaction with the service.

The Parks Strategy will be monitored annually and proposals for the coming year considered as part of the budget planning process of the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service. The strategy will be reviewed after 5 years to determine its effectiveness.

All this information is necessary for informed decision making in the management and future development of the site.

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Appendix A

1.0 General Visitor- Park User Survey 2008 There has been a considerable amount of consultation undertaken in the development of the strategy. A survey of park users was undertaken last year at Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Alyn Waters Country Park. Surveys were undertaken from May to August inclusive, to give a spread across the summer months. Surveys were undertaken across the week, including weekends, mainly in the afternoon. Only 20% of the visitors were using the parks for the first time. A third of visitors used the parks weekly and a quarter on a monthly basis. Around 60% of people were with a family, a further 21% were with friends.

Around 16% of the visitors had a dog with them, nearly a half of visitors had a child of under 8 with them and a further 17% had children in the 9-15 age range. The largest adult group (36-59 age range) made up 36% of users, the second largest age group represented 27% of users (16-35 age range). Around 86% of visitors came from home, other visitors came from a variety of destinations, such as Manchester, the South East and Liverpool area. About 5% of the visitors were on holiday. Just under 80% of visitors travelled by car to the park, 83% took under half an hour to travel to the park, but within this figure, 40% travelled by car but lived within 10 minutes drive of the park. Just over 80% of people said they found the parks easy to find, but it was a problem for some visitors.

In terms of who the visitors were, 8% indicated they had a disability, 17% could understand welsh and a third had some caring responsibility.

The top four activities were going for a walk, getting some fresh air, enjoying the wildlife and relaxing. Using play facilities, picnicing and attending events were important too. Half the visitors stayed between 1 and 2 hours. Around 40% of visitors knew about the parks from word of mouth, but after that there was a spread of how they heard about the parks, such as road signs, newspapers and park leaflets. People did not use the web or local radio to find out about the parks. Over 90% of people were satisfied with the visitor centres, high satisfaction levels were also recorded for the toilets, refreshments, paths, information provided and staff.

2.0 Ty Mawr Country Park consultation 2008 Consultation with users and non users was undertaken at Cefn Mawr close to Ty Mawr Country Park as part of a course study by Amanda Holroyd in 2008. The study used a random sample of people from Cefn Mawr and asked if they used green space. The small sample of non users from the study were then asked why they did not use parks. The main reasons were ill health, cannot walk far, too old. Other reasons included lack of interest and lack of time. The users in the survey greatly valued the parks and were frequent visitors, 87% of the responding householders had visited greenspace in the last 12 months. Ty Mawr was their favourite choice, but Acton, Bellevue and Alyn Waters were also visited.

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3.0 Acton Park Heritage Lottery funded consultation 2008 Considerable work was undertaken as part of the Acton Park Heritage Lottery Funded project planning grant. Visitor survey information indicated that Acton Park was largely accessed on foot (50%), as people lived within 10 minutes of the park. Nearly all the people surveyed visited the park at least 3 times a year. People used the park for walking, using the play facilities and to keep fit and healthy. Under represented groups not visiting the park included women, older people (Ryder Landscapes study 2008) and couples with independent children.

A non user survey conducted by Ryder Landscapes in Wrexham Town, Borras Park shops and Garden Village shops indicated that 44% of people surveyed had not visited parks in Wrexham. This is a relatively high figure for the general population. Asked for reasons why they did not visit Acton Park , the highest ranked reasons were no reason to visit, do not use parks at all, too far away. Slightly lower in the ranking were unsure of events and activities and unsure what it has to offer and having nobody to go with (Ryder Landscapes study 2008). The top reason they would use Acton Park was “more events and activities”.

4.0 Ponciau Park Heritage Lottery funded consultation 2007 Work was undertaken at the Ponciau Park as part of the Heritage Lottery funded improvements to the park in 2007. This indicated very high use of the park, 65% of people used the park daily and 27% of people weekly. They were local people, (within 15 minutes walk) and they walked to the park. The views of the quality of the park before the improvement works were poor, with concern over neglect and antisocial behaviour.

5.0 Health and Well Being Strategy Consultation Consultation as part of the development of the Health and Well-Being Strategy 2008 asked people waiting for health checks:­ "If you could change one thing to improve the health of you, your family or your community, what would it be?"

The majority of people wanted to improve their diet. Children and young people also wanted more opportunities to participate in different physical activities from those traditionally offered in educational environments, including dancing, skateboarding, walking and climbing, and horse riding. Both children and adults wanted activities that they could participate in as a family.

50 Organisational Structure of Chief Officer Appendix B Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service Divisional Manager

Parks, Countryside and Rights Of Way Manager

Team Leaders – Maintenance & Senior Parks & Senior Parks & Landscape Senior Tree Officer Countryside Officer, Countryside Officer, Enforcement/Definiti Manager ve Map North South

Landscape Tree Officer Ranger—Alyn Ranger—Ty Mawr Assistant Rights Designer Waters Of Way Officer Landscape Ranger—Alyn 2 x P/T Ranger—Ty Assistant Rights Designer Waters Mawr Of Way Officer Ranger—Nant Mill P/TRanger—Stryt Las Ar Hafod Technical Officer Information Animal Husbandry Assistant Worker Access Ranger Part Time Part Time Information Information Assistant—Ty Mawr Part Time Access Assistant—Nant Mill Ranger Seasonal Information Seasonal Information Part Time Access Assistant Nant Mill Assistant—Ty Mawr Ranger Bellevue Park Officer Ponciau Park Officer Apprentice & Park Keeper Bellevue Park Warden Apprentice

Future post – Acton Park Officer