Ynysybwl Regeneration Partnership

The community were awarded £1.3m Create Your Space funding in 2016, which is a 7 year asset based approach to develop a project.  They have based their project on partnership working and have joined together together with numerous groups that include the Pony Club, The Outdoor Centre and the Butchers Pool, Roberttown Road runners, Ramblers to improve the community .

The vision behind the project is re-imaging Ynysybwl as a green, sustainable and highly networked valley with an emphasis on community owned assets, businesses and activities.  It was developed with the community to ensure the right assets were developed to meet the local’s needs. 15 consultations took place with 400 people.The project was very influenced by the results and initial plans were adapted to ensure the community gets what they have requested as much as is possible.

There is no community space in the village so the plan is to convert or build a hub, perhaps on the old Lady Windsor Colliery site.  They are also working to increase tourism in the area by developing routes and signage to incorporate local history and biodiversity.

They have opened an information centre on the ground floor of their office to have a permanent engagement opportunity for the community

Future Plans

• Youth Centre
• Community Hub

They need to generate income to keep local people in employment and increase tourism.

Lessons Learned

• Take an asset based approach.  Look at what you have got, not what you haven’t.
• Keep talking to and involving people while plans develop, so people don’t lose heart when nothing visible is happening.
• Make small changes along the way so people can see improvements being made in the community, as more complex projects take time.
• Involve people from all sectors – from the Council to the local GP as well as local residents and community groups
• Don’t duplicate – do your own thing and work with existing organisations.