Green space project in Newtown honoured
A Newtown body that manages 130 acres of green space has won a new Welsh Government backed community award.
A dozen communities were honoured by the Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government, Hannah Blythyn AM at an award ceremony in Cardiff where Deputy Mayor of Newtown Susan Hill accepted the award on behalf of Open Newtown and the town council.
In a ground-breaking move by Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council, 130 acres of land have been transferred in to community ownership in a 99-year lease to community land trust Open Newtown.
Town Councillor Richard Edwards, said: "This project started after a consultation with residents that highlighted how important the green spaces and parks are as a place for leisure and recreation; a space for nature and a means to promote health and wellbeing, with most residents saying they made use of green spaces frequently.
"Wishing to protect and enhance the open spaces the council led a call for action, enabling the community to come together to form Open Newtown. I am pleased that all this hard work and effort has been acknowledged by this award."
Connect
Gary Mitchell project manager for Open Newtown, said it was looking to harness the green space for the towns benefit, not only creating beautiful spaces to relax in and explore but also to create new opportunities for activities, food, events, enterprise, energy and health and wellbeing.
"We are very honoured to accept this award in partnership with our Town Council. We are looking forward to working closely with local residents, organisations and businesses over the coming years to ensure Newtown stands out as a welcoming and attractive destination for all."
The award recognises that green space management can transform lives, connect people, put pride back into communities and improve health and well-being.
Open Newtown is also supported by the National Lottery’s Community Fund and the Community Land Advisory Service (CLAS).
CLAS Cymru coordinator Lucie Taylor said she was delighted to be honouring the considerable achievements of the community projects.
“CLAS Cymru is pleased to provide vital advice and support to community managed green space projects just like those we are celebrating today. We want to ensure that more land in Wales is used for the benefit of local communities, so that we can drive up the quality and effectiveness of green spaces because we know they can have an enormous impact on our health and wellbeing.”
