Council criticised for aqua park planning at Welsh lake

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

A Welsh council has been criticised for the way it dealt with plans to introduce an inflatable obstacle course to a popular beauty spot.

An intense debate took place at a full Vale of Glamorgan Council meeting on Monday, July 14, after the Conservatives group put forward a motion expressing concern over the decision to allow an Aqua Park site at Cosmeston Lakes.

Council officials and cabinet members argue the attraction, which opened on July 5, will bring in much needed revenue that can be used to improve and maintain Cosmeston Country Park and that it will provide job opportunities.

However the opening of the Aqua Park site, located at the eastern lake, has caused anger among a number of residents who fear the impact it will have on the environment.

A petition opposing the scheme has so far gained more than 7,400 signatures.

Criticism

Leader of the Conservatives group, Cllr George Carroll, called Cosmeston a peaceful and quiet location that was “not suitable for a development of this nature” and criticised the level of engagement between the council and local residents before the scheme went ahead.

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s cabinet members discussed the plans for an Aqua Park at Cosmeston in March and the scheme was also looked at by the local authority’s environmental scrutiny committee before a licence agreement was signed in April.

However discussions about this current proposal go back as far as January 2025.

Councillors whose ward the new leisure attraction is in and those whose wards border it said they did not find out about the plans for an Aqua Park site until March.

Conservative ward member for Plymouth, Cllr Anthony Ernest, said: “I think the way in which the matter has come to scrutiny and to cabinet has all been back to front.

“I think it has been very badly handled.

“I think if the council is going to do this sort of thing again it should be very careful to consult with its local members.”

“Malicious tripe”

Plaid Cymru ward councillor for Dinas Powys, Cllr Chris Franks, also said he thought the plans had been dealt with badly.

The motion, put forward by Cllr Carroll and seconded by his colleague, Cllr Rhys Thomas, also called on the leader of the council, Cllr Lis Burnett, to apologise for suggesting that campaigners opposed to the water park were spreading “malicious tripe” in a social media post.

Cllr Burnett called the motion a “direct and personal attack” on her and suggested her comments on social media had been taken out of context.

In a Facebook post about Cosmeston Lakes on June 15 the council leader posted: “It has been alleged that it [the Aqua Park plan] was not discussed by cabinet nor scrutiny and rushed through by emergency powers.

“That is malicious tripe and is being dealt with separately.”

The leisure attraction at Cosmeston Lakes is currently being piloted until September 2025.

After this the council will carry out a full evaluation of the pilot and decide if it will go out to tender for someone to operate an attraction on site for the following season.

Cllr Burnett and the deputy leader of the council, Cllr Bronwen Brooks, insisted all the proper checks were carried out before Aqua Park opened.

This included the completion of an ecology report and water quality monitoring, which is something that will carry on throughout the pilot period.

Cllr Brooks said the Aqua Park decision came about because more activities and opportunities for leisure at Cosmeston Park was something people in Penarth had asked for in a consultation carried out through the Placemaking Plan for Penarth process.

She went on to add: “Everything I have seen… I am content that wildlife is protected on Cosmeston Lake which is absolutely paramount to us.”