Work to start on major £12m improvement programme at historic country Park

Work is about to start on an ambitious £12m project to modernise visitor facilities and restore historic features at much loved country park.

The work at Neath Port Talbot Council’s Gnoll Estate Country Park will take approximately a year to complete, is designed to enhance facilities within the park for regular visitors, bring out the historic significance of the park and attract visitors from further afield.

Plans

Paid for by UK Government funding for the Vale of Neath, the work at the park will see: 

• The demolition of the current ageing visitor centre
• A new fully accessible two storey visitor centre encompassing  a modern café, stunning south facing balcony views across the lake, event, meeting and conference facilities  and a dedicated children’s soft play space.
• The introduction of an exciting new woodland adventure playground designed to be a destination attraction for children and families.
• Pond cottage repaired and brought back into use.
• Consolidation and repair works to the Gnoll House ruins.
• Restoration work on the park’s spectacular and historic Cascades.
• The installation of information and interpretation across the site detailing the history of the park and its cultural and historical importance to the area.
• Extensions to the recreation and walking routes area via a new bridge linking the park with the adjacent Brynau Farm, a wildlife haven of 57 hectares of Woodland Trust land that is perfectly placed on rolling hills next to Gnoll Estate Country Park.
• The transformational project will begin at the end of this month/beginning of August and will also involve landscaping, parking and other improvements.

While the work goes ahead, temporary catering facilities and temporary toilets will be in place to welcome visitors.

A popular Parkrun event held at the park on Saturdays will continue using an alternative route and a temporary path will be put in place to ensure walkers can continue to enjoy a circular route around the park’s picturesque lake.

Pond cottage will undergo a significant upgrade, providing visitor accommodation which will have capacity for up to six people staying overnight in three tastefully decorated double bedrooms enjoying stunning views over the park.

Significance

Cllr Cen Phillips, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Nature, Tourism and Wellbeing, said: “Gnoll Estate Country Park has great historic significance for Neath having been commissioned by the entrepreneurial Mackworth family in the 1770s.

“It has become a firm favourite with walkers, families and many others, this project will involve high quality additions aimed at enhancing facilities for our local community to enjoy and to attract more visitors to benefit the local economy.

“We have worked hard to ensure temporary facilities such as catering and toilets are in place so during the period of works, people can still come to the park and enjoy its invigorating walks and relaxing vistas.

“At the end of the project our communities will enjoy an improved Gnoll Estate Country Park with better, more modern facilities giving this local gem a new lease of life.”