Shape My Town Pilot: Ynysybwl

Shape My Town Pilot study Ynysybwl

Contents

Introduction

3

Workshop 1: Gathering evidence

4

Landscape theme

7

Townscape theme

9

Streetscape theme

11

Community theme

13

Workshop 2: SWOT analysis and project ideas SWOT Analysis

17

Project ideas

19

Next Steps

2

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Introduction What is Shape My Town?

The workshop

The Design Commission for Wales, Coombs Jones and the Welsh School of Architecture developed Shape My Town for anyone wishing to investigate their town, village, neighbourhood or place before investing in improving it. It is a ‘how to’ guide giving local people the tools to explore their place, identify what makes it unique and help to plan for its future by:

This report outlines the process and outcomes of the community-led event held in Ynysybwl on 16th April 2016.

• • • • •

Encouraging people to get together with others in the community and set up a town team Using the step-by-step guide to exploring their town Demonstrating how to make a ‘Plan for your Place’ in order to make their voices heard Inspiring communities to make a real difference to the places which are important to them with example case studies Providing ‘Townloads’ which are packed with useful information and resources to support the process

Call for pilot projects Following early research leading to the first stage of project development in 2014/15 we sent out a call for collaborators for a second phase to help disseminate the project and spread the word about the Shape My Town resources and how to use them. The selected pilot studies would benefit from specialist support and guidance from the creators of Shape My Town throughout the process through a mentored community-led workshop. The pilot study projects would also feature in special case studies and documentation on our website.

Learning about and using Shape My Town aimed to help pilot communities: • • • •

Think about positive change for their place Provide a focus and structure for community input Help plan for their place and engage with decision makers Learn from and share case studies

Two pilot studies were chosen from the expressions of interest received: Abergavenny, put forward by Team Abergavenny and Ynysybwl, put forward by Ynysybwl Regeneration Partnership.

The pilot studies aimed to guide participants through the shape my town process, with a particular emphasis on the toolkit itself. The aim was to break the participants into small groups to each tackle one theme: Landscape, Townscape, Streetscape and Community.

The structure of the event 10:00 Participants meet at venue 10:15 Introduction to Shape My Town 10:30 Workshop 1 : Gathering evidence

Landscape, Townscape, Streetscape, Community 12:45 Lunch break 13:30 Workshop 2 : SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis, identification of projects 15:00 Reporting back –steps to a vision 15:45 Summary and key points 16:00 Close

Participants Clive Thomas Tom Cadwallader Wynford Price Elaine Hicks Glyn Hicks Doris Morris Jill Price Michael Ford Louisa Addiscott Daryl Leeworthy Barbara Castle

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Image 1: The Shape My Town workshop in progress

Workshop 1 : Gathering evidence The aim of the first session was to gather evidence about the village as it is now. By developing a good understanding of the current context, a vision, next steps and framework of projects can be founded on a solid evidence base.

Participants in the session were split into groups to work through the four themes of the toolkit: Theme 1 : Landscape Theme 2 : Townscape Theme 3 : Streetscape Theme 4 : Community

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Image 2: The landscape group’s analysis of Ynysybwl

Landscape theme The village is intimately connected to the landscape surrounding it.

Settlements provide industry, services, employment and markets for their hinterland, and rely on those living beyond the boundary for trade, materials and produce. Economics, politics and culture can be read in the hedges, walls, fields, farms and towns that make up a region.

Landscape and setting

Edges

The village is a valley village running along a valley floor, following the course of the Nant Clydach. It is located 15 miles north of Cardiff and 16 miles south of Merthyr Tydfil.

The town of Pontypridd lies to the south and to the north is a large area of forestry and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The edges of the town are defined by the river to the east and the former Lady Windsor collery. To the west is farmland, with the village running north-south through the valley. There is an abrupt boundary between the village and the surrounding landscape. The village is neither expanding or contracting; it is largely static. However, there are ongoing proposals for the Lady Windsor site which could dramatically affect the village, change its shape and affect its relationship with the landscape.

The village is located where the Y Ffrwd stream meets the Nant Clydach. The location of the village is driven by the geology of underlying coal seams which led to the rapid growth of the village during the late industrial period. Prior to this the village was largely rural.

Around the village the landscape is largely farm land, with arable and hill farming most dominant.

The village is identifiable as a distinct entity. This is not part of a larger built up area or conglomeration. The nearest village is Coed-y-Cwm to the south east, with Glyncoch the nearest larger settlement.

At first glance the village appears to have a natural green setting, however, in the not too distant past this was not the case. The impact of the Lady Windsor colliery on the landscape was dramatic. Today, the site has undergone some remediation and the remaining spoil heaps have been greened over.

Views and skyline

Parks and green spaces A number of parks and green spaces exist in the village: • Park Road • Green space behind Dan y Cribyn • The recreation ground (the Rec).

• Llewelyn Terrace • Butchers Field • Buarth-y-Capel green space • Lady Windsor site These offer a range of different resources; the most used are Butchers Field and the Rec. However, there is a lack of resources in these green spaces. They are not connected together or particularly well maintained. There is a lack of signage at key locations and limited connection to the wider landscape.

The village is visible from the surrounding landscape, in particular from the tops of hills and trig points (see map).

The largest and most distinctive buildings are in the centre of the village, and the cenotaph is seen as a focal point.

The main streets in the village run along the valley floor, but residential streets such as High Street and Augustus Street run perpendicular to this, directly up the hillside.

This gives dramatic changes in level between houses and views to the landscape along these streets.

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Image 3: The townscape group’s analysis of Ynysybwl

Townscape theme Having found out about landscape, it’s time to explore the history, heritage and built environment of the village; the buildings and spaces and how the place has grown and developed.

History and heritage The history of the village is shaped by its relationship with mining during the late industrial period. Earlier settlement was dominated by a few buildings and small farms, such as Buarth y Capel. In 1841 around 200 people lived in the village.

This changed dramatically during the late industrial period. Several mining sites were established in or close to the village: • New Road drift mine (mid 18th century) • Mynachdy colliery (19th century; opened and closed approx. 5 times until final closure in 1943, employing 400 people at its peak).

• Lady Windsor Colliery (opened in 1886 by Plymouth Estates and over a thousand people were employed here. The pit closed in 1988).

core of the village is the 300 houses built on the western side of the valley in typical miners terraces, along with the Windsor Hotel, new roads and a railway link. Later development follows the valley, with new housing added in Heol y Fawr, Buarth y Capel and Dan y Cribyn at the ends of the village.

The centre of the village is linear, like the village itself.

The majority of shops and services are along Robert Street, including the Cooperative shop, cenotaph, and the major pubs. The tallest buildings in the village are also found here.

A railway line connecting Ynysybwl Halt to Pontypridd served the village and the colliery until 1953.

Buildings and scale

There are a number of religious buildings in the village, the majority II* listed but no grade I. These include: • Noddfa (open) • Tabernacle (open) • Church in Wales (open) • Gospel Hall (open) • Glyn Street (open) • Jerusalem (closed) • Ebenezer (closed) • Zion (open) • New Road Chapel (closed)

Significant historic buildings include: • Workman’s Hall (demolished) • Railway station • Engine house • St Gwynno’s Church • Dynamite Store, Mynachdy • Mill house • Aberffrwd Cottages • Tyn y Wern (manager’s house) • Mynachdy Farm

Green Park is the oldest park (over a century old) and the recreation ground has traditionally been an important part of village life, This was suggested as a location for a garden village. However, it developed through the 1920s into a premier sports site.

Significant buildings today include: • Roberttown Hotel • The Bomb • The Con Club • Chapels (listed opposite) • Cenotaph

The Cooperative movement has historically been a key feature of village life, with the first Cooperative established here. At its peak there were four Cooperative buildings in the village and wide support from members in the community.

Town form and layout The town takes a linear form along the valley. The historic

Materials and detail Typical materials include: • Stone • Painted window and door surrounds- often coloured • Tile roofs • Pebbledash/render • Predominantly grey in colour 9

Image 4: The Cenotaph- a focus for the community.

10 Image 5: Discussion in groups formed the core of the workshop.

Streetscape theme Having found out about setting and character, this section explores the outdoor spaces in the village. Public space is all around us and we use it every day: the streets we use to get to work or to shops, the parks where we walk the dog, the playgrounds where children play, the corners where we bump into friends, recreation spaces such as allotments and sports pitches, and the squares used for festivities and markets.

Public Spaces and squares There are two main public focal points in the village: •

•

The square is a crossroads with a number of shops and services around it, including a garage, a doctors, a pub and fish shop. There is a bus stop here (but no shelter). This is the centre of the town with annual events taking place here, such as the Xmas Fayre and Santa’s arrival. The square has access to the cycle path and is a gathering point for youths and those waiting for the bus.

The memorial cenotaph located near the community centre is an important focus, particularly in bringing together the community at remembrance Sunday and for carol singing. It is an area of open paving with planters and lights. It is not on a bus route.

Paths are in a variable state of repair. There are spots where people feel unsafe such as Parish Road/Gelli Road. This is partly due to the street lighting being turned off at night.

The footfall at the cenotaph is significantly lower than at the square.

Streets, lanes and alleyways The streets in the village run along the valley with a number of residential streets running perpendicular to these main streets. The main road through the village is the B4273 Robert Street. This is the main retail and commercial street and is the most busy street in the village with vehicle traffic. Parking takes place on the street, adding congestion and making cars wait to pass.

While this reduces traffic speed for the pedestrian it also makes the journey along Robert Street time consuming for the driver.

A cycle route through the Lady Windsor site links to the Taff Trail and to Cardiff.

The bus service to the village is good, but only serves part of the village. There is no train service; the nearest railway station is in Abercynon.

Furniture and surfaces Interpretation boards are found at the north and south of the village. Welcome signs exist but are in need of repair.

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12 Image 6: Using census data to explore the community demographics.

Community theme Having found out about the physical characteristics of the village,this section asked participants to think about how the community functions within its environment- the community’s well-being. Well-being simply means the state of being comfortable, happy and healthy this state, however, depends in part on how educational, cultural, housing, health, employment, leisure and social needs are being met within the community.

People and demographics

Facilities, activities and opportunities

Ynysybwl Census data (2011)

The community has a large number of groups and activities, but these are not well connected together and often work against each other.

Population: 4,664 Number of households: 1,929 Age 0-17: 1,062 Age 18-60: 2,568 Age 61+: 1,034 The community appears cohesive but many young people do not feel part of the village. They feel excluded as there is no youth club, no meeting place and no cafe for them to use. The current youth group has been constantly moved from place to place. Many young people congrgate at the Bomb or the Con club, but are not taking part in activities. There is a perception that not much happens here, despite there being a wide range of groups. Perhaps they do not know about these or feel there is nothing for them.

Education accessed in the village: • English medium primary school • Learning opportunities in the village: Adult education in Welsh, crafts, computer classes.

• Autistic specialist education provision in the village.

Education accessed outside the village: • Welsh medium primary school • Faith primary school • Secondary schools & colleges all located outside the village Facilities in the village: • Outdoor space (lots!)

• 3 small shops, e.g.: co-op • 3 hairdressers • 2 doctors • 1 chemist • 1 computer shop • 1 fish shop • 1 cafe • 1 bakers • 8 chapels with some community use. This could be an opportunity?

• Pubs • Con club • The Bomb- holiday play scheme • Community centre (used predominantly by older groups such as bingo) • Bowls club (poor condition) • Butchers Pool (paddling pool in need of repair) • Taff Trail & mountain biking Facilities outside the village: • Swimming • Shopping • Parks • Dentist • Hospitals • Churches 13

14 Image 7 Annotating maps to record evidence.

Promoting active & healthy lifestyles A number of facilities and clubs exist in the village: • Pony club • Daerwynno outdoor centre • Football • Rugby • Bowls • Cricket • Walk & talk • Ramblers • Outdoor keep fit • Rob runners • Keep fit • Slimming world • Table tennis

Climate change and sustainability The group perceived that there was little interest in climate change or its effect on the village. Local people seem to accept fuel poverty, changes to the weather and damages caused by floods. There are local groups interested in sustainability, such as YRP and Daerwynno.

The main energy sources are gas and electricity and car use is high. There are renewable energy generation schemes locally but electricity generated is returned to the national grid rather than local communities.

Transport The majority travel by car. The village has good road links to the A470 artery to Merthyr and to Cardiff. There is a bus service through the village, including a school bus, but there are areas of the village that are not served. The Taff Trail cycle route passes through the valley.

While there are not many jobs locally, the connections and lower house prices make the village popular for commuters.

Housing The housing market is stable in Ynysybwl. Supply equals demand and there don’t seem to be many empty properties. Equally, there is very little new housing.

House prices are relatively stable, having risen 4.26% over the past year; however, this is a larger increase than the average for the county, a 0.70% decrease (figures from Zoopla).

There is a mix of tenures across the village. A next step would be to find out the mix of tenures and how long people are waiting to be housed, along with the profile of housing need.

Renting is very expensive and prevents saving for a house deposit.

Older homes and north facing houses in particular could be hard to heat and would benefit from insulation. There is fuel poverty in the village with high percentages of income spent on heating. However, improvements to homes could lead to negative equity.

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16 Image 8 Preparing the SWOT analysis.

Workshop 2 : SWOT analysis and project ideas The aim of the second session was to try to make sense of the evidence collected on the first part of the day and to generate ideas for Ynysybwl.

In this session the groups came together to combine their knowledge and to analyse the village as a whole.

Part 1: SWOT analysis A simple way of bringing together and making sense of the information collected is to do a SWOT analysis.

Participants were asked to evaluate the place under four headings: Strengths: the characteristics of your town that are successful and set it apart from others Weaknesses: things that are not successful or put your town at a disadvantage Opportunities: areas where there is chance for change or external factors that offer a chance to make improvements Threats: Conditions that are harmful to the success or character of your town or that could damage its chances to improve The group was asked to consider these questions: How can we build on our strengths?

How can we improve our weak areas?

How can we take advantage of opportunities?

How can we address each threat?

Part 2: Project ideas Participants were asked to identify a small number of projects that would have a big impact on the place if they were carried out. The group was asked to consider both small scale projects that could be done with limited funding or by local people and larger transformational projects.

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Strengths

Weaknesses

- The history of the village and how well it is documented and archived.

- Heritage is not known, showcased or captured in the village. The memories of local people are an underutilised asset.

- The number of community groups and activities, and level of activity in the village; these groups are beginning to come together and work with each other for the common good.

- Communication between groups and local people is not as clear as it could be. People seem to not know about what is going on or what is possible in the village.

- The landscape, scenery and amount of green space in and around the village, including cycling and walking links to these and areas of special landscape value.

- Despite green space being a strength, it is often not used effectively or accessible. There is a particular lack of green space at the school.

- The level of maintenance of the main road.

- Groups in the village are not accessing all the funding and grants they could. There is perhaps a lack of entrepreneurship or business spirit.

- The potential asset of the Lady Windsor colliery site.

- Increasing information availability.

- There is no community owned and managed indoor training or gathering space, and a lack of start up spaces.

- Young people do not have their own space.

- The bus service is limited in the areas it serves (in particular the bottom road).

- The Taff Trail cycle track does not bring people into the village.

- Mobile reception is intermittent (phone and data).

- There are derelict buildings and spaces in the village, eg: Woolwich & the dog parlour, and others in need of renovation.

- There is no clear centre to the village; different ages of resident disagree as to the location of the centre and the focus of the village.

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SWOT Analysis Opportunities

Threats

- Capturing and showcasing the heritage of the village is seen as important in its development. The forthcoming storytelling event is one way to do this. While copies of material can be stored or displayed locally, the need to archive materials safely and securely in a recognised archive facility was recognised.

- Threats are posed by litter, fly tipping (particularly now council response times are longer) and illegal motorbikes.

- The village centre requires improvement and represents a key opportunity. This could include defining the centre, improving paths, repairing important buildings and renovating facades.

- The opportunity provided by the historic buildings in the village, for example opportunities to refurbish the facades of the tallest buildings in the community, the Con, the Bomb and the Rob, to define the centre.

- Develop the village’s green spaces, including possible use by the school (this will require a safe access route).

What would they require from a green space for teaching use? Could any green space be classed as a village green?

- The lack of communication between groups in the village.

- Lack of mobile reception in the village.

- Lack of consultation for the Lady Windsor Colliery development.

- Lack of start up space for businesses.

- The negative effect of apathy demoralising some parts of the community.

- Local authority cuts.

- Develop more knowledge of what is going on in the village and how to access support (and grants).

Collaboration and support between groups is needed; this can help identify group’s needs, for example training or financial support. A space for training would help support this.

- Developing ways for local people and visitors to access information about the village, for example walking trails with QR codes; maps; audio trails; and information boards.

- The potential community benefit of developing the Lady Windsor site, and also threat of disbenefit.

- Local authority cuts could lead to a change in how things are done with potential for more local involvement in decision making. The community council could help promote this idea and work with the local authority to transition, for example by undertaking community asset transfers.

- Wind turbine money and its dispersal to support community causes. This process needs careful consideration to ensure a democratic process is in place.

- Plans for the ATC hut, engine house and land need to be found out as this is a potential opportunity.

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20 Image 9: The location of the five project ideas in the village.

Croeso

Project ideas The following five projects were identified as priorities by the participants. It was acknowledged that there are many more projects of various scale that could be included on an action plan.

Village centre improvements Finding funding and help to improve the Con, the Bomb and the Rob. These are key tall buildings that mark the centre of the village. Improving these will make a dramatic difference to the feel of the village centre.

Croeso!

Croeso

A project is needed to address the Croeso/welcome sign at the main arrival point into the village (Dan y Cribyn).

A possible route to achieve this is to involve local youth groups or apply for funding from RCT Homes.

Derelict shops Finding ways to reuse, let or renovate derelict shops would improve the appearance of the village. Empty shops can also be an opportunity for pop up shops, information points, heritage information and start up space. The windows of empty units can be used to display information on vinyl signs, such as artwork, local information, history or tourist information.

Community hub The need for a community hub was identified as a large project but an essential one. This could address many points raised in the workshop: need for community space, youth space, start up space, training, a focal point for local groups to access information and a focus for a record of local history. The next page explores some ideas for a community hub in Ynysybwl.

Wind-fall!

The community gain from the wind turbine payments could be significant and help enable projects across the village. However, the dispersal of the money in a democratic manner needs to be agreed by the community. Perhaps nearby examples of how this has been achieved could be explored to find the mot appropriate route for Ynysybwl.

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Key outcome 1: What is the future for Lady Windsor?

The workshop highlighted that the Lady Windsor colliery site is vitally important to the future of the village. The development of the site will have a major impact on the success of the settlement and should be carefully considered.

Sustainability Any development on the site should be founded on a sound sustainable approach in line with Welsh Government policy or aiming for best practice. This should consider the environmental design of the development as well as social and economic aspects of sustainability. A mix of uses such as residential, community, small scale employment/enterprise or livework could create a viable community that is symbiotic with the existing village.

Design quality Any development on the site should deliver a high quality design solution. This should learn from the context but present a contemporary design solution. It is suggested that any proposals are presented to DCFW Design Review as early as possible in the design process.

Previous comments from DCFW design review on proposals for the site should be compared with emerging proposals.

Transport & connections The impact of new development on the existing infrastructure of the village could should be carefully considered. New links such as pedestrian paths, cycle paths and safe routes to amenities and schools should be designed into the proposal to link the extension into the existing village.

Community hub A community hub located on the Lady Windsor site has the potential to link the new development to the existing town. Some examples of successful community buildings are shown on the following page. While these may not be the same scale or cost of the hub in Ynysybwl, they suggest ideas that could be incorporated into a design proposal. The location of and access to this hub will be important to ensure it is well used and integrated into the life of the community.

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Blackhorse Workshop: Assemble

Cultural Centre for Children: Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter

Blackhorse Workshop in Walthamstow provides affordable access to tools and workshop space with on site expertise. The workshop is a place to learn and work for everyone- hobbyists, apprentices and small businesses- and runs a wide range of classes and activities as well as having a cafe and brewery on site. It further hosts regular markets and has for-hire space as part of the development.

This facility in Copenhagen offers play facilities and programmes for young people, developed with the input of local children. It offers spaces for creativity, experiemts and play within a fun learning environment. Flexible spaces, bright colours and customised furniture are used throughout and the building is organised around a central play ‘mountain’.

Key ideas:

Key ideas:

Space for making Affordable Mix of uses Classes and activities

Designed with the users Colour Creativity

Image 10: The shared workshop facility at Blackhorse workshops 24

Image 11: A climbing wall and moments of bright colour create a vibrant focus to the centre.

Key outcome 2: Ideas for a community hub

Yardhouse: Assemble

New Generation Youth & Community Centre: RCKa

Yardhouse is an affordable workspace and is seen as a prototype for new workspace provision using derelict and unused sites for short terms. The building is designed so it can be demounted and reassembled elsewhere. It was designed to use cheap and readily available materials that can be assembled simply, so it could be built by the users themselves.

New Generation provides vocational, training, leisure and support services for the people of Lewisham. It includes a climbing wall, training kitchen, cafe, games area, recording studio, health clinic, dance and performance spaces, teaching and conference rooms and an IT suite.

The building uses innovative sustainable construction and high-quality design with extensive participation of young people, whose involvement continued through the detailed design, construction, management and governance of the building and services.

Key ideas:

Key ideas:

Affordable Self-build DIY materials

Designed with the users Mix of uses Classes and activites Sustainable

Image 12: The Yardhouse is used for events as well as being a shared studio.

Image 13: The central atrium brings different users of the centre together.

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Image 14: Recording project ideas.

26 Image 15: The group carrying out the SWOT analysis.

Next steps The workshop highlighted the assets Ynysybwl has and a number of weaknesses that could be addressed. The projects suggested range in scale and complexity from working with youth groups to create a new and distictive sign for the village, to a new building to be located on the Lady Windsor site with complexities of funding, business planning and access.

Having carried out this workshop, a number of next steps are suggested: •

To carry out further consultations with a wide cross section of the community. This could be in the form of drop in consultation sessions or exhibitions of ideas or householder surveys. Identifying difficult to reach groups, for example the elderly or very young, is vital to get a rounded view.

•

To develop the information held by YRP and others into a place plan for the village. The fourth step of Shape My Town can help you do this and will guide you through the process of writing a plan and who to involve.

•

To develop an outline proposal for the community hub, which can develop into a business plan and design brief. This will be needed to apply for funding further down the line. Creating an aspirational brief will ensure a high quality output and a building that is inspiring for the community. The community hub should involve different local groups and businesses in its design and construction to ensure it is ‘owned’ by the community and has a strong relationship to people and place.

Image credits All images by the authors except: p22: Blackhourse workshop: http://assemblestudio. co.uk/?page_id=235 p22: http://www.detail-online.com/inspiration/culturalcentre-for-children-in-copenhagen-108317.html p23: Yardhouse: http://www.archdaily.com/527175/ yardhouse-assemble p23: New Generation Youth & Community Centre: http:// www.archdaily.com/437112/the-new-generation-youthand-community-centre-rcka 27