Filing cabinets and mattress among rubbish dumped at popular Flintshire heritage park

Two filing cabinets and a mattress are among the rubbish which has been dumped at a historic Flintshire heritage park within the last six months.

Staff at Greenfield Valley Heritage Park near Holywell said the items had to be removed from a path that runs alongside Wat’s Dyke earlier this year.

Meanwhile, two trailer loads of green waste were also disposed of in the Bryn Celyn car park before workers again intervened.

Details of the incidents have been revealed as part of a report by Flintshire Council highlighting work carried out by the Greenfield Valley Trust to improve the appearance of the park.

Steve Jones, the local authority’s chief officer for Streetscene and transportation, said: “Weekly patrols and day to day maintenance (have been) completed and standards are continuing to improve.

“Funding has been secured through the landfill tax grant (£19,600) to improve access and sense of place into the valley from the Strand area and includes new kissing gates and improved footpath surfacing.

“Unfortunately, a small amount of fly-tipped material has been seen since the completion of the works.

“Work has continued in creating a coffee point at the bakehouse.

“Positive feedback has been received from users about the active travel route and an increase has been seen in people using mobility scooters in particular.”

The report shows footfall within the area of the park where visitors need to pay to gain access has increased by around 20 per cent, from 9,916 in 2018to 11,937 so far this year.

Income from the entry free, shop takings and other activies has also risen by a similar percentage.

A new management agreement was recently signed between the council and Greenfield Valley Trust, which manages the park on its behalf.

It followed an audit of being carried out which made recommendations to strengthen the governance and operation of the site.

Mr Jones said all issues raised had since been addressed and a number of trustees had been recruited to provide support.

He added: “This agreement formalises the partnership arrangement between the trust and Flintshire County Council.

“The agreement is open-ended but with termination clauses built in.

“The management agreement is the legal framework to allow the trust set the strategic direction and have responsibility for management of the site through an agreed business plan.

“The business plan details the site vision and goals and highlights the areas of work over a fixed five year term.”

The report will be considered by members of the council’s environment scrutiny committee at a meeting next week.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).

Picture Credit: dayoutwiththekids.co.uk