The innovative ‘Canal Park’ project will see an
unused area of land in the heart of Butetown transformed into a top-class multi-sports
facility for the community. The existing unmanaged grass area, situated behind
the College’s City Centre Campus on Dumballs Road, will be replaced with a new
3G playing surface with floodlighting, two Multi Use Gaming Areas and changing
rooms. Development will start during 2019.
The project has been made possible through the
award of £1.9million funding from the Welsh Government.
The brand new facility will provide a top-class,
secure and managed facility that will benefit Butetown’s four primary schools,
local sports teams, and the wider community through a programme of community
sports and play activities. CAVC is also
committed to using the venue to grow after-school sport and play activities and
its Family Learning programmes, already based in schools and community venues
across the region, which work to grow skills and remove barriers to education.
Mike James, Chief Executive of the Cardiff and
Vale College Group, said: “This is
fantastic news for the Butetown community. It represents another example of the
Welsh Government supporting innovative, collaborative projects that directly
impact on our local communities.
“We
are delighted to see this project come to fruition. We look forward to working
with Cardiff Council and the local community to develop this exciting facility
and a range of sporting and learning activities within it that will grow the
wellbeing of the community and help make a difference to so many.”
Cardiff Council Cabinet Member for Culture and
Leisure, Cllr Peter Bradbury, said: “If
you provide communities with good quality sports facilities they will use
them. That’s the experience we’ve had with the recently installed 3G
pitches in Pentwyn, Grangetown, Ely and Caerau.
“Increasing
participation in sport, particularly in our city’s most deprived communities,
is so important and we’re confident that these new facilities will lead to more
and more people in Butetown enjoying the boost to physical and mental wellbeing
that regular sporting activity brings.”
Education Minister Kirsty Williams said: “Our
schools and colleges play a vital role within a community. That’s why
we’ve committed to introducing more community learning centres, and plan to
make community focused projects a key aspect of the second wave of the our 21st
Century Schools and Education programme.
“Sport plays a key role in communities throughout
Wales, and I’m delighted that our £15 million Community Hubs Grant is able to
support innovative projects such as the Canal Park project which will provide
state of the art sports facilities that cater for the needs of the Butetown
community.”