Woodland gifted to local community organisation
A local community organisation in Dinas Mawddwy have taken on the ownership and development of a woodland in the centre of their village.
The woodland was previously owned by housing associationAdra, who gifted it free of charge to Cwmni Nod Glas as part of their land disposal strategy.
Cwmni Nod Glas cyf is a social enterprise, with the aims of making the Mawddwy community more sustainable.
The woodland forms part of the old estate called Y Plas, a mansion that was completed in 1872, but demolished in the ’60’s. There are still some remains of the old walled garden on site and a small avenue of Yew trees.
Chair Elwyn Jones said: “Our intention for the woodland is to give local people the opportunity to have their say as what can make it a more pleasant place; a place where projects can be undertaken if that is what the interest is and to manage it so it can benefit all who use it.”
Ffrancon Williams, Adra’s Chief Executive added: “We are always keen to form new partnerships and to work with community organisations for the benefit of the communities we serve. The environment, culture and well being are all key themes of our new corporate plan and I’m confident that Cwmni Nod Glas use of the land will deliver many of these benefits.”
Now that the site has been secured for the community Cwmni Nod Glas (CNG) will be holding a series of consultations in the village and an event in the woodland over the next couple of months in order to understand what the local residents would like to do. After all responses have been collated, an action plan will be created, and the long-term goal is that a group of residents will help to achieve the plan with support from other organisations.
Arfon Hughes CNG Secretary said: “The process has taken a while to complete, but we are grateful to Adra for the opportunity to secure this fantastic community resource for all residents now and in the future.”
Liz Mutch, a development officer with community woodland organisation Llais y Goedwig added: “A community asset transfer of a woodland is a relatively new concept in Wales. Llais y Goedwig will be producing a case study of this project so that other organisations and community groups can learn from this process.”