Above: L to R: John Gwalter (Swansea Canal Society), Ceri Davies (Canal and River Trust) David Morgan (CRT) John Andrew Davies (SCS), Amy Leach-Haynes, (Prosperity and Valleys Taskforce Branch), Andy Ellis (SCS), David Llewellyn (Project Manager, Valleys Landscape Park).

We were joined on Tuesday by the Project Manager of the proposed Valleys Landscape Park, David Llewellyn, who came to see the work we are doing on the canal. He was accompanied by Amy Leach Haynes, of the Prosperity and Valleys Taskforce Branch, Equality and Prosperity Division in the Welsh Government.

The Valleys Landscape Park will run East to West from Ebbw Vale to Ammanford  and will be a designation that gives protection to the natural beauty of the area close to that given by a National Park listing.  David Llewellyn, seen to the extreme left of the above photo, walked from Coed Gwilym Park down  the canal to the Clydach Buried Lock site where he saw the work that we and the Canal and River Trust are doing there to restore the canal and lock. The visit was arranged by the Canal and River Trust and we were delighted to have David Morgan and Ceri Davies from the Trust with us. David Llewellyn stressed the need for all projects that needed funding to be community led and he was pleased to see such an attitude in the way we planned to develop  the Visitor Destination in the Buried Lock site.  He toured the site and was shown the model of what the new lock might look like.We thank him and Amy for taking the time to be with us.

     Above: Michelle’s model of the restored lock, seen from the south.