Grand Opening - Blaencaerau Ball Park

A dilapidated ball park situated at the top of the Llynfi Valley in Blaencaerau has received a complete ‘make over’ in order that it can be used again by local children and young people. The ball park had fallen into a state of disrepair and was unusable.

In partnership with the local community, Communities First, Valleys to Coast and the local Neighbourhood Police Team an initiative has been taken forward to regenerate the ball park to provide a much needed area for local youths to meet and play sport.

Extensive consultation with local young people identified the site and established a number of priorities for the scheme. The evidence of need was collated and summarised to access funding via the Safer Bridgend Community Safety Partnership to purchase integrated basket ball and five a side football posts to install in the refurbished ball park. The fencing that encloses the area will be updated and youth shelters are to be situated in close proximity to the ball park to provide shelter from the rain for young people.

Major of Maesteg Town Council Cllr Steve Smith commented that: ‘this was an example of progress, addressing the needs of younger community members and shows that by working together we can have a positive impact on improving our community. The launch of the regenerated ballpark illustrates how small schemes can contribute to the community of Caerau’.

The Caerau Communities First Partnership nominated Caerau NPT for the South Wales Police Awards for their role in taking forward this project specifically for responding to identified community issues and for engaging young people in the development of this proposal. We were delighted when this partnership led to our neighbourhood team winning the 2009 South Wales Police Award for Problem Oriented Partnership.