New visitor centre could transform Llandegfedd Reservoir claims report (From Free Press Series)
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New visitor centre could transform Llandegfedd Reservoir claims report
1:00pm Sunday 2nd September 2012 in News
A NEW visitor centre could restore a local tourist attraction to somewhere near its former glory, boosting the numbers attending the site by up to 50 per cent, a report says.
The design and access statement on Monmouthshire council's website shows Llandegfedd Reservoir has suffered a big decline in visitor numbers over the past 30 years, but the new centre could turn its fortunes around.
The plans would complete a large-scale development of the site, for which a watersports centre, changing room, equipment store, shop and multi-purpose function room are already in the pipeline in a separate application.
Recent figures show just 38 per cent of the visitors now attend the Coed y Paen site compared to 1991 data which followed a boom in windsurfing's popularity, the report says.
In 1991, 412,646 visited, in comparison to 157,555 last year.
"It is predicted that the new visitor centre will attract increased numbers of visitors to the site, particularly within the first few years when the presence of new facilities at Llandegfedd will stimulate interest among the local population, as well as tourists," the report said.
The new centre would replace temporary buildings and storage containers based there.
It would include information about water resources for school trips and a cafe and toilets for participants in activities such as sailing and windsurfing.
Llandegfedd reservoir has attracted both locals and tourists since it opened in 1964.
A watersports centre has been a long time in the making, as it was first proposed around 2004.
Welsh Water submitted new plans in April after it took over the responsibility for providing recreational facilities from the charity Llandegfedd Watersports Centre.
The site is the only one of Welsh Water's four large-scale facilities with public access that does not currently have a visitor centre.
