Lake Vyrnwy: Visitor attraction plans for Powys reservoir
- Published
The proposed sculpture park could form part of a Lake Vyrnwy Experience
A sculpture park could be created in the first stage of plans to boost visitor facilities at a reservoir.
Lake Vyrnwy in Powys could also get an activity and events shelter.
The plan says work on car parks, landscaping and pathways would improve the management of visitors, which is said to be "problematic" at busy times.
A longer term plan would see a chapel in Llanwddyn renovated as a visitor centre to explain the history of the reservoir's dam, which opened in 1892.
The RSPB, which jointly manages the site with water company Hafren Dyfrdwy, is ultimately aiming to create a Lake Vyrnwy Experience, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The lake currently has an RSPB visitor centre and several car parks.
A design and access statement says: "The aim of the project is to improve the visitor experience, the ability to deliver activities and solve existing issues around the management of visitors around the site which are problematic during busy periods."
The dam, completed in 1892, is Grade I-listed
The Vyrnwy Dam was built between 1881 and 1890 and was the first large masonry dam in the UK.
The reservoir created was the largest in Europe at the time of its completion, and provided water to the city of Liverpool via a 100km (68-mile) aqueduct.
The old village of Llanwddyn was flooded following construction of the dam, with 37 houses, a church and two chapels among the buildings lost.
A new settlement had been built lower down the valley by the then Liverpool Corporation for the people who lost their homes.
Eventually it is hoped lottery funding can be obtained to renovate a chapel in Llanwddyn to serve as a visitor centre, exploring the history of the dam and the village.
Powys County Council is expected to consider the first stage of the proposals in the coming months.
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