The final part of the next bit of development has just received official approval as the local council has given the go ahead for up to 41 BikePark Wales glamping pods and cabins on the South Wales site over the next couple of years.
The next stage in the site’s plans is already underway, with building of a new, green flow trail, new visitor welcome centre, bike wash, patio extension and landscaping works, due for completion by the end of April 2020.
After that, though, will come the first phase of car park expansion, by the end of 2020, along with a shower and toilet block and the first wave of accommodation and landscaping improvements. There will be a new 150 space car park and it’s expected that the new facilities with the addition of BikePark Wales glamping in the form of 36 pods and five cabins on site will add 16 new jobs to the site.
BPW says “The whole plan may take several years to develop as we balance our continued investment in trails with facilities improvements but what we can promise is more trails, more parking and even better facilities in the years to come! Riders won’t need to wait long to see the first wave of improvements however with our green trail and new visitor welcome centre scheduled to open this April.”
Having been through a public consultation period the final planning decision went to committee on the 8th January. BikePark Wales co-founder Martin Astley commented:
“I went along to observe the planning committee meeting and I was pretty nervous! It was amazing though, several of the councillors spoke out in support of the development and shared stories of the positive impact that BikePark Wales and our visiting riders are having on the local area. I have to admit it was quite an emotional moment for me, I’m so proud of our whole team at BPW and the riders that visit too. Mountain bikers are on the whole a pretty amazing bunch, those that visit from out of town have integrated so well in the area and are viewed really positively by the local community, that’s in no small part due to the way people behave and respect one another and the environment. The local community too have been so supportive since we opened in 2013, they’ve welcomed us completely and this next step for the park wouldn’t be possible without the support of both the community and our loyal riders. Planning permission for this next step for BPW was passed unanimously by the committee and I’m now excited to get cracking and keep the evolution of the park going!”
“We need more car parking, the shower and toilet block has been on the hit list for a long time and we’ve always planned to have glamping on site so it’s great to have permission in place and a plan to see this become reality. The addition of the green trail this coming Spring is going to be incredible, the trail is looking awesome, a real mountain bike trail, a singletrack but one designed so that novice riders can enjoy the trail, the exhilaration of mountain biking. It will allow riders who would love to try uplift accessed riding but don’t feel ready for our blue trails to come and give it a go as well as opening the park up to younger riders, I have a three year old son and I can’t wait to ride with him at BPW!!”
This development is possible thanks to the support of private investors who have been tirelessly supportive through the lengthy design and planning process and is part funded by the European Union and Welsh Government agricultural fund for rural development.
For more details, visit bikeparkwales.com
As always, the Singletrackworld Forum is ahead of the game. Join in the discussion here: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/where-to-stay-for-bpw-looks-like-it-soon-be-less-of-a-problem/
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That’s good news. I visited for the first time last spring, and despite previously being an advocate of ‘earning one’s turns’ and climbing for every descent, I had such a good time.
Chatting to some of the BPW uplift drivers was interesting, a couple of whom said that availability of mains water to the site was one of the main limiting factors on further developments. With showers and accommodation coming, does that mean the planning approved includes more boreholes, or is there a plan to run mains water to the site?
Great news.
Pity such EU funding will not be available after the end of 2020.
But that’s what 52% if people who voted, voted for.
Awesome! I would love to go there at some point! I just started getting back into moving after a long time.