Fishguard & Goodwick Train Station Shared Vision Meeting
This meeting was organised by South West Wales Connected, the new community rail partnership hosted by 4theRegion & Transport for Wales. Our role is then to support, facilitate and and help to take forward the ideas that emerge from these conversations, so that things start happening on the ground.
Event Overview
South West Wales Connected is hosting community vision meetings across the region, in towns and villages around railway stations, to give local people more of a voice about the challenges and opportunities as they see them.
Broadly speaking, these meetings are about three interconnected themes:
Creating a greater sense of place and pride of place
Amplifying what is distinctive, positive and strong about local areas – what do we love, what are we most proud of, what do we want to be famous for?
Improving community wellbeing
Giving local people a voice, joining the dots between good things that are happening locally, empowering people to get involved in local projects, and looking at environmental interventions, like green spaces, community gardens, encouraging active travel and engaging young people.
Improving the arrival experience for visitors
What do people see when they get off the train, and how can we make it a more positive experience? Tackling challenges like way-finding, tourist information, highlighting local attractions and independent businesses, and ensuring connectivity with the best that the local area has to offer.
This was the first virtual meeting surrounding Fishguard and Goodwick and saw open community discussion exploring what we love about the area and opportunities around the railway station.
Current Actions
Plans for the Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro are currently out for consultation, aiming to transform the transport network across South West Wales, boosting the local economy and providing better access to job and leisure opportunities. Potential options proposed include increased frequency of services from Swansea to Fishguard.
For more information, please refer to the open consultation page on the Welsh Government website.
Submissions for consultations will close on June 8th 2021.
Pembrokeshire County Council have secured funding to improve parking spaces surrounding Fishguard and Goodwick railway station, due to high demand and an increase in rail patronage. The project will provide improvements to the existing car park and extend the facility to provide additional parking space. The car park extension is to be constructed on a brownfield site owned by the Local Authority, adjacent to the car park.
An area of land surrounding the station has been identified for potential community usage in the future.
Jeremy Martineau, secretary of North Pembrokeshire Trade and Tourism, shared future projects going forward in Fishguard and Goodwick as part of the UK Community Renewal Fund. The UK Community Renewal Fund will provide £220 million of additional funding and will pilot new approaches (such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) away from the EU Structural Funds.
Projects proposed include bids from Theatr Gwaun, Sea Trust, Goodwick Brass Band, Fishguard Arts Society, Fishguard Bay Welcome, music commissions and clearing the water courses at Goodwick Moor.
As a chamber, North Pembrokeshire Trade and Tourism will put forward a range of smaller projects, which includes looking at how to improve the supply chain of local food into local outlets, more electric vehicle charge points and the documentation of items at Ein Hanes (Our History Heritage Centre).
A letter of support can be sent via email to Pembrokeshire County Council: ukcrf@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
What We Love
Throughout the discussion, people shared the things they love about Fishguard and Goodwick, including the welcoming friendliness of the community and the rich history, arts and culture the towns have to offer. Capturing what the community loves about their area can highlight what type of projects and developments people would like to see.
- Close proximity to the seafront and the harbour.
- Heritage of the town.
- Theatre and cinema.
- Community Spirit – evident during the pandemic.
- Welcoming to refugees.
- Diverse population and welcoming community.
- The Last Invasion Tapestry – 1797.
- Abundance of creativity and arts.
- Unique local shops
- Walkable Scale
- Transport links to Ireland and the rest of Wales.
- North Pembrokeshire Trade and Tourism slogans for the towns: “It’s Good for the soul” and “It’s just what the doctor ordered.”
What We’d Love to See
This meeting asked “what would you love to see” and the following ideas emerged from the discussion:
- More festivals and events, including but not limited to: Food, music, sports, arts.
- Town Information Centre
- A sea pool – fills with the tide.
- Free parking for local residents.
- Signage and wider access to information regarding history
- Nurture the creativity of the towns.
- Amplify and shout about what Fishguard and Goodwick have to offer.
- Utilise empty spaces and vacant buildings: Coworking and maker spaces. Educational, wellbeing and community activities.
- Amplify the voices of the community
- Local housing for local people
- Improved bus services and Active Travel routes.
- Increased signage to the seafront.
- Improved disable access. (e.g: Pavements in Goodwick)
- Improved connection between Ireland and Wales. (Business and leisure)
- Bicycle hire and repair facilities.
- Allotments, community gardens and growing spaces.
- Lockers for luggage storage while visitors explore.
Community Action
Welcome Banners at Stations
Participants
- Dawn, Zoe, Jen, Evie, Toni – South West Wales Connected
- Edward Perkins – Town & Community Council
- Ena (& father-in-law) – Local Resident
- Thomas Wheeler – Local Resident
- Sinead Henehan – Pembrokeshire County Council
- Kate-Marie Mitchell – POINT YPT
- Katie Murphy – Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
- Kitty Parsons – Pembrokeshire Online
- Sarah Baylis – Ports, Past and Present
- Helena Johnson – Letterson Community Council
- Mark Rummery – Ivybridge Guesthouse
- Hatti Woakes – North Pembrokeshire Transport Forum
- Vicky Moller – Grwp Wales
- Jeremy Martineau, Mara Ciceri, Silvia Brillo – North Pembrokeshire Trade & Tourism
Contact
Please get in touch if you would like to be included as our Fishguard and Goodwick projects emerge and move forward – everyone is welcome and everyone has a valuable contribution to make. Please email zoe@4theregion.com and jennifer@southwestwales.co for more details, to update us on local projects, and to get involved in working groups to take ideas forward.
South West Wales Connected aims to facilitate community-led initiatives and provide a forum for local people to have a voice. We want to break down silos and enable more sharing of information with and among the local community. We will lobby on behalf of communities to make change happen, and we can’t do anything without the support and involvement of local people – so please get involved and spread the word so that together we can make positive things happen!