Penscynor Wildlife Park

Last updated
Penscynor Wildlife Park
Date opened1971
Date closedSeptember 1998
Location Neath, Wales
Coordinates 51°40′51″N3°46′58″W / 51.6809069°N 3.7828966°W / 51.6809069; -3.7828966 Coordinates: 51°40′51″N3°46′58″W / 51.6809069°N 3.7828966°W / 51.6809069; -3.7828966 [1]
Land area11 acres (4.5 ha)
No. of animals174
Annual visitors200,000

Penscynor Wildlife Park was a wildlife and safari park located near Neath in South Wales.

Contents

History

In 1966, Neath builder Idris Hale bought the semi-derelict Penscynor House in Cilfrew. The 11-acre (4.5 ha) grounds then became home to a large collection of exotic parrots and a number of charity days were held in response to public demand to see the birds.

Idris then decided to open the park to the public in 1971. It was launched by TV personality Johnny Morris, of the Animal Magic TV series. [2]

Success followed and it remained in the family's ownership until 1996 when Mr Hale's grandson, Jonathan Hale-Quant, took it over.

The park had annual attendance of 200,000 visitors and employed 18 staff. [3]

Inhabitants

Total 174 animals at time of closure.

Closure

Since 1998 the park has been abandoned. Starting in 1999, the Northern part of the park was developed into 41 residential units, retaining the children's playground from the zoo and area around it as open space. [4] [5]

Jonathan Quant put Penscynor House up for sale in 2005. [6] Plans for converting it from "residential dwelling (Class C3) to care home for up to 5 residents (Class C2)" were approved on 18 October 2011. [7] Many of the enclosures still existed as of 2012, including the chimp houses and penguin pool. All structures are derelict, and in poor condition. [8]

Related Research Articles

Port Talbot Human settlement in Wales

Port Talbot is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately eight miles from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town and is one of the biggest steelworks in the world but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 37,276 in 2011.

Neath Port Talbot County borough in Wales

Neath Port Talbot is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east, Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north; and Swansea to the west.

Aberdulais Human settlement in Wales

Aberdulais is a village and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath, in the community of Blaenhonddan. The village grew around the Aberdulais Falls, the site of successive industries and now a hydro-electric station. The National Trust owns and administers the site.

Aberavon Human settlement in Wales

Aberavon is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby Blue Flag beach and the parish covering the same area.

Neath (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918 onwards

Neath is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Christina Rees, a Labour and Co-operative MP.

Neath East is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Neath East falls within the community of Neath.

Coedffranc Central is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Coedffranc Central is a part of the Coedffranc community and falls within the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon.

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Local government of Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local governing body for Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK. Since its creation in 1996 it has been controlled by the Labour Party.

Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC) was a further education institution established as two campuses in Port Talbot and Neath in Wales, United Kingdom.

Sandfields West Welsh electoral ward

Sandfields West is an electoral ward and a community of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is part of the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. The ward elects three county councillors to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

Blaengwrach Human settlement in Wales

Blaengwrach is a community near Glynneath and Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, which is a larger area than the Community. The principal settlement is Cwmgwrach, a village on the south side of the Neath valley, of which the eastern end is called Blaengwrach, which sometimes causes confusion.

Glyncorrwg Human settlement in Wales

Glyncorrwg is a village in the Afan Valley, in southern Wales.

Baglan Bay

Baglan Bay(Welsh: Bae Baglan) is a part of the Swansea Bay coastline and a district of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan Bay is also the name of a local government community. Baglan Bay is served by the M4 Motorway and the A48 road which traverse the northeastern edge of the area.

Dyffryn Clydach Human settlement in Wales

Dyffryn Clydach is a community of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales, between Neath and Swansea.

Crymlyn Burrows is an area of land in Wales, UK to the east of Swansea city centre, and south of Crymlyn Bog. It is bounded by Jersey Marine Beach to the south and the River Neath to the east. The land west of Baldwin's Crescent falls within the City and County of Swansea and from Baldwin's Crescent eastwards falls within Neath Port Talbot.

Pontardawe Arts Centre Multi-purpose cultural venue in Pontardawe, Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Pontardawe Arts Centre is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Pontardawe, Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The building is owned by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and is located in Herbert Street.

A4241 road

The A4241 is a distributor road serving Port Talbot, Wales.

Melincourt Falls Waterfall in Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Melincourt Falls is an 80 feet (24 m) high waterfall on Melin Court Brook, a left-bank tributary of the River Neath / Afon Nedd, located 1-mile (1.6 km) south of Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, south Wales. It is formed where the brook plunges over a resistant band of 'Lower Pennant Sandstone' in a 13 acre / 5 hectare nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. The falls have been drawing visitors for at least two centuries – they are certainly known to have inspired J. M. W. Turner to paint them in 1794. The falls are considered by some to constitute a part of Waterfall Country though the bulk of these falls are a few miles further northeast at the head of the Vale of Neath.

Aberavon (electoral ward) Human settlement in Wales

The electoral ward of Aberavon electoral ward includes the communities of Baglan and Baglan Bay, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan falls within the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon.

Cymer Afan Comprehensive School Comprehensive school in Cymmer, Port Talbot, Wales

Cymer Afan Comprehensive School was a comprehensive school, located in Cymmer, Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It offered mixed-sex education to around 200 pupils aged 11–16. In November 2017, plans were announced to close the school. Following two failed court appeals, the school closed in July 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "Existing and proposed Floor Plan and Location Plan Plan". planning.npt.gov.uk. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Retrieved 27 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "A sad end for popular visitor attraction", This is South Wales , 22 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Zoos that have closed" . Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Registration of Local Land Charges". planning.npt.gov.uk. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Retrieved 27 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Approval of Detailed Plans". planning.npt.gov.uk. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Retrieved 27 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ Corney, Kate (8 December 2005). "Landmark up for sale". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  7. ↑ "Proposed change of use from residential dwelling (Class C3) to care home for up to 5 residents (Class C2)". planning.npt.gov.uk. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Jones, Alexander (April 2012). "Penscynor Wildlife Park". flickr.com. Alexander Jones. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.