A VALLEYS TOWN’S owl sanctuary which is already struggling has had their wires cut and signs taken down by vandals. 

Ebbw Vale Owl Sanctuary has had fewer visitors to their site since the Festival Park site closed. 

Patricia Webb, 82, at Ebbw Vale Owl Sanctuary said: “We worry because we use our own money to survive as nobody gets paid.  

“We have to pay all the bills like the electrics and food by itself comes to £450 a month. 

We have had to install CCTV cameras as we’ve had our wires cut down. It is ongoing.  

 

“It is like all the signs we put up to let people know where we are, they keep getting pulled down. 

“A couple of weeks ago we found one on the road which read ‘Owl Sanctuary’ near where we put signs up.

“A lot of people still don’t know we are here. They come up to the festival park and think we are still closed. 

“You have to drive past the fishing lake, and you will come to the owl sanctuary.”

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The owl sanctuary is self-funded by going out to schools, or fetes as well as public donations. 

I had previously raised £5,106 through a GoFundMe page but they are now trying to raise money for CCTV equipment.   

To make a donation please contact the owl sanctuary via their Facebook page. 

The opening times are 10am to 4pm on weekends and school holidays and 10am to 2pm on weekdays term time.

What is the history of the Festival Park site?

The festival park first opened over two decades ago in 1992 and homed several shops. 

The shops included, but was not limited to a Marks and Spencer's outlet, Thorntons, Poundland, Sports Direct, GAP, Nike store. 

It also previously had a Costa, Caffè Nero and burger van right by the entrance.  

The Festival Park site was created as part of a 1980s Government initiative in response of the decline of heavy industry.  

The Ebbw Vale steelworks closed in 2002 and when the Festival Park site first opened it had celebrity visits.  

This included Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Emanuel, who designed Princess Diana's wedding dress and Rob Brydon.

What are the plans for the Festival Park site? 

The redevelopment to turn the site into 39 industrial involves the following changes:  

  • Modification of existing units. 

  • Removal of their canopies. 

  • Dismantling of units to make space for parks, roads, and paths. 

  • Resurfacing of the central mall walkway to create a spine access road. 

There are also plans for a gym operator and a nursery for the occupiers of the units and residents in the area.  

Mercia Real Estate who took over the unoccupied site in 2021, was granted planning permission earlier this year for the redevelopment.  

The company appointed Cardiff office of global property consultant, Knight Frank, to try and attract tenants to the finished centre.