New Penarth Shelter Opens
A new shelter has been officially opened on Cliff Hill in Penarth by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
The structure is inspired by the previous shelter which had stood on the same spot since 1890.
A public consultation in March 2021 decided to keep the shelter’s existing character and original features wherever possible, in order to reflect the history of the location and celebrate local stories.
The project, which was funded by public art Section 106 money from the nearby Penarth Heights housing development and cost in the region of £100k.
Cllr Lis Burnett, Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, said: “This is a wonderful addition to the beautiful coastal walk along Cliff Hill and provides the public with a place to rest and shelter from the elements.
“The references to Penarth’s history will hopefully encourage residents to pause a while and engage with the new design.
“The new shelter is fitting for the area and reminds people about the celebrated stories of yesteryear, and we hope it is enjoyed by everyone.”
Aberrant Architecture were appointed following a call for artists and/or architects to re-build and re-imagine the shelter for the 21st century. Designers David Chambers and Kevin Haley reimaged a new and functional shelter that encapsulates the history of Penarth.
David Chambers said: “While our new shelter design is the same scale and shape as its predecessor, we have also reintroduced glazed windows and internal partitions, similarly detailed to the historic shelter, to introduce a variety of pocket spaces of different sizes.
“We have taken great delight in the personalised details of the new shelter to help generate a sense of place, for example the black corrugated roof sheeting and charred timber cladding also references the black coal dust that coated buildings during 19th Century Penarth’s Docks coal exporting heyday.”
Kevin Haley added: “A white ‘donkey head’ roof fretwork celebrates the donkey rides offered along the beach during this period, a time when Penarth was also known as ‘Donkey Island’. The black and white colours also commemorate the Barbarians rugby team whose spiritual home was the nearby Esplanade Hotel
“The new shelter is both true to its former self, sitting happily in its original location, but is also clearly a modern interpretation of a shelter, offering people of all ages a place to rest, meet and enjoy the views.”
Despite the previous shelter’s poor appearance, residents were keen not to lose the shelter and supported the proposal to re-commission it. Reusable materials were salvaged from the previous structure to keep some of the key features.
Demolition and Groundworker Joe Tomalin-Reeves said: “We wanted to acknowledge the historic elements from the old shelter and managed to reuse some of the features that were still intact.”
This is the latest example of the Council securing Section 106 funds from new developments to benefit the wider community and, is one of many public art initiatives and commissions which are currently taking place in the Vale of Glamorgan.
More information on these projects will follow soon.