A message from our FDPC Chair

We recently held our Friends of the Dell Park (FDPC) Annual General Meeting (AGM). It was a great chance to reflect on the progress we made in 2022 and set our sights on what we will be getting to work on in 2023.

Our group took stock of the progress made in 2022, some highlights included:

• Becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

• Endorsement of the project and agreement for £25k of funding from Monmouthshire County Council.

• Plans in place for submitting planning permission for phase one and for the necessary archaeological surveys to get underway.

• Raising the profile of our ambitions at community events, such as the ‘Transforming Chepstow Masterplan’ consultation.

• The continued support we receive from our partner organisations, including Chepstow Town Council, Monmouthshire County Council, CADW and The Landmark Trust.

While we are yet to submit the all-important application for lottery funding, work has begun on this and that will be our key focus for 2023. We know from the outside looking in, people may wonder why this hasn’t happened yet. The reality is, as a small volunteer group with busy lives, there just aren’t enough hours in the day! BUT 2023 will be the year!

At the end of 2022 we said goodbye to two of our lovely volunteers – Kim and Graham Spencer – who have decided to step away due to other commitments. As Chair of the group, I’d like to give them my heartfelt thanks for the support they have provided us with over the last couple of years. We know they will be watching and cheering us on from the sidelines!

Thanks also goes to the rest of the team – their ongoing enthusiasm and persistence to ‘get the job done’ is just brilliant. I still feel so proud of what FDPC has achieved to date and I just know that our dreams for a destination park are now within touching distance.

Finally, if anyone is interested in lending a hand and joining our small and friendly team, please do reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you! We have a busy year ahead.

Thanks for reading,

Vicky – Chair of FDPC