Sanatorium Park (

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: ''Parc Sanatorium'') is a public park in the

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

district of western

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It includes open green space, wildflower hedgerows, two play areas, and a football goal with a half basketball court.

Description

The entrances to the park are from Treganna Street and Lawrenny Avenue, and from the Ely Trail footpath that runs through the park. The

River Ely The River Ely () is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, rising in the e ...

runs along the western side of the park; Trelai Park (the site of former

Ely Racecourse Ely Racecourse was a horse racing venue in the Ely district of Cardiff, Wales. The racecourse opened in 1855, with the first race being held on 30 May. By 1864 racing at Ely was a regular event, the races that year were acclaimed as 'the most br ...

) is on the other side of the river, but there is no pedestrian bridge between the parks. The Grangetown Viaduct carries the

A4232 road The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road (PDR) () or the Cardiff Link Road (), is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The first section of the PDR to be completed was the Southern Way Link Road ...

over the southern edge of the park. Ysgol Gymraeg Treganna, a Welsh-medium primary school, is on the northern edge of the park.

History

Lansdowne Hospital was located to the northeast of the park; the buildings have been demolished and the site is now used for housing. SanPark-8 KirstyThomas

Sanatorium Park adjoins of the site of the former Ely Paper Works, latterly known as the Arjo Wiggins Teape Paper Mill, which opened in 1865 and closed in 2000. Samuel Evans and Thomas Owen took over the works in 1877, and by 1889 the works was producing between 145 and 150 tons of paper per week. After the works closed, the site was cleared in preparation for redevelopment. Work started on a new housing development of the 53-hectare site in 2015, named The Mill. Canton Brickworks adjoined the park and was situated at the end of Sanitorium Road. It is shown on maps published between 1898 and 1938, but by 1947 it had been demolished.

Controversy

In April 2020, Cardiff City Council started construction of a football pitch in the east of the park, near to the children's play area; the pitch was to be enclosed in a high fence. There was opposition from local residents who had been unaware of the plans, and in May 2020 work was suspended pending further consultation. In early June 2020, residents were informed that work was about to resume. The pitch was now to be in a different area of the park, and the work would have restricted access to areas of the park which was then being extensively used due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions then in force. The resumption of work was strongly opposed by local residents some of whom obstructed the construction workers. The renewed protests resulted in the council suspending work for a second time. The development was eventually completed, and in December 2020, it was reported that the new football pitch regularly flooded after heavy rain, leaving it waterlogged and unplayable. The pitch is used by

Fitzalan High School Fitzalan High School () is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium community secondary school and sixth form in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. History Fitzalan High School has links to Cardiff's first municipal secondary school at Howard Gardens, Adam ...

and by Ysgol Gymraeg Treganna, the local primary school.

References

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