Plans for a new sculpture depicting an old radio transmitter on Cardiff Bay Barrage have been submitted to Cardiff council. The interesting looking sculpture is based on the theme of Marconi and the first radio transmission overwater from Flat Holm island to Lavernock point.
The sculpture is set to form part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund project "Flat Holm - A Walk Through Time" and is intended to draw attention to the island and its history. If approved, the hardwood sculpture will be approximately 4m high.
Flat Holm Island is a small spot of land just over three miles into the Bristol Channel from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan and has a long history as a haven for wildlife and remoteness. While the island is known for its natural beauty and being home to seabird colonies – with more than 77 protected species of wildlife and plant life on the land – it is also shrouded in a dark history. Alongside the lighthouse and wildlife sits an abandoned and dilapidated former cholera hospital where sick and infectious patients were sent to live and die. You can read more about that here.
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Last year Cardiff council secured more than £500,000 to turn some of the island's buildings into a visitor attraction. The £645,000 award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund forms part of the council's £1.1m funding for the island.
Cardiff council’s Flat Holm: A Walk Through Time project will re-connect the city with its forgotten island by letting visitors take a walk through Flat Holm’s history. Guided tours will explore the island’s military and maritime history, its natural heritage, and the Severn estuary and there will be a self-guided tour of the island.
The island’s old cholera hospital and laundry buildings will be made stable and the roof of the foghorn station repaired to make it safe and accessible to the public. Clearing away Flat Holm’s scrubland will also allow the island’s native wildlife and plant life to flourish.
The three-year project includes extensive renovation of the Grade II-listed Fog Horn station, stabilisation of the cholera hospital and laundry buildings, and renovation of the Second World War searchlight station.
The project will also feature a number of photographic and arts projects as well as linking in with local authorities on the English side of the Bristol Channel to celebrate Marconi Day and the island’s links to Guglielmo Marconi, who sent the first wireless signals over open sea between the island and Lavernock Point.
Should the plans be approved, the sculpture would sit on the junction of two footpaths on Cardiff Bay Barrage approximately 400m north of the Barrage Control building. The proposals have been put forward by Cardiff Harbour Authority. The area currently houses a low concrete block bench which will be removed.
There will also be a QR code on the sculpture which would enable people to find out more information. The plans submitted acknowledge this could double as an advertisement, therefore, advertisement consent could be required in full or part. No timeline for the development of the sculpture has yet been set. To keep up to date with news from across Cardiff subscribe to our daily newsletter here.
