A historic Grade II listed Victorian mansion in Cardiff has been forced to close its grounds earlier due to an “upsetting amount of antisocial behaviour”.
Insole Court in Llandaff dates back to the 19th century and after reopening in 2016 is now a well-known venue for weddings, home to a cafe, as well as large gardens which are all open to members of the public.
Operated by the Insole Court Trust charity, the gardens were typically open until 9.45pm. However, after a recent spate of antisocial behaviour on the grounds, trustees have been forced to close the gates at 5pm.
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They say this action has been advised by South Wales Police as a temporary solution to deal with the continued issues on the land.
Gray Hill, Director of Insole Court, said that as well as damage to property, staff and members of the public have been verbally abused by a group of youths while on the grounds.
(Image: Insole Court)
He said: “There has been some vandalism of cafe furniture, tables and chairs for example, there’s been some low-level antisocial behaviour from littering and noise.
“We’ve also had staff and members of the public verbally abused and we think that because the situation has escalated over recent weeks that the Insole Court Trust alongside Cardiff Council and South Wales Police are just trying everything we can to get on top of it.”
The gardens, where the antisocial behaviour is centred, have been open to the public since 1946 and offer pedestrian access from the North Gate on Fairwater Road (the main entrance), the South Gate on Vaughan Avenue and the East Gate on Insole Gardens.
However, as a result of the ongoing problems, the gardens which are run by Cardiff Council will be closed at 5pm with access only permitted – and monitored – through the North gate.
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Announcing the news in a post on social media, park owners said the decision had come after an “upsetting amount of antisocial behaviour”.
Speaking to WalesOnline, Mr Hill said: “This is in response to some recent anti-social behaviour that we’ve had in the park. We have been working with South Wales Police on trying to resolve this situation, and because Insole Court is situated inside a public park the large gatherings of teenagers has been facilitated by the fact the park is open for most of the day.
“So, to help tackle the situation South Wales Police advised us to begin closing the park earlier. That way, if people were in the park beyond closing time it would be easier to move them on.
“This is only a short term arrangement and it is one we have discussed with Cardiff parks department who operate the park at Insole Court, but we support the police’s recommendation and we think this is the next logical step in trying to resolve this.
“It’s not a long term change and we’re hopeful that in a couple of weeks time that we will be able to revert to our normal hours. Activities, classes and events at Insole Court are continuing as normal but we will be controlling access for those events to make sure that people don’t miss out on their usual activities at Insole Court but regrettably this is the decision we’ve taken to get on top of this recent anti-social behaviour.”
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