Council won’t say how much it made from Blackweir Live events

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Concerns have been raised about Cardiff Council’s decision not to reveal the amount of money it made it made from the Blackweir Live gigs this summer.

The music series, which saw a number of major artists like Stevie Wonder and Alanis Morissette perform at Bute Park in June and July, was criticised by a number of park-goers and sports teams over its potential impact on the site.

Cardiff Council argued that Blackweir Live would generate tens of millions for the city’s economy and money for the local authority itself to use on things like protecting green spaces.

FOI

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) made a freedom of information (FOI) request to Cardiff Council in July asking for the amount of money it made as a result of the Blackweir Live gig series this year.

However, the council didn’t respond to the request after 20 working days – a requirement public bodies have to meet when an FOI request is made.

The LDRS asked the council again to respond to the FOI request. After 10 working days of not receiving a response to the request, a complaint was made to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

It was only after the LDRS contacted Cardiff Council’s press office to say it was writing a story on the issue that an FOI response was sent back stating that no answer would be forthcoming as “the information is commercially sensitive and therefore exempt from disclosure”.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats group at Cardiff Council, Cllr Rodney Berman, said: “I’m somewhat concerned the council isn’t able to be more open and transparent about this.

“Given the Blackweir Live concerts have now taken place, I am not sure why this information would be regarded as commercially sensitive.

“Whilst different people will have different views about the merits of the Blackweir Live concerts, it is important that the council is upfront about all the facts which may be influencing its decision on whether or not this series of concerts should go ahead again in future.”

Review

Cardiff Council has not said yet if Blackweir Live will go ahead in 2026, with a review expected to take place on this year’s series before a final decision is made.

The organisers behind Blackweir Live, Cuffe and Taylor and Depot Live, said in July that it’d been a huge success and that they hope it will be the start of a regular concert series.

One of the chief concerns of those opposed to closing off Blackweir Fields for ticketed events is that much of Bute Park is already unavailable to the public for large parts of the summer.

Friends of Bute Park criticised Cardiff Council a number of times this year over the handling of Blackweir Live, saying the balance between public use of the park and corporate events has “swung too far” in favour of the latter.

Time and again, key decision makers at the council have argued in favour of live music events at Blackweir Fields on the basis that it will generate much needed income for the local authority.

The leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, said in an interview in June: “There is a financial upside to the council of hosting live music events in Blackweir.

“That makes an important contribution to allowing us to set that balanced budget.

“One of the ways that we’ve avoided making really difficult facility closures in recent years is by generating income and that’s where Blackweir Live comes in from a financial perspective.”

‘Re-invested’

At a full council meeting in March, the leader of the Conservatives group at Cardiff Council, Cllr John Lancaster, pressed the cabinet member for culture, sports and parks to outline the process by which Blackweir Fields was chosen for a live music series.

In her response, Cllr Jennifer Burke said: “The money that’s coming in for the Blackweir Live event is being re-invested into our grass roots venues.. and into parks as well.”

Again in March, a council statement made in response to cricket clubs’ concerns about the use of sports fields states that the council will use money generated from the Blackweir Live events to reinvest in parks and grass roots music venues.

Another reason Cardiff Council said it would not reveal the amount of money it made from Blackweir Live is because disclosure of it would “likely prejudice both the council’s commercial interests and those of third-party organisations”.

The questions asked by the LDRS to the council in its FOI request was as follows: “How much money in total did Cardiff Council make as a result of the Blackweir Live gig series this year?

“Please could we have this broken down into categories, e.g. £X from a X% cut of ticket sales, £X from use of council land/lease of land etc.?

In its response, the council said: “Cardiff Council would see its ability to negotiate terms with other operators restricted should the commercial agreements be made public.

“This could significantly impact on potential income for the Council. It should be noted that there would be a variety of operators seeking to influence the market, including on price.”

It later continued: “We recognise that there is a legitimate public interest in transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

“However, this must be balanced against the potential harm that disclosure could cause.

“In this case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the interest in disclosure.”