Park once littered with used syringes transformed

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

A Cardiff park that used to be littered with syringes and attract drug users has been transformed into a new space for the community.

School children, residents and local councillors in Riverside were at Clare Gardens on Friday, October 4 to see the official reopening of the park since work was done to improve it.

People in the area called the work, which includes a community garden, benches, a table tennis table, exercise equipment and a chess table, “fantastic” and “brilliant”.

However, such words were not always used to describe the park.

“We were having screaming, shouting, bottles thrown at 3am and 4am from the park across the road… and it was absolute madness at the time,” said Janzib Alyas, who lives opposite Clare Gardens, about what it used to be like.

“It is brilliant what they have done. Previous to this, the park was pretty much disused by the community.

“It was being used, unfortunately, by alcoholics and drug users. We had a lot of used syringes in here, so we couldn’t bring children in here at all.”

Further improvements

Other improvements at Clare Gardens include new picnic tables, a social space with seating, re-surfaced paths, a new meadow area, new tree planting and two new gate entrances.

Rekha Kaur, who used to live near the park was at the opening ceremony, curious to see what it looked like on the opening day.

“I think it is fantastic,” she said.

“I think they have done a really good job for the area. I think the houses around it are really happy.”

Reikha added that she hopes children and families in the area will now be able to use and enjoy the space.

Work to improve Clare Gardens, costing about £200,000, began over the summer as part of Cardiff Council’s Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme which delivers regeneration projects across the city.

In addition to the Clare Gardens improvements, a new piece of artwork has been installed in Despenser Gardens to replace a floor mosaic that had fallen into a poor state of repair.

Another resident who lives next to the park, Rosemary Chaloner, said the work that went on in Calre Gardens was “quite noisy”, but added that she thinks the end product is “very good”.

Ms Chaloner, who has lived in her house in Riverside for 21 years, said: “They have cleaned it up, it is tidy, these lovely planters here are going to work and they have separated that off so hopefully it won’t get the abuse that it did have.

“It was always needing to be litter picked and we locals, some of us had to do that. I think it looks clean and tidy.”

As part of the scheme, the park railings at Despenser Gardens have also been repainted, through HM Prison and Probation Service’s Community Payback programme.

“Just brilliant”

Maintenance of the park was a key concern among residents we spoke to at the opening of Clare Gardens, but one ward councillor for the area, Cllr Leonora Thomson, said she is confident it will be well looked after.

Cllr Thomson said: “It will be such an asset for the neighbourhood and this little area has been through its problem times in the past so hopefully it will really encourage people to look after it.”

The councillor said it was “lovely” to see the space transformed, adding: “It has been quite a long job and actually it took a bit longer than I expected it would… but actually they have done so much to it. It is just brilliant.”

Another Cardiff Council ward member for Riverside, Kanaya Singh, said: “We wanted to make this park more inclusive, more welcoming, more safe in many ways and that is what the council has done.

“Riverside is a family-based residential area. There are so many young families here and we want this park to be attracting young families.

“What we have got to ensure [is], working with local communities outreaching to all of the local organisations, working with the police… that we are on top of issues like anti-social behaviour to really make this a real buzzing environment for young people and families to be in.”

The community garden at Clare Gardens will be managed by a council park ranger, who will liaise with various groups in Riverside that wish to be involved in it.

Cardiff Council said the parks ranger will also run various workshops from the site.

Cardiff Council ward member for Riverside, Cllr Caro Wild, said: “This park for quite a time has had a few issues here and hasn’t always looked that nice some of the time.

“This area has got so little green space anyway that it is so nice that the green spaces we do have now look so much better.”

The Clare Gardens project was funded from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) and the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Fund.

Excitement

Riverside resident Janzib Alyas, who we spoke to about the work at Clare Gardens, said it was nice to see some investment in the area for a change.

Janzib said: “I have been pushing for this for the last 17, 18 years.

“We are in the same ward as Pontcanna and every time we go to Llandaff Fields they get new rides, new things.

“It was good to get this investment. We need a bit more investment in that park now over there [Despenser Gardens].

“We have got the [Principality Stadium] on our doorstep there, we have got the cricket stadium on our doorstep.

“When they have stadium events we are in shutdown here, in Riverside.

“I am a Man United fan and I go to Manchester for matches and they have invested so much in their area.

“The WRU, I know they have something, but it is not enough. We are the closest area to the stadium. We have got nothing to show for it.”

We asked Cardiff Council cabinet member for housing and communities, Cllr Lee Bridgeman, about the level of funding in Riverside and whether this scheme would be a one off for the area.

He said: “There is some exciting stuff coming Riverside’s way, so just watch this space.

“The local councillors have been key throughout the negotiations and ongoing negotiations.

“For Riverside, this is lovely, but I think there is even more to come.”

“Funding is tight.

“There are funding pots and the officers are brilliant. They look for grants, they find the money.

“What I like about this is, they do listen to the local councillors.”

Equity

Cllr Bridgeman, who is also a ward member for Llanrumney, later added: “Our residents in our wards seem to feel left out and they seem to feel like the more affluent areas of Cardiff get that funding, so it is nice to be able to [say], ‘no, we are going to invest in your area’.”

The council’s cabinet member for culture, sport and parks, Cllr Jennifer Burke, was also in attendance for the official opening of Clare Gardens.

She said: “Access to good quality parks and green spaces has been shown to have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of communities, so I’m delighted that Clare Gardens has become the latest in the city to benefit from improvements.”