Park to shut for at least three months to stop Cardiff Bay pollution

Alex Seabrook, local democracy reporter

A park in Grangetown will shut for months for essential maintenance on an old landfill which has been polluting Cardiff Bay.

Grangemoor Park will close from Monday, January 31, for at least 12 weeks to allow for work on the former landfill underneath the park.

Rotting rubbish in old landfills usually generates methane gas and vile toxic liquid called leachate.

The former landfill at Ferry Road, which took in 4 million tonnes of rubbish before its closure, has been leaking leachate into the Bay since at least 2017.

Leachate collection system

This is due to the leachate collection system at the landfill being faulty. Environmental inspectors from Natural Resources Wales found that Cardiff council workers, who were responsible for managing the landfill, were unaware of the purpose of the collection system.

After the years of pollution were recently revealed, huge dirt tracks appeared in Grangemoor Park to allow access for maintenance workers. Now, to allow essential maintenance to be carried out safely, all public access will be closed until at least the middle of June.

The path around the park, which provides access to the Ely Trial, will stay open during the works. A council spokesperson thanked the public for patience while the works take place.

The spokesperson said: “When waste is buried in a landfill site, two by-products are produced: methane and leachate. It’s important these are managed correctly to ensure the public and the environment are protected. The works underway at Grangemoor Park are designed to update and improve systems on the site.”

Methane is extracted from the landfill, and the Lamby Way landfill, to burn for energy. Leachate is supposed to be removed from the landfill from pumps around the site, before being sent to a treatment station where it is made safe.