Planned summer festival ‘will wreck Cardiff’s tranquillity!’

Martin Shipton

A heritage group has accused Cardiff council of planning to ruin the Welsh capital’s foremost area of tranquillity by turning it into a hub for noisy events.

In a letter to Cllr Huw Thomas, the authority’s Labour leader, the Chair of Cardiff Civic Society has expressed deep concern over plans for a festival on Blackweir playing fields in the summer of 2025.

Compromised

While acknowledging that the Society welcomes events in the city, Nerys Lloyd-Pierce stated: “Already, public open space is compromised by existing events that deny access to open space – effectively privatising it so that the general population is denied access/or has limited access.

“A case in point is the Christmas lightshow. By November 10, Heras fencing and noise was already impacting on a large area of Bute Park – an area which should be peaceful and traffic-free, helping the health and wellbeing of every citizen in Cardiff.

“This event restricts access to public open space for at least two months – and over the Christmas holidays when people bring their children to the park.

“Our concerns for yet another large event restricting public open space are outlined below:

• Lack of public access: The purpose of public green space should be that it provides unrestricted access, benefitting the health and wellbeing of every citizen, not just those who can afford to attend or wish to attend the event in question. The benefits of tranquil green space on people’s health has been well researched and documented. Children need open spaces in which to play – especially in a city that is increasingly busy and polluted. Furthermore, large events do not simply restrict the park for the duration of the event: setting up and dismantling such events can take weeks;
• Biodiversity: Blackweir Woods are a designated Site of Interest for Nature Conservation (SINC). The woods and the shores of the Taff are a hugely important area for birdlife. The trees and scrub areas provide vital roosting and nesting sites. A festival allowing access for up to 35,000 people, plus the noise of constructing the site and removing it, will have a hugely negative impact on wildlife. This is very worrying, especially as Cardiff council has declared a Nature Emergency;
• Access: How will up to 35,000 people access the site safely and without causing damage to listed parkland that has statutory protection?
• Impact on residents: Parking and congestion will have a negative impact on the numerous residents who live near the park;
• Pressure on services: A large event such as this will put immense pressure on services such as waste collection and policing;
• Damage to the park: Given the ever-accelerating problem of Climate Change (Cardiff council has declared a Climate Emergency) a rain-drenched weekend could cause major damage to the green space. The Eisteddfod in 2008 in Pontcanna Fields took place during a wet period and the consequent damage meant that the fields were out of action for two years while the ground recovered. What provision has the council made to pre-empt such a calamity?

• Cardiff council music strategy: Most attendees at music events have a finite financial capacity. Attending a major event will inevitably impact negatively on smaller venues. How will the council redress the balance? Similarly, food provision on site. Will small and micro businesses from the city be invited to attend, or will the catering be supplied by large corporations residing outside Wales? The event proposed for the park fails on numerous counts to fit in with the council’s own stronger, fairer, greener principles.
• Research: The council needs to commission research to find how large corporate events impact on small businesses. And steps need to be taken to ensure small and micro businesses in the city reap maximum economic benefits from major events.
• Finally, how does Cardiff council justify repeatedly privatising areas of public green space, thereby permitting unrestricted access only to the affluent?

Economy

Cardiff council was given the opportunity to respond to the points made by Ms Lloyd-Pierce, but did not do so.

Previously, the council’s cabinet member for culture, parks and events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, has said: “The announcement of these new shows at Blackweir Fields, hot on the heels of the first ever Cardiff Music City Festival, show just how central live music is to Cardiff’s future, and with good reason.

“Music’s cultural value is undisputed, but it also generates in the region of £100m a year for the economy and plays a significant role in making Cardiff the vibrant, creative city we all know and love.”