Greenfield protesters seek action

Mar 27 2008 by Lisa Jones, South Wales Echo

PROTESTERS trying to stop houses being built on nearby playing fields have criticised the lack of action by council officers.

Cardiff council’s planning committee ordered reports into the possible presence of dormice at land off Pethybridge and Snowden Roads, Ely, Cardiff, at its last meeting in January.

The decision to build 60 new homes at Pethybridge Road and 250 on nearby Snowden Road – as part of the council’s Ely Regeneration Project – was also deferred so officers could find out how much local support there was for the scheme.

Communities First, a network set up in deprived communities to manage the spending of money from Europe, was told to ask local people what they thought about the housing project and report back to the council.

But protest group, the Ely Garden Villagers, claim no work has been carried out to get the reports done by Communities First.

Spokeswoman Tay Godfrey, 49, of Glyndwr Road, Ely, accused the council of dragging its feet.

She said: “They still haven’t done a survey on the dormice. We still haven’t got a date for the next planning meeting. There’s been no involvement from Communities First.

“There was a meeting a few weeks ago, for working groups in the community, but we weren’t invited. It’s a bit of a worry.

“There were supposedly local residents there. We wondered where they got them from because we don’t know anybody who went.”

Protesters say the council is neglecting the field by failing to maintain perimeter fencing and leaving changing rooms to go to ruin.

They say they have been asking for new fencing for 11 years but three weeks ago a fence was put up on the edge of the field which borders the Westfield Park estate, St Fagans.

Residents are starting another petition against the scheme, to add to a 3,000-name document already sent to the council, to drive home the strength of local feeling against the house-building.

A Cardiff council spokesman said: “The application will not be scheduled for a further planning committee until the information requested by the committee has been received and assessed.

“In terms of the dormice survey, the council will need to obtain quotations from independent ecologists and a programme of survey work carried out. During this time period other requested information, including the traffic survey, will be done.”

lisa.jones@mediawales.co.uk