Two separate protests took place before the most recent meeting of Cardiff’s full council, as demonstrators from two groups gathered at County Hall in Cardiff Bay. One protest focused on the lack of a Welsh-medium school in the south of the city, while the other opposed a planning application for a new data centre at the former park and ride site in Llanrumney.
Welsh-medium school campaign
Carl Morris, co-organiser of the Ysgol De Caerdydd school campaign, said: “There’s a Welsh-medium high school in the north of Cardiff. There’s one in the west and there’s one in the east but there isn’t one in the south. This means that Welsh-medium education is just not as accessible to the families of Grangetown, Butetown, and surrounding areas.” He said the council needs to take “concrete action and to apply for capital funding from the Welsh Government” to build one.
“There’s a lot of reasons and family circumstances which mean that people are just not in a position to travel to access Welsh-medium education,” Morris added. “There may have been a point when it was for the really keen people who were very committed to the Welsh language and were happy to tolerate some inconvenience and hassle but that’s a thing of the past now.” A site in the city centre has been touted.
In response, a Cardiff council spokesman said: “Cardiff council remains committed to expanding Welsh-medium education across the city and is proud of the strong progress made in growing provision over the past decade and more. Through the delivery of our Welsh in education strategic plan we have actively promoted the benefits of bilingual education and encouraged more families to choose Welsh-medium pathways.”
The council added: “The council is in the early stages of developing strategic long-term options for future Welsh-medium secondary school provision. The local authority is actively engaging with parents, learners, staff, and the wider community and listening to this feedback will help shape future proposals. Those proposals would be subject to full public consultation to ensure they are informed by residents and support the continued growth of Welsh-medium education in Cardiff.”
The number of learners in Welsh-medium secondary schools has increased by 57% since 2012, and the council has opened four Welsh-medium primary schools since 2013.
Data centre protest
A second group of around 45 protesters from Acorn, a tenants’ union, demonstrated against a planning application for a data centre on the site of the East Cardiff Park and Ride in Llanrumney. They carried a banner titled “Our Demands” listing “1. Ditch the data centre” and “2. Save the Park and Ride”, with space left for councillors to sign. It is unknown whether any did.
Lizzie Bailey, one of the lead campaigners, said: “What we were trying to do is get them to listen to our concerns. It’s really easy for them to ignore an email, it’s really easy for them to ignore a petition.” She continued: “What they need to realise is their job is supposed to be working and representing for the residents in their wards and they’re not doing that.”
Resident Sue Elias joined the Acorn protest due to what she felt was a lack of engagement from the council and the loss of the park and ride. She said: “People aren’t aware of what a data centre is.”
Dan Snipe, another lead campaigner, said: “We’ve gone through their systems of doing things – we’ve tried to call them, we try to do petitions, we try to do letters. That’s not working so that is why we’ve come in person to directly talk to them.” He added: “We know for a fact that if you put enough pressure on these councils they will eventually capitulate and that is exactly what we want to do here.”
The demonstrators also criticised the council for what they alleged was a lack of transparency in the planning process. Their main concerns with the data centre surround the noise it may generate and the impact on the environment. Previously, the developer, Curtis Hall Ltd, refuted these claims, saying the scheme’s noise would be minimal and a range of environmental impact mitigations would be put in place if approved.
Regarding the protest, a Cardiff council spokesman said: “A planning application relating to the site has been submitted and is currently being considered through the council’s statutory planning process. It is important to stress that no decision has yet been made on the application. As with all planning applications the proposal will be assessed against relevant planning policies and material planning considerations before any decision is reached.”
The council rejected suggestions of a lack of transparency, stating: “The council therefore rejects suggestions that the process lacks transparency or that decisions have already been predetermined. Planning applications are considered through an established legal framework with opportunities for public consultation and scrutiny. The planning committee is made up of councillors from different political groups and will consider the application on its planning merits.”
The council encouraged public participation: “We would strongly encourage anyone with comments, concerns, or views about the application to submit them through the formal planning consultation process so that they can be considered as part of the determination of the application. Public representations form an important part of the process and help ensure that decision-makers have a full understanding of local views.”
As this is a live planning application, the council said it would be inappropriate to comment further. In relation to concerns about parking provision for University Hospital of Wales staff, the council said it is working with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to identify an alternative site. The Cardiff East Park & Ride has not operated as a public park and ride facility for several years as it was unable to operate sustainably.
