The latest from Cardiff Council...

Well, January 2014 marks FOUR years since we began to pull local people together to establish a community garden.  

Slow but sure wins the race, according to the fable, but not, it seems, in this case.

The public open space remains INCOMPLETE and unadopted, the children's play area STILL floods, the upper pathway STILL isn't in place, the trees STILL don't look healthy, the railings that reportedly fell on a child HAVEN'T been replaced, the upper section grass STILL hasn't been relaid, the lower section is STILL boggy in wet weather; the list goes on.

Our local Councillor, Phil Bale, has been working hard in support of local residents to resolve this ridiculous situation and the text from two January 2014 letters from senior Councillors follows in this post - one about the highways and one about the open space.  We're VERY grateful to Phil for his work.

Three of Britain's biggest house developers have FAILED miserably to deliver one modestly sized area of open space.  They've FAILED to make good the promises they made when we bought their houses.  They've FAILED to honour the pledges they made to council officials and residents that certain works would be carryed out within certain timescales.  They've FAILED to meet their obligations to the planning authority.  

I've heard local residents use words like 'shambolic', 'evasive', 'betrayal', 'dangerous', 'unacceptable', 'disgraceful', 'laughable' and 'lamentable', but also 'legal action', 'hand wringing', 'platitudes' 'untruthful' and 'council tax reductions'.  Not a good advert for private sector efficiency - or in fact for that matter, public sector accountability.

If it hadn't been for Phil, we wouldn't even know this much; senior council officers have so far appeared UNWILLING to meet local residents about ths issue.  We're hoping this will change soon.

It's all clearly rocket science:

• design a public open space between a load of new houses on brownfield land that's been throughly surveyed and tested,
• build those houses and undertake the necessary groundworks to ensure a viable and safe open space is available for those residents by the time the estates are at 50% occupancy, 
• ensure that drainage is adequate by agreeing standards and infrastructure with Welsh Water in advance,
• avoid burying builders's rubble and other detritus under the earth and watch out for people with video cameras,
• lay deep enough topsoil to sustain playing field standard grass,
• plant appropriately hardy trees to the agreed specification so that all the lines meet up and they don't die,
• install playground and sporting equipment that can be used safely,
• install perimeter railings that are safe and that provide a unified aspect (not the scaffolding pole nonsense at the top then),
• install access gates in the right place,
• put topsoil and grass over any areas of aggregate that might have been installed to ameliorate drainage failings,
• install dog/litter bins outside the children's play area,
• maintain dialogue with local residents.

And do you know, all this time, not one developer has made contact with the Community Garden group, apart from one one-line email to note that a key member of staff was off sick. 

Please give Phil and the Community Garden group all your support as we continue the slow trudge towards that beautiful shared place in the heart of our communities....

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CABINET SUPPORT OFFICE SWYDDFA CYMORTH Y CABINET 

My Ref: CM25351

Date: 6^th January 2014

Dear Phil

AWE Site

Thank you for your e-mail dated 16 November 2013 in respect of the above, your comments and concerns are understood. I apologise for the delay in responding to you.

I agree that local residents have been badly let down by the developers, and the Council has looked into the possibility of taking enforcement action. However, based on legal advice received on similar matters in the past, taking legal action through the Courts would be an expensive undertaking for the Council. Given that the open space has been laid out, albeit not very satisfactorily, I feel that the likelihood of achieving a satisfactory outcome would be very unlikely with potential of placing the Council at a financial risk.

We will continue to apply pressure on the developers to complete their works, and we are also considering a request from one of the developers that they make a financial sum available to the Council to complete the outstanding works on the basis that the land transfer could then proceed without delay; a decision with regards to this will be reached shortly I am informed. In the meantime, Officers have written to Persimmon asking for a timetable as to when they will implement the drainage and other remedial works to their area of open space.

In the future, and in order to avoid a recurrence of this situation, we are considering several options including ensuring that the requirement to provide open space is closely tied into planning conditions to enable enforcement to take place, requiring a bond which could be used by the Council in the event that a developer defaults on its obligations, and developing a mechanism by which developers provide open space initially to a basic standard but with a financial sum which could be used to develop facilities in line with the requirements of the emerging community. The latter is more aspirational in nature and is something I propose to explore following the adoption of the LDP.

I would advise that the set of circumstances relating to this particular development is relatively unique and has presented a challenge to a number of service areas across the Council and does not necessarily reflect the norm in respect of public open space adoptions across the board.

I trust the above information is of assistance.

Yours sincerely,

COUNCILLOR RAMESH PATEL
CABINET MEMBER (SPORT, LEISURE & CULTURE)

PLEASE REPLY TO:
Cabinet Support Office, Room 520, County Hall, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff CF10 4UW Tel (029) 2087 2479

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CABINET SUPPORT OFFICE SWYDDFA CYMORTH Y CABINET

My Ref: CM26297

Date: 8th January 2014

Dear Phil

Former Selco/AWE Sites

I write in response to your enquiry of 2 December 2013 and apologise for the delay in responding. Both I and my Officers share the frustration of yourself and the residents at this development with regards to the slow pace or progress in terms of addressing the many outstanding issues. Though Officers continue to press the developers (BeIlway and Persimmon Homes) in this respect I'm afraid that these are matters which are largely outside the Council's control.

As you'll be aware from previous correspondence and meetings there are issues relating to the adoption of both the roads and the area of public open space by the Council, and to the adoption by Welsh Water of the surface water drains - with these issues being both complex and inter-related.

The essential stumbling block of course has been that of the adoption of the drains by Welsh Water - with this matter itself involving 2 separate issues. It would seem that the most intractable of these i.e. the drainage of the open space, has now been resolved with acceptance by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) of the proposed solution of drilling through the capped layer of contaminated material beneath the open space. My understanding is that this has now opened the way to a resolution of the second issue i.e. reaching an agreement with the owner of the land containing the length of drain which discharges into the adjacent watercourse.

I've asked the developers for an up-date of the current position but have yet to receive a reply. Once a reply has been received of course advise you accordingly.

In your message you ask what legal or enforcement action the Council can take to bring matters to a conclusion - though I'm afraid it's not that simple. As you're aware there is no signed Section 38 highways agreement at present, and so the roads remain entirely private and the responsibility of the developers - though the intention remains on both sides that the agreement will be completed, and the roads adopted, in due course.

By definition a Section 38 'agreement' is just that i.e. the Council can't insist that a road be offered for adoption. If a developer chooses to keep the roads on a development private then that is very much their right - although then it is they rather than the Council who will remain responsible for their maintenance. Though there are a number items outstanding in terms of bringing the works up to adoption standard e.g. the speed reducing measures on Ashbourn Way and the footpath link to Watkins Square, in general terms residents have a reasonable standard of vehicular and pedestrian access to their homes. There's no action that the Council can take that would have any practical benefit in terms of resolving the issues between the developers and Welsh Water - and resolving these issues is of course a pre-requisite to achieving a solution which will enable the footpath link to be drained (via the system to be installed within the open space) and completed.

At present both the roads and the area of open space are private land within the ownership of Bellway and Persimmon and the Council would have no right to enter the land to carry out works - even when a solution to the wider issues is within its power. Though Officers will continue to press the developers to progress these matters we are essentially in the developers' hands.

I understand that CIIr Ramesh Patel has already replied to you with specific reference to the open space issues.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Graham Hinchey

Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning & Transport

PLEASE REPLY TO: Cabinet Support Office, Room 529, County Hall, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff CF10 4UW Tel (029) 2087 3837 Fax (029) 2087 2599

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