Lisvane News guest post on Guardian Cardiff, read the rest of the article here.

There’s also a timeline of events surrounding Llanishen Reservoir available here.

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Land Council Proposed Building On In Previous Local Development Plan

One of the concerns from the Welsh Assembly Government was that the Council’s plans were too focused on brown field sites for development, and that green field sites would need to be developed on, too. Green field sites like those in Lisvane have become prime targets for development.

The Council have returned to the beginning with their new LDP by asking for public opinion on the future of the city. A series of open meetings were held over the past week in four locations around Cardiff; Pontprennau Community Hall, County Hall in Atlantic Wharf, Whitchurch Community Centre, and Western Leisure Centre in Ely. The meetings were intended to be an opportunity for the public to voice their opinion on the issues that arise as part of the city’s potential growth and development.

Various questions about development, security, environmental issues, and employment were put up around the room, and people were encouraged to leave their responses, ideas, and suggestions on post-it notes around the questions. A series of presentation slides stated that the purpose of this LDP was “To set out a plan for what type of city Cardiff will be in 2026.” Various members of the planning department of Cardiff Council were present for people to talk to, ask questions of, and raise concerns.

For Lisvane, the question remains open on whether there will be development on the green field land, as well as the ever-contentious area occupied by the Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs. However, both the Assembly and the Council have admitted that the new plan will have to incorporate green field development. And the location and characteristics of the land leave it open to having future development  proposals linked to it.

These characteristics that could lead to proposals were displayed on various maps at the meetings depicting the qualities of many areas of Cardiff. According to these maps, the green fields in Lisvane are not classed as a ‘special area of conservation’ or of being a ‘special area of protection’, they contain ‘no natural resources’, they have minimal risk of flooding, and they do not have any large areas of tree preservation orders.

The council employees present could not confirm that this land would definitely have development proposals linked to it, however, as the purpose of this week’s meetings were to go back to the very beginning and find out public opinion. A report detailing the ‘strategic options’ for local development is intended to be available in March 2011.

Posted by Andrew Collins

Video Report of Friends of Parc Cefn Onn‘s Woodland Management. Sunday 28th November 2010.

After the heavy snow over the weekend, the ground across Cefn Onn was a blanket of snow and ice. The scheduled woodland management went ahead as planned, however. Around 15 volunteers were present to help with the coppicing of an area of hazel to encourage new growth in the park. The woodland management coincided with National Tree Week.

The working party was organised by the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn and led by Alec Stuart, a Community Ranger who works for Cardiff Council. After some safety information about the equipment everyone mucked in and within a couple of hours the area had been entirely cleared.

The next scheduled working party will be bulb planting and will take place on the Sunday the 19th of December.

For more information on the Friends visit their website.

Posted by Andrew Collins

For those unsure of the location, an interactive map detailing the location can be found below.

An interview with Ian Philpot, Chairman of the Lisvane Art Workshop. Photographs taken at today’s event by Lisvane News.

The Lisvane Art Workshop hosted the annual exhibition of their members’ artwork at the Memorial Hall this weekend. The Workshop has around 25 members, almost all of whom put forward several pieces to be featured in the exhibition. The hall was filled with pieces covering the surrounding walls and various stands throughout the hall.

There was a wealth of artistic talent on display at the event. The variety of styles within the Workshop is what was most noticeable, with watercolour, acrylic, pastel, charcoal, cartoon-like and oil painting techniques being used, amongst others. As well as this, the subjects of the pieces were varied, ranging from still life images of fruit and vibrant flora, to intricate studies of buildings, locomotives, townscapes and wildlife. The works on display included those by Sue Davies, Dimitrios Venetsianos, Rona Sullivan, Brenda Boyle, John Lewis, Ian Philpot, Valerie McBroom and Trevor Jones, amongst many others.

Ian Philpot, the chairman of the Art Workshop, was taking sales of the art work. He said that the works they display varies from  ’reasonably local’ scenes because that is what locals would like to buy, to a whole range of other subject matters that also sell. With a few more sales this afternoon they would be on track to beating last year’s sales count.

This year’s exhibition also brought with it a first for attendees; guests were encouraged to vote for their favourite piece and place it in a ballot box on their way out. The artist whose work receives the most votes will win the Ted Martin Memorial Trophy. The trophy was donated by Ted’s friends after he sadly died last year. The winner will be announced on Tuesday.

The Lisvane Art Workshop host a rolling exhibition throughout the year at the Memorial Hall. For more information on the Lisvane Art Workshop you can visit their website here.

Posted by Andrew Collins.

Similarly, the Friends of Parc Cefn Onn are hosting a Woodland Management afternoon on Sunday the 28th of November in line with National Tree Week and are also looking for budding helpers.

Posted By Andrew Collins

However, the figures also reveal that Lisvane came top in how much rubbish produced overall. So, though the area may be the best recycler in terms of the percentage of total waste, the village leaves a higher volume of waste for collection than any other part of Cardiff.

This comparison can be seen by clicking on the graph below.

Cardiff Waste

A Guardian report on the meeting can be read here.

And you can download the meeting’s agenda and points of discussion here.

Posted By Andrew Collins

The exhibition, held by the Lisvane Art Workshop, will be host to works produced by its members.

Admission is £2, which includes a refreshment, and attendees will be encouraged to vote for their favourite piece. The winner will receive the Ted Martin Memorial Trophy. There is also an option to purchase the art works if they take your fancy.

The Lisvane Art Workshop meet every Tuesday from 2-4pm. For more details visit the Clubs and Societies page.

Posted by Andrew Collins

Is this the end? It seems after months of draining Llanishen reservoir in North Cardiff is finally empty. Welsh Green Dragon was there back in February when Western Power Distribution, who own the water body, started draining down the water for a reported safety inspection. Although at the time the water level was falling, young sailors were still having lessons and it continued to be a valued recreational amenity for people living in northern Ca … Read More

via Welsh Green Dragon

Llanishen Reservoir. Photograph by Phoenixlily.

Mere days after the draining of Llanishen Reservoir had finished, news that Cardiff Council was meeting with the Countryside Council for Wales about whether the Nant Fawr corridor should be given legally protected status arrived. Is this the beginning of the end of RAG’s fight?

It all seemed to have become relatively quiet when it came to the debate over Llanishen Reservoir’s future. Back in February the Reservoir Action Group (RAG) said on their website that Western Power Distribution didn’t have consent to drain the reservoir, then a post four days later confirmed that draining was going ahead. Since then the news has been mainly draining related. Until the last week, that is.

Almost ten years have passed since Western Power Distribution’s plans for housing developments around Llanishen Reservoir became public. The proposal caught the attention of many people around Llanishen, Lisvane, and other surrounding areas. RAG formed in 2001. Since then it has grown into a fully-fledged campaigning and lobbying organisation.

The plans themselves, according to a BBC News Wales story, is “the building of 300 homes, a wetlands area, education centre and a new sailing club.” All of these proposals are entirely opposed by RAG, as outlined in their two main objectives on their website.

1. To oppose any building development on Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs and the open land surrounding them
2. To campaign for the area to be given legally protected status and enhanced as a part of the Nant Fawr Green Corridor

The first point lies almost entirely with them. As long as they continue to oppose it then they are meeting that objective. The second lies with them as well, but it also requires some official input, namely a political one. If the Nant Fawr Corridor is to gain legally protected status, then they need the support of Cardiff Council, The Countryside Council for Wales, and potentially larger political institutions in the shape of The Welsh Assembly and The Houses of Parliament. In fact, Jonathan Evans, the MP for Cardiff North, raised the issue in the House of Commons in July of this year. The cause has certainly gained steam.

But they have been here before. The news that the area is home to several species of rare fungi was not enough to deter WPD from continuing to pursue ways to implement their plans.

WPD refused to comment on the recent developments in this debate. And the news only indicated the two councils were meeting, no word has come of what the likely fate of the Nant Fawr corridor actually is. So campaigners will be the first to admit that they can hardly afford to let their guard down yet.

Posted by Andrew Collins