Dear Rodney..NO EIA on urban development of a sensitive area

To FIB DEM Cllr R Berman leader of Cardiff council

My dear Rodney

Perhaps you would like to answer some straight forward key questions for a change.

Re Bute Park £1.4 bridge and road for lorries ...

Why is there NO EIA on urban development of a sensitive area, nor a full sustainability assessment as in the Parks Strategy.

Why was Nigel Howellls permitted to intervene at the planning Cttee meeting?..

This intervention was contrary to your code of conduct with his conflicting interest!

looking forward to a swift reply

I shall be also writing to the Local government ombudsman to complain.

DUMMIES GUIDE TO GREEN POLICY
for Cllrs Berman, Howells, and McEvoy

No articulated lorries in a LISTED PARK!

Dump the plastic bottles

Ban the use of water bottles in all municial buildings. Would be a a start and hopefully it will catch on to the rest of the country. Water bottles are really such a waste especially when you consider most of us have access to clean, fresh amazing tap water here in WALES.

Just buy an aluminum water bottle and re-use that throughout the day!

Fib Dem R Berman attacks green granny!

Dear Rodney

I am surprised that you feel it necessary to attack me.

Any council with modern and accurate awareness about carbon footprints would immediately see the need to reduce the number of huge articulated lorries INTO the city centre and a listed park!

A dummys guide to carbon reduction would tell you that road-building leads to large increases in traffic levels, locking us in to a carbon-intensive pattern of development and behavioural change is vital! And it would inform you that the solution is to move the nursery and take lorries out of the park and the city centre! Moving the problem and destroying the park in the process for £1.4 is not a solution!

The key challenge for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from transport in Wales is to reduce inappropriate and unnecessary car use and of course lorry use. Traffic in Cardiff is forecast to grow by 7% - 10% over the next 5 years. This is higher than the average for Great Britain. In Cardiff, air and car travel account for 95% of the City’s ecological impact and the average resident travels over 15 miles a day by car and cllr? (1) Nothing short of a huge change in how we travel is needed to halt current trends. It might therefore occur to you that using the front of the city Hall for Clllrs to have FREE parking is old fashioned, outdated practice yet you feel it is necessary to limit the citizens right to protest to facilitate parking for Cllrs – this is the equivalent of instigating parking outside Buckingham Palace! Cllrs should set a good example of behavioural change! And you talk of reducing your carbon footprint whilst sipping water from your plastic bottle of water? What is the carbon footprint of that and what is wrong with welsh water from the tap and how much does it cost?

Equality impact assessment

I asked you and FIB DEMS Cardiff what disability equality impact assessment had been conducted in making the decision to build this bridge and road, as required under the DDA 2005.?

Please may we see a copy of the report on the disability impact assessment?

Will yopur consyultation with disabled people be lawful if the information about the design of the bridge and road are not accurate and are found to be downright misleading and wrong . I suggest a meeting with Cllr Berman, McEvoy and Howells with the disabled access group and myself and others to discuss the true dimensions and gradients of the bridge and road you propose to build. I know what I am talking about as I worked for the DRC as a policy officer. As a disabled person myself and the mother of a disabled boy who has epilepsy and is filled with horror at the prospect of sharing a road with articulated lorries.

The council has repeatedly neglected to inform the public that the access bridge is almost 30ft wide, What’s more, the bridge will be practically 200ft long from the point it enters the park on North Road to where it finishes.

“It may even be longer because of the gradient – one in six. With such a gradient the 40-ton lorries using it will not be able to do so safely, so it seems likely that the bridge will have to be extended at a less fierce gradient – which will involve eating up yet more green space.

A gradient of 1:12 is desirable where possible.

Lies and misinformation to the public

I have e-mails to Cllr Jon Aylwin over the early tree- felling, to which he and the Council never replied, which indicates unlawful planning behaviour.

Questions and lies

How exactly does Cllr Berman imagine an access bridge for articulated lorries that’s almost 30 feet wide, and raised on concrete pillars, and paths doubled in width for long sections to accommodate these giants, can possibly be disabled friendly or “enhance” a Grade I-listed park.

Coun Howells lies at the exhibition relating to council plans for Bute Park

The artist’s image of the proposed access bridge was misleading to say the least, and the council officer present was forced to admit that the image was “ephemeral”, and that in reality the bridge would be larger, higher and more visible.

The map published alongside Coun Nigel Howells’ piece in the Capital Times had been doctored to show the council’s proposed developments in a more favourable light.

Council Executive continue to repeat more spurious claims about public support for the proposals. Below I quote two independent and authoritative sources:

December 2007: CADW wrote, ‘This area of the park is at present tranquil woodland and lawn dotted with specimen trees. The dock feeder canal runs quietly through it, flanked by an unsurfaced path and wider tarmacked path/roadway. There are no modern intrusions and the nursery enclosure to the west is well screened from the area…. The introduction of a wide modern road and bridge into this unspoilt area would in our view be unsympathetic and highly visible.’

February 2008: Chief Strategic Planning and Environment officer Sean Hannaby wrote to Tom Morgan, the Council Corporate Director, ‘I have a copy of the Committee report that is due to go out tomorrow, recommending refusal for the bridge. I have considered the matter carefully and am satisfied that I have no credible alternative…. We have a legal duty to protect or enhance the character of the park and cannot use highway issues as a reason to set that aside.’

However the Council has already begun preparatory work on North Road in spite of the Council’s own planning condition insisting that no ground clearance or tree cutting should begin during the bird nesting season running till July 31st.

The last 70 years have seen massive incremental damage to the four parks. You can download here the BPA leaflet given to every councillor on Thursday. It shows the degree destruction and privatisation that has been allowed in that time and which has escalated over the last few years.

Acting on behalf of the scheme’s opponents, environmental lawyer Richard Buxton has written to the council warning it not to start work before the end of July.

One of the planning conditions for the scheme says work should not proceed during the nesting season, which lasts until July 31.

Cardiff council is disregarding its own planning conditions by starting work on the site. The noise and disruption caused by the contractors in their compound adjacent to the park will inevitably cause distress to nesting birds.

Unlawful felling prior to planning

The Conservation Area officer was not notified (as required even for urgent work) nor consulted on all the trees (>75mm width at 1m height) to be felled.

The inspection and felling recommendation was last Sept., then the

beech tree was inspected for bats in case CCW needed notifying.

All the trees on a 16 metre stretch of the boundary and their stumps were removed - a huge impact on the Conservation Area as well as the Park - one huge stump 500mm across is still visible evidence.

Was the Bridge decision at planning lawful?

In fact there may be grounds to challenge the planning permission on the basis of corruption with decision-making in planning being a quasi-legal process?

The Executive Member responsible for the Bute Park scheme intervened in a major way during the planning committee hearing. Cllr Nigel Howells spoke from the position of ward councillor (“if Jayne Cowan can speak, so can I”), but spoke as Executive Member sponsoring the project without declaring his interest. He spoke fluently and at length on the genesis of the project and ambitions for it, and that the decision on a new access opposite Corbett Road had been made by the Council in 2007.

The protocol for receiving oral observations and representations from councillors says observations or representations must be confined to addressing material planning considerations. The Committee Chair did not stop Cllr Howells breaching this requirement.

As the Parks Dept where the applicant, Cllr Howells being Chair of Parks as well as the responsible Executive Member clearly had a prejudicial interest. Cllr Howells did not (as far as we heard) notify the Planning Committee and public of this. In cases of prejudicial interest, the Protocol says: Do Not participate or give the appearance of trying to participate in the making of anydecision on the matter by the planning authority

His intervention of course breached this. And the open way in which he abused his Councillor position to air arguments for the scheme, in effect arguing for the applicant, breached the ‘key principle’

It is not enough to avoid actual impropriety. You should at all times avoid anyoccasion for suspicion and any appearance of improper conduct

Bute Park new access, Bridge and Roadways, planning application 07/02649/C

Assessors of the Planning application (from Highways Dept and Parks Dept) were not independent of the “applicant”; Paul Carter and ?? presented cases at the Planning Meeting. We objected that assessments from the two departments are not professionally independent. The Planning Officers said they have no way of getting independent advice on highways options and traffic safety, but have to accept the options appraisal report under Paul Carter's name [Annex 2].

RE Prayers

I laughed rather than heckled. Perhaps you would provide us with the text of this bizarre ‘prayer’ which will explain the guffaw!

I am sure you are aware that the Town Hall watchdog organisation, the National Association of Local Councils, which is observed at many town halls, describes prayers as merely an "old custom" which might upset councillors and members of the public of other religions as saying Christian prayers before council meetings might infringe human rights and equality laws. I have been a councillor in the past and am very surprised that Cardiff continues with this very dated old custom!

But the National Association said the practice, which is observed at many town halls, was merely an "old custom" which might upset councillors and members of the public of other religions.

I got chucked out of the council meeting after having to sit there from 4.20 to 8.30 to have them deal with the motion which you threw out like a dictator and replaced it with a new one to suit you, despite standing orders to the contrary. The Constitution 14.6 states the new motion "must not negate the motion" the new motion was not an amendment as it DESTROYS the original motion.

I got thrown out as a Cllr in executive pleaded that a new bridge £1.4 million was necessary to avoid any accidents in the future ...just move the risk ...I shouted 'take the lorries out of the park, stupid' and got thrown out of the meeting!

After I left the talking shop continued and ended with a challenge to Nigel Howells and everyone calling the LibDem sheep.

1. Cardiff’s Ecological Footprint (Cardiff Council, BRASS Research Centre, Cardiff University and WWF Cymru – September 2005)

Anne Greagsby

Rodneys email to me

Dear Anne,

As you know the scheme will cut down vehicle miles travelled within the park – and hence it will lead to a reduction in carbon emissions within the park. This is because once the new road access is in place the distance vehicles will need to travel within the park to get to and from the nursery will be significantly less. A significant proportion of the vehicular traffic which enters and leaves the park is doing so to access the nursery. Overall, the scheme will clearly lead to a reduction in vehicle miles travelled within the park.

I appreciate that in order to reduce carbon emissions to effectively tackle climate change, some difficult decisions will have to be taken and that there will be some people who will oppose these measures. We are perhaps straying into the sorts of arguments that often surround proposals for wind farms. Wind farms may alter the appearance of the surrounding environment but no-one would argue they don't contribute to tackling climate change. Whilst I appreciate your continued opposition to the new road access, the Council's administration takes the view that in this case cutting carbon emissions should take precedence.

As for your belief that the matter is not justified on the grounds of health and safety, you may be interested in the views of the Chief Executive of the Cardiff & the Vale Coalition of Disabled People, Charles Willie, who wrote the following e-mail to the Council earlier this week:

Having seen the recent ‘Dragons Eye’ programme on the proposed Bute Park developments, I thought it important as chair of the Access Focus Group to dispute much of what was said in that programme and from a disability access perspective offer our full and unequivocal support for the project. This support follows our most recent visit and tour to the park, and is therefore from a practical and evidenced based basis.

The two main contentions that we have are with regard to public consultation and health and safety

First with regard to consultation we are very concerned about the accusations surrounding the lack of public consultation and engagement around the project. Plans for and access to information has been in the public domain for sometime. We have been aware of the minutes of the Executive Business Meeting, 11 September 2007 that go in to great detail about the proposed plans and impacts. This has been supplemented by our own engagement with the project both with regard to the Access Focus Group and as with regard to the Cardiff and Vale Coalition of Disabled People there has been good contact and involvement with particularly John Green about the project. So the view that there has been no consultation is totally inaccurate

With regard to the vehicle access bridge, during our tour of the Park this was discussed at length and from those discussions it was clear that the new access point (from a disability access and safety perspective) at the top of park is to be welcomed as it would divert vehicles away from the pedestrian paths. The need for this became clear when as a group we encountered heavy plant vehicles which emphasised the danger that those particularly with sensory impairments could face.

Finally, can I express my sincere disappointed that you even heckled the Lord Mayor's chaplain during prayers at the start of yesterday's Council meeting. This is not something I have ever witnessed before and I know many people found it offensive.

Yours sincerely,

Rodney Berman
Leader of Cardiff Council
[PDF]

Charles Willie referred to this document

CARDIFF COUNCIL CYNGOR CAERDYDD EXECUTIVE BUSINESS MEETING: 11 ...

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML

EXECUTIVE BUSINESS MEETING: 11 SEPTEMBER 2007. CITY CENTRE STRATEGY 2007 - 2010. REPORT OF CORPORATE DIRECTOR ...... Cardiff Castle / £3.1m for Bute Park ...
www.cardiff.gov.uk/ObjView.asp?Object_ID=9502...YYY=0 - Similar -
More results from www.cardiff.gov.uk »

Lib Dem/plaid council in disarray

Chief officer suspended in council leak inquiry
WalesOnline - Cardiff,UK
... with several controversial proposals including the building of a £1.4m lorry bridge into Bute Park and the sale of the city's historic library texts. ...

RHS Flower show picket

I have been in Bute Park most of the day with the BPA stall and leafleting and talking to visitors to the RHS flower show much to the chagrin of the Robert Corp, Special Events Manager, Cardiff Council Marketing & Tourism! He stood nearby us all day and told me it was against the bye laws to hand out leaflets by approaching folk but they may approach me for a leaflet! So I invited folk to approach me for a leaflet which made for some amusement! The events manager
then found some fancy leaflets full of spin which the council had a PR company produced and had his staff wait to be asked for a copy!

There seems to be no political opposition to anything these days! No calls for this to stop from any of the political parties in office - only the Green Party have spoken out against it!
Most people are surprised that the lib dems Cllrs Berman and Howells have such a crazy stupid policy to build a new road at our expense into a listed park!

My mobile is in for repair! so no thrilling pics for you today!

Libs Dems break rules to build road into Bute Park

Update to Bute Parks Alliance: Work at the College of Music entrance/extension 

No documents to meet the pre-conditions have been submitted - and many of these pre-conditionssay "no development" until each individually has been met.   

Substantial amounts of soil (including tarry contaminants) have been brought onto the site, to build up levels 
for the work with excavators pulling up stumps etc.  Yet one pre-condition says no 
"No excavations/groundworks shall take place until a written scheme of archaeological investigation has 
been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority." 
Other pre-conditions cover Japanese Knotweed (detailed scheme to be submitted and approved in writing) and 
"No part of the development hereby permitted shall be commenced until a scheme detailing the measures necessary for the purposes of identifying chemical and other contaminants on the site and to ensure that the land is suitable for the proposed development has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority."

It's pretty obvious this latter condition should have been fulfilled first.   They've used some chemical on the 
Knotweed without approval.  But after the enforcement officer was called in, he just wrote (9 April) 
 I do not believe there was any deliberate intention to circumvent the conditions and I am happy with the progress made to date. 

It appears they stopped further work on 9th April because another pre-condition says 
Prior to the commencement of development, the eastern bank of the dock feeder shall be enclosed to mitigate against my potential for the pollution of that watercourse in accordance with a scheme of detail which shall first have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority.

That waits on the case officer Richard Cole's return after Easter to approve the fence plans. 

The overall issue is whether the "Development" has started - unlawfully, as the pre-conditions have not been met. 
The Council's officers responsible for chasing breaches of planning permits are known as "enforcement officer". 
They replied on 9th April "we remain of the opinion that development to implement the planning permission has not commenced ." 

However, their legal officer gave the criterion as commencing "operations" and used Lord Denning’s judgement that 
        “operations” cover “activities which result in some physical alteration to the land, which has some degree of permanence”. 

Only to planning officers does cutting down mature trees not satisfy this definition.  All the soil brought in has completely changed the 
surface ecosystem as well as land levels, for those who would argue that mature trees are not part of the land (or landscape). 

Note that if the College did not go ahead with the "development" there is no condition in the Early Access Licence requiring them to remove the polluted 'soil' and replant the area.  They would have been allowed to despoil this part of the Park for nothing. 

So watch this space!  Will the enforcement officers continue to deny what's obvious to Denning's common man, 
that there has been "some physical alteration to the land, which has some degree of permanence"? 
And if they admit it's breaching planning controls, what action will they take? 

No car park in Sophia Gardens for Sky TV!

Take Action now – your Park is not safe with R Berman Lib Dem

For the third time Cardiff council comes back to planning committee to push through this plan for MORE CAR PARKING in Bute Park in Part of Sophia Gardens, Sophia Close, Riverside

Take a minute to email the planning department!
Find the application here which is 08/1465W on the agenda on the council’s website for 18th Feb (page 324); this Wednesday!

This proposal is to increase the car parking for the new cricket ground. On “Test Match” dates the area will be used to house outside broadcast vans and trailers. Surely this is against policy 1.N of the Unitary Plan which clearly states “car parking will be reduced” in favour of public transport.

It is against all planning directives and laws recently promoted by Government and Council, i.e. the UDP, LDP and European SEA all promote the environment and protect open recreational spaces. Nowhere does it say
“remove sports facilities and open spaces to make parking for the Council,private companies and Sky”

There is a requirement is in the Park & Green Space Strategy which says
"Ensuring that all new developments or changes in the service are properly assessed for sustainability prior to implementation." I can see no report on any such assessment

An objector states that the application remains a disgrace.
He draws attention to the strategic agenda of the Welsh Assembly
government Local Plan, policies (Open Space 2.53, Historic Parks and
Conservation Areas 2.5.4.), are identical to application 08/01518/W that was refused contrary to para. 4.5 SPG June 1996. Amenity would worsen from noise and comings and goings of traffic.
Nowhere does it say turn public facilities in a protected historic park in a
Conservation Area to a car park. Also the photos of two proposed views
supplied by the applicant in their submission are grossly incorrect to the point of incompetence or corruption. (these have been withdrawn by the agent now that this crime has been pointed out)

Some work has already been carried out before planning permission -Under the description DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
“The submitted plans show: Removal of grass-crete and 39 car parking spaces along the spine road to Pontcanna Fields and its replacement with grass and timber bollards (already carried out)”

The council claim disgracefully that ‘much of the original character and features of Sophia Gardens has been lost’ due their neglect and petrol head approach but the park is still registered Grade II, because of its historic importance as the first public park in Cardiff and one of the earliest in Wales, and as such every opportunity should be taken to address the failings
of the mid to late C20th and try to reinstate this park as one of the nationally important ensemble of parks in the heart of the Capital City.

As the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust point out the commercialisation and dilution of these important parks must be halted to ensure the survival of this important legacy from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, that will reap huge benefits to the City as the effects of global warming increase plus the benefits of green spaces that impact positively on the physical and psychological health of the residents of Cardiff and its many tourists

It isn’t too late to write to the planning department and your councillor and copy in Lib Dem leader of the council R Berman: rberman@cardiff.gov.uk,


I think this film is made for R Berman and Cardiff Councillors - AGE OF STUPID!

Planning; Development Manager Development Control City Hall Cardiff CF10 3ND
029 2087 1135 developmentcontrol@cardiff

.gov.uk

Find your councillor;
http://www.writetothem.com/write?who=all&type=UTE&pc=CF23+5NN&fyr_extref=http%3A%2F%2Fgardengrabbing.blogspot.com%2F

Secret Lib Dem Council

From: Stevens, Jean
To: annegre@aol.com
Sent: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 10:45
Subject: RE:

Hello,

There is a fee payable of £7.00 per copy for decision notices. This is payable in advance. Please could you send a cheque for this amount made payable to Cardiff council to

Development Control

Room 158

City Hall

Cardiff CF10 3ND

with a covering letter. Please could you be more specific in the letter as to the planning application you refer to i.e is it for the original building or for something more recent, as there are a number of applications on this site.

Jean Stevens

Strategic Planning and Environment

Cynllunio Strategol a`r Amgylchedd

029 2087 1513

---

From: Development Control
Sent: 02 February 2009 10:02
To: Stevens, Jean
Subject: FW:

---

From: annegre@aol.com
Sent: 30 January 2009 16:08
To: Development Control
Subject:

Pease may I have a copy of the decision on the planning application for the college of music on north road.

I would prefer it was emailed to me.

Tree felling at College of Music BUTE PARK prior to development consent

Help by emailing the Cardiff council leader to save these trees by Writing to the leader of cardiff council rberman@cardiff.gov.uk
copy in the local paper - ecletters@mediawales.co.uk, david.james@mediawales.co.uk,

If anyone would like to join me protesting at the site as soon as they prepare to start work. email me at annegre@aol.comi

The picture is of the site of tree felling in listed BUTE PARK that was due to ONE 'diseased' TREE being chopped down!

Tree felling at College of Music BUTE PARK prior to development consent

Work is due to start on cutting down trees this afternoon and marking other trees for felling. Yet pre-conditions on the development of the new College auditorium have not been met which prevents work at this time.

Also disposal of the area of park for the Auditorium development agreed by the Council/Cabinet is still subject to legal procedures including public consultation

The developers wanted to get the trees down before the nesting season, erecting a compound this week and today starting tree felling. The Tree Officer had agreed (issued a S211 consent), but as tree felling amounts to starting work on the development, the pre-conditions do not allow it.

If consultation on disposal of bits of the Park is meaningful, it could be turned down and the whole project be stopped, yet the park is desecrated with many wrongly trees lost. The Council should enforce the rules and stop the premature tree felling.

The council says "However not all the trees are located on the Council’s land – some are located on the College site, mainly along the North Road frontage. It is estimated that 19 trees will be lost on the Council’s open space. Only 1 was considered to be category A (the most desirable to retain) with the remainder either categories B, C or R (the latter being desirable to be removed because of disease or other factors). Those trees on the Council’s land are mainly sycamore and not therefore of rarity value. However it is acknowledged that as mature trees they make a significant contribution to the wooded screening along the east side of the Park, and from North Road."

No concern or checks has been made for wildlife or hibernating bats or animals.

Write to the leader of cardiff council - tell him also that you will not vote lib dem for people who destroy the environment rberman@cardiff.gov.uk,
copy in the local paper - ecletters@mediawales.co.uk, david.james@mediawales.co.uk,

One diseased tree according to rodney Berman was removed here!

The college itself was built on part of the park and it is this chipping away that is destroying the park. The land concerned extends to approximately 1814 sq. metres (0.18
hectares or 0.45 acres) some 43 trees will be removed as a result of the proposals.

At its meeting on 6 November 2008 the Executive resolved to grant a peppercorn lease of Council land to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for the purpose of an extension to the College to house a new Concert Hall and Theatre (Min No. 69).
That land forms part of Bute Park Public Open Space

No concern or checks has been made for wildlife or hibernating bats or animals.

facebook group
whole album here