Cardiff Council Update: 24th July

Welcome to the last update of the week from Cardiff Council, covering: the statue of slaver and Waterloo war hero Sir Thomas Picton is to be removed from the Marble Hall of Heroes in City Hall; another 20 play areas to reopen next week, part of a safety-first phased reopening schedule;greater support for young people during COVID-19; two more Hubs reopening;top 10 searched items on our Recycling A-Z; and pollinator friendly parks.

Since March, we have published over 80 editions of the update, every day, Monday to Friday. From next week, we will be moving to publishing the update twice weekly, switching to every Tuesday and Friday. Thank you.

Statue of slaver Thomas Picton to be removed

The statue of slaver and Waterloo war hero Sir Thomas Picton is to be removed from the Marble Hall of Heroes in Cardiff City Hall.

The decision was taken last night following a debate and vote held at Cardiff Full Council.

Cardiff's first Black Lord Mayor, Cllr Dan De'Ath, called for the statue to be removed because of Picton's links to slavery and his documented torture of a teenage girl forced into slavery in the West Indies.

The call to remove the statue was backed by Council Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, who said: "There have been well-publicised calls in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement for a reassessment of how individuals in British history with involvement in slavery are commemorated. Specifically in Cardiff the debate has focused on the statue of Sir Thomas Picton in City Hall."

More children's play areas will re-open next week following inspections

A further 20 children's play areas in Cardiff will be re-opened on Monday (27^thJuly) following the initial 30 sites that opened last week.

Play areas are being opened on phased basis, following a safety first approach and with a view to ensuring that children across the city have some play provision in their local area as quickly as possible.

The 20 play areas that will open from lunchtime on Monday are:

Adamscroft open space(Adamsdown);Belmont Walk (Butetown); Windsor Esplanade(Butetown);Trelai Park(Caerau);Bute Park Play Trail(Cathays);Maindy Park(Cathays);Whitland Crescent(Fairwater);Maitland Park(Gabalfa);Heol y Delyn(Lisvane);Watkin's Square(Llanishen);Waun Fach(Pentwyn);Parc Coed y Nant(Pentwyn);Penuel Road(Pentyrch);Sovereign Chase(Penylan);Cwm Farm Junior(Radyr);Cym Farm Toddler(Radyr);Splott Park(Splott);Tremorfa Park(Splott);Heritage Park(Trowbridge);Hollybush(Whitchurch & Tongwynlais)

Cardiff's Youth Services: Greater support for young people during COVID-19

Provision and support for young people provided by Cardiff Youth Services, has been expanded in order to meet increased demand during COVID-19.

A range of new innovative services have been initiated and many existing services have been increased in order to engage with and support larger numbers of young people across the city, many of whom have not been able to attend school, college or youth provision since March.

The Council has reallocated staff to join the designated street based team and Street Based Youth Workers have also been deployed around Cardiff including the city centre, to engage with young people, listen to their views and sign post to additional support.

Digital engagement between services and young people has increased and the Council has appointed a digital officer to oversee this area. Teams from Cardiff Youth Services have created new ways to engage young people in conversation by delivering innovative activities via social media platforms including competitions and Question and Answer sessions.

11 Hubs and Libraries open by Monday

Canton Library & Butetown Youth Hub open again on Monday July 27 on an appointment only basis.

The reopening of these two facilities next week will bring the total number of libraries and hubs currently open in the city to 11.

Central Library Hub, St Mellons Hub, The Powerhouse, Ely & Caerau Hub, Llanishen Hub, Llanrumney Hub, Radyr Library, Llandaff North & Gabalfa Hub and Grangetown Hub are also open for click & collect library services and a range of advice services.

Green recycling & food waste bags can be collected without an appointment.

Find out about opening hours here:

https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/resident/hubs-and-housing-offices/Pages/hubs.aspx

For more information, call our Adviceline on 029 2087 1071 or email:

advicehub@cardiff.gov.uk

Top 10 most searched items on our Recycling A-Z

The most searched for items on our Recycling A-Z have been revealed and you might be surprised at some of the items that don't belong in your green recycling bags.

More pollinator friendly ‘one-cut' mowing sites confirmed for Cardiff's parks

An additional 2.6 hectares of parkland in Cardiff is moving to a more pollinator friendly ‘one-cut' mowing regime.

The decision to reduce the frequency of mowing across an area the equivalent size of 6 senior football pitches, takes the total area of native meadows, pollinator friendly and one cut sites looked after by the council to 33.5 hectares.