Here's your Friday update, covering: consultation on the 2023/24 Council Budget is now open; changes to parks mini football pitches; disposing of wrapping paper this Christmas; and Parc Cefn Onn survey.

Consultation on the Council's 2023/24 Budget

The public consultation on the Council's 2023/24 budget proposals opened today and will run until 29th January.

You can give your views on the proposals by visiting the consultation page on our website  here.

Printed copies of the consultation in multiple languages will also be available in libraries, Hubs and council buildings in the New Year for anyone unable to take part digitally.

The consultation asks residents a series of questions on a number of budget options including:

• Looking at new ways of operating St David's Hall, Cardiff International White Water, and the Museum of Cardiff (in the Old Library, on The Hayes) to reduce council subsidies
• Reducing operating hours at Household Waste recycling centres
• Restricting opening times of Hubs and libraries and using more volunteers to help run the service
• Increasing residential and pay and display parking charges
• Slightly reducing the subsidy on adults hiring sports pitches
• Increasing the price of the burials and cremation service, but by much less than inflation
• Increasing the cost of school meals, although we will continue to subsidise this service

Cardiff residents are being asked for their views on possible changes to council services following the news that the local authority will still need to find £23.5m to balance the books in 2023/24, despite receiving a better-than-expected 9% increase in funding from Welsh Government.

A number of factors including rises in energy costs, spiralling inflation, demand pressures, and expected pay increases for teachers, carers and other public sector workers, mean the council's budget for delivering day-to-day services like education, social care, refuse collection, parks and libraries is set to cost £75m more next year than it will this year.

Read more here:
https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/30514.html

Mini Pitches

Wales's recent adventures at the World Cup in Qatar may have come to an end but steps are being taken in Cardiff to ensure the next generation develop the skills needed to ensure the wait for another shot at World Cup glory isn't as long.

One element of this work is the recent removal of the fixed mini goal posts in Cardiff's parks. Cardiff was the only Council in Wales to provide these fixed posts and their removal follows changes by FAW to the size of pitches for various age groups.

The change to smaller pitches aims to increase the number of touches and time on the ball to improve both skill and fun levels so that every child contributes during a game, and mean that the fixed pitches were no longer compliant.

The FAW have provided clubs with "pop-up" goals and grant funding to create flexible places to play. In Cardiff the changes mean that we are able to respond to the growing demand for mini pitches requested by the Cardiff and District Mini and Junior League -sites such as the Marl, for example, where 4 fixed mini pitches were in situ can now accommodate 8 mini pitches.

The changes also form part of our plans to improve the quality of pitches by reducing goal mouth erosion which causes pooling of water and trenches for goal keepers under the posts.

Disposing of Christmas Wrapping Paper

Wrapping paper will not be collected from recycling bags or sacks and will need to be put into black bins or bags for collection.

Wrapping paper often has a very high ink content, has very few fibres left in the paper that is useful for recycling and is often rejected by the companies that sell the product to the paper mills.

Wrapping paper labelled as recyclable will not be accepted either as there isn't a way for our crews to distinguish between this product and non-recyclable wrapping paper when it is presented for collection.

If you've used plain brown wrapping paper this can be recycled in your green bag or blue sacks.

Find out more about recycling at Christmas here:
https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/Your-Council/News/Christmas/Pages/default.aspx

Parc Cefn Onn User Survey

Have you visited Parc Cefn Onn recently? We'd love to hear your feedback on the park in our user survey.

Can you spare a few minutes to tell us what you think?

We would like to hear your opinions on the park. If and how you use it, whether or not your use has been affected by either the pandemic or the improvements made through the project and what you think would improve the park further.

Start the survey here:
https://www.outdoorcardiff.com/parks/parc-cefn-onn/

The survey is open until 31st January 2023. All responses are read and gratefully received.