Roath flood scheme, Cardiff

[wayward bob]

surprised i didn't even hear about this until last week from a friend who lives closer that end of the park.

Natural Resources Wales / Roath Flood Scheme

they're building flood defence walls along the roath brook all the way down from pen-y-lan road, through waterloo gardens and railway gardens at the far end. closures for work at railway gardens start on monday so this weekend is the last chance to see it as it is now.

i've been down and filled one memory card today, weather set good for the weekend, hopefully fill another tomorrow. i've no idea how extensive the works will be at that end, friend was talking about losing the far bridge and at least some of the willows along the river.

 

[wayward bob]

it's a lovely spot

 

[wayward bob]

railway gardens trees

next stage will be to close waterloo gardens, which has probably the densest section of planting along the brook. no idea how "minimal" tree felling will turn out here...

 

[ddraig]

loved going round there when looking after a dog a while ago, great place

 

[wayward bob]

i've found the planning maps showing which trees are going. railway gardens gets off pretty lightly but waterloo gardens is a different matter. looks like all those in the bottom pic are on borrowed time

 

[shygirl]

I live just around the corner from Waterloo Gardens, I didn't realise the whole park was going to close during works . My mum said she saw them chopping some trees down along the brook earlier this week. She's going to be really sad, as we were looking forward to spending lots of time there in the Spring and Summer. Sitting in the Gardens is one of the few pleasures my mum has these days, sad that that's not going to be available. Will have to go further afield to the flower gardens, but its a bit of a trek with the wheel-chair. Such a shame all those lovely trees have to come down.

 

[shygirl]

Took mum for a walk earlier, the gate next to St Margaret's Church is locked, but you can get in by the zebra crossing on the corner. Most of the park is fenced off, but at least you can sit in part of it, albeit a small part.

 

[wayward bob]

i've taken pics of all of the trees i could get to before they started fencing in waterloo gardens. and i'm highlighting some of the remaining trees along roath mill gardens. i haven't done every one and some are more obvious than others, but it's already sparked some discussion for me with other locals.

guess i should go down and see if they've taken the signs down yet...

 

[shygirl]

i've taken pics of all of the trees i could get to before they started fencing in waterloo gardens. and i'm highlighting some of the remaining trees along roath mill gardens. i haven't done every one and some are more obvious than others, but it's already sparked some discussion for me with other locals.

guess i should go down and see if they've taken the signs down yet...

Is that the one on the corner between the two parks? If so, it was still there earlier. My friend was just telling me they cut down a golden birch in Waterloo Gardens.

 

[wayward bob]

this one?

 

[shygirl]

Must be (I didn't know what a golden birch looked like). If I've got my angles right, why did this tree come down? Its away from the bank, ah, maybe its to make way for the bridge widening .

The 'Tree removal and planting' section of the attachment says that 106 of the 145 trees coming down are in poor or decaying condition, and that they're going to plant over a hundred more. But its still painful to know so many are being chopped down.

 

[shygirl]

Lovely photos, btw.

 

[wayward bob]

ta it's a striking tree, i had no idea what it was. it's number 40 on the map... scrub that, forgot i numbered my maps off the trees not the other way round.

eta: i'd say not much more than 10% of the trees i saw (which was pretty much all of them) were decaying. the largest one is coming down because the roots are all funky - but i doubt that would actually make it any kind of liability in the short term...

 

[shygirl]

A case of finding what's expedient then?

The pavements along Marlborough, Albany and Waterloo Rd are are really bad in parts due to tree roots, but I'd hate to see any of them being chopped down. The trees around here are awesome, they're so old, bet they could tell a tale or two!

 

[wayward bob]

trees are going quickly now

the ones at the back were commemorative trees. for some reason i thought they might try to replant those

 

[shygirl]

 

[wayward bob]

i've been told there's a demo/meeting in waterloo gardens about the works some time on saturday (i'm guessing int he morning because rugby ).

i'm not strictly opposed to the works for various reasons, so i won't be there waving placards, but there may be some of my pics up on the fences and chances for locals to record their say, if we can get it organised in time...

 

[wayward bob]

10:30 tomorrow (sat 25th) for the waterloo gardens event.

 

[wayward bob]

i can't get this out of my head

Mr Prosser: But, Mr Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months.
Arthur: Oh yes, well as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them had you? I mean like actually telling anybody or anything.
Mr Prosser: But the plans were on display…
Arthur: On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.
Mr Prosser: That’s the display department.
Arthur: With a torch.
Mr Prosser: The lights had probably gone out.
Arthur: So had the stairs.
Mr Prosser: But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?
Arthur: Yes yes I did. It was on display at the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying beware of the leopard.

 

[shygirl]

Damn, I'm out til 11.30 tomorrow morning, but will pop along to see what's happening.

 

[wayward bob]

petition: City Council: To reconsider the design of the Roath Brook Flood Defence Scheme.

 

[ddraig]

Same

 

[wayward bob]

it's really striking now, when you walk down by the shops, it looks like a massacre. and there are still many large trees standing in waterloo gardens that are due to go. at a guess i'd say they've maybe felled 40 of the 140 total - it's a real scar cut into the landscape.

planning to get out tomorrow if the weather permits and see if i can put numbers to trees/stumps down the railway gardens end - from what i can see there's still a lot to go.

 

[shygirl]

The mature cherry trees along from the entrance (by the zebra crossing) are going to be pulled down. Apparently for access purposes , in spite of there being another access point elsewhere.

I chatted to a small group of people late morning, who mentioned that the local cllr and the BBC had been present earlier. There might apparently be some kind of flexibility on the thorny issue of the pergola that nobody wants but is in the plans. If the campaign is successful in getting this concession, it will mean fewer trees for the chop.

They lost me tho' when they started to talk about how a pergola or amphitheatre might attract 'all sorts of people', one guy protested that he wouldn't want 'youths' opposite him house on Sandringham Road. Still, the matter of the trees is far more important than my loathing for these kind of people with their snooty, entitled, privileged attitudes.

 

[nogojones]

They lost me tho' when they started to talk about how a pergola or amphitheatre might attract 'all sorts of people'.....

Actors and brass bands. Keep them out of my parks!

 

[wayward bob]

my blog's latest follower is a pasadena tree removal company

 

[chilango]

Many, many years ago I lived around the corner from here.

A quick street view look reveals that I've completely forgotten the area

 

[shygirl]

There's so many trees in Waterloo Gardens with ribbons on, are they really all coming down? I guess the cherry trees are coming down to make way for the bloody pergola. Just about to write to Jenny Rathbone and Jo Stevens, tho' what good it'll do I don't know.

 

[Supine]

Took a lovely walk through the gardens on Saturday. I'm at a loss to explain how cutting the trees down will help.

Took a picture of a nice tree last night...

 

[wayward bob]

There's so many trees in Waterloo Gardens with ribbons on, are they really all coming down? I guess the cherry trees are coming down to make way for the bloody pergola. Just about to write to Jenny Rathbone and Jo Stevens, tho' what good it'll do I don't know.

i've not been up since they did that, afaik from the maps the only trees to be felled in wg itself are behind the fences.