Memories of my childhood in that field
TO some readers it may seem a little odd getting sentimental about the fate of a field.
But that is how I felt when I read Peter Sullivan's letter (Viewpoints, January 8) about the daffodil growing in the corner of the field behind his house in Ely's Llewellyn Avenue.
The house I was born in also backed onto that field of so many memories.
Although I have few memories of my father, who died when I was very young, I can still recall his refereeing a football match there in the early '30s.
I also remember how, when the council cut the grass, we kids built dens out of the cuttings and within them sometimes stole kisses from girls.
Upon it we played cricket, football and rounders and, in winter, built snowmen.
On a tranquil Sunday morning one September my twin sister and I were banished there, out of hearing of our mother and older siblings as they discussed the outbreak of war.
But at the age of eight the news of that day did not mean a lot as we played rough and tumble games amid the dog daisies, disturbing the honey bees.
But soon we would seek shelter close to the field within our Anderson on clear, frosty nights when the engines of Junker bombers throbbed overhead, ack ack shells exploded around them and searchlights swept the sky. Then I was thankful we lived upon the very edge of the city with our field and the woods behind us so we were rarely targeted with bombs.
I hope that the people of Ely are successful in their fight to retain the scarce amount of green land surrounding it.
Bill Julian Trenchard Drive, Llanishen, Cardiff
Keep this area green, please
A BEAUTIFUL pair of great spotted woodpeckers have visited our bird table throughout a very cold winter.
Along with large groups of long tailed tits, tree creepers, hedge sparrows and even tawny owls at night after the mice, making their presence known with their haunting hoots.
Through the summer, my neighbour kindly lent me his bat detector and it was amazing to hear the different clicks and chirps representing different species of bat.
I wonder what kind of impact 330 new houses built upon our beautiful green spaces will have, with regard to our feathered friends and bats.
There again as beautiful as they are, other than the protected species I doubt planners would give a hoot to the plight of our wildlife.
I can well understand the need for more houses, it just baffles me as to how and why they can justify building them on green recreation fields, that are well used (feathered friends and bats included) and by a community that already has a deficit of green spaces. The land about which I raise concern is at north Ely.
The plans are under the heading regeneration.
We call it degeneration. So come on planners, don't be mean, keep 'em green.
Peter Sullivan
Ely, Cardiff
Thanks for the help you gave
I FIND it amazing, during a recession, that companies can still be so generous.
Our fight has been so hard and tiring in north Ely to save our only green spaces. I would like to thank DB Schenker, the biggest freight train company in Europe, for sending a cheque to the Ely garden villagers for a football kit for the children of Ely.
They found out about our campaign and were eager to support us. We now have a • football kit for the Ely children to be proud of. The children had their first tournament, organised by Cardiff Sport, at Power League in Whitchurch.
The only trouble we had was how to get them there?
Gary from G&J Car Hire heard of our plight through G&J Motors and provided us with a mini bus for free, for which the children of Ely were truly grateful.
The children looked amazing in their kit.
Although they came runners-up, they felt proud to be included in the tournament.
So thank you to all the above for giving the Ely children a chance to prove they can make a difference with a bit of help.
Please take time to look at our website
www.elygardenvillagers.co.uk and see why we will fight to the end to save our only green spaces in Ely.
This could be you one day, fighting to save your green spaces, and I would not wish that on my worse enemy.
Jane Sully Wilson Road,
Ely, Cardiff
Hands off our green spaces
HERE we go again, next on the conveyer belt for stealing green spaces is north Ely.
For those at the conveyer belt, I would like to remind you that theses fields are all we have left and you know it. Three-hundred-and-thirty extra houses added to Ely will mean approximately four family members per household, plus two more cars per household on an already overburdened and deprived area.
The main streets that will be affected will be Archer Road, Mill Road and Frank Road. This will be the route that will be used when traffic needs to access Cowbridge Road. As for Michelson Road, if they think they have traffic problems now, god help them if theses plans go ahead. We already have a large deficit of green spaces in Ely and they want to take away more!
As for the extra families with . children, what are they supposed to do?
There again, I suppose there will be more streets for them to loiter around.
Remember, we are not fighting for just a bit of green space, we are fighting for the last of our green space.
There are alternatives to regenerate Ely for the better, allotments being one people in Ely would like to see.
The Rec is already well used; we just need our changing rooms and showers repaired and reinstated.
It's been proven fresh air and exercise is good for mental health and helps lower the rate of
obesity. So come on, council, do the right thing for the people of Ely and take our green spaces off your plans.
Lynda Sullivan
Llewellyn Avenue
Ely, Cardiff
Community say council plans would deprive them of well-used sporting venue
CAMPAIGNERS claim sports are thriving on playing fields earmarked for destruction to make way for a housing development.
Ely Garden Villagers have been fighting plans to build 250 homes on land off Snowden Road and a further 60 new properties at Pethybridge Road on land owned partly by the council and partly by the Plymouth Estate.
The plans have been deferred a number of times in the past two years for a dormouse survey, traffic survey and for more consultation to be carried out.
But during that time, local residents have set up sports teams and successfully campaigned for pitches to be marked out to allow tournaments to take place.
Children also carry out regular litter picks to keep the pitches tidy and the campaigners claim other North Ely
residents are copying the example set by the youngest members of the community.
Cardiff City Football Club has sent free merchandise for the children and the Glamorgan Wanderers are using the football pitch on Sundays to train."
Cardiff Council has said that the land was a magnet for antisocial behaviour and vandalism. Cars were regularly left dumped and illegal motorbikes ridden there.
Steven Hannaby, the council's chief planning officer, said the plans to develop the land would "assist the regeneration of one of the most deprived areas of Cardiff and address problems arising from the current misuse of the site".
The development plans would include affordable housing, and leave enough open space for a new football pitch, enhanced play facilities and amenities, landscaping and the creation of new cycleways and footpaths.
But locals who formed the Ely Garden Villagers group say just 3.4 of the 15.3 hectare site would be left for open space - a dramatic loss of green space in a highly populated area.
Lynda Sullivan, 43, of Llewellyn Avenue, has been involved in the campaign to get local children using the fields.
Her husband Peter is assistant manager of Avenue Hotspurs youth foot ball team, which reformed to play on the pitch. More than 100 children turned up at its first training day.
Money has been donated to buy goalposts for the pitches and a sponsor has been found for a team kit for under-11 team, The Elyites.
Lynda said: "The neighbourhood police have been giving up to an hour of their free time on Saturdays to train the youths.
"We had a tournament arranged a few weeks ago and the Elyites came runners-up. It's not bad, considering they've only been playing since January
And the good thing is, they all behave. We are trying to teach them respect for their area and the people around them. The children pick up any rubbish that's hanging around.
I WAS very pleased to note that Coun Ron Page wishes to protect open spaces (March 24).
He was present when the county council approved the greenest Local Development Plan for Cardiff ever submitted.
Cardiff County Council has submitted a brave, green sustainable plan for the future of Cardiff, recommending that all future new build be on brownfield
sites not on green open spaces.
They have proposed a green belt to the north of the city which will protect this area for 50 years.
Coun Page goes on to criticise a number of projects including the north Ely development, which incidentally has not yet been decided upon,
Llanrumney, where additional green open space is proposed as well as a £7m investment in the local leisure centre, Bute Park where safety and accessibility to cyclists and the public via Cardiff Castle will be improved.
The county council will also be more than pleased to protect Heath Park and will be able to do so more effectively with the new Local Development Plan in place.
County Coun Delme Bowen
Maes Cadwgan
Creigiau
IN the very corner of our children's playing field, behind Llewellyn Avenue, Ely, stands a lone, early daffodil.
I read with interest the new idea advertised by the Government in which millions of pounds will be spent to promote Change4Iife.
It states nine out of 10 of our kids risk growing up with dangerous amounts of fat in their bodies, so we'd better get moving!
Their aim is to get young children more involved in recreational activities, eating well, moving more and living longer to try to stop the ever-increasing levels of obesity and to promote a healthier lifestyle.
What I would like to know is why our council is so intent on building on our much needed recreation fields? It makes the Government's new ideas laughable because children throughout Cardiff won't have any recreation spaces left to use.
The adopted parks and green spaces strategy 2007 states disposal of parks and green spaces, including amenity open space, should be a last resort.
Peter Sullivan
Llewellyn Avenue, Ely, Cardiff
Building on our city’s recreation fields is such a daft idea
