COMMUNITY JOURNALISM OF THE YEAR WINNER 2020 - WALES MEDIA AWARDS
This is a community website for Grangetown in Cardiff, highlighting people, business, community activities, local news and things to do in the area and linking other websites and blogs.
This voluntary project - in connection with Grangetown Community Action - is the free, independent, online presence of the long-running Grangetown Newscommunity paper, which has been distributed to 6,500 local homes at least twice a year for 40 years.
E-mail us on grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk If you'd like to help, are local or would like to send any contributions for inclusion, or wish to advertise. Also if you'd like to be included FREE in our DIRECTORY,
You can also follow us on Twitter @grangecardiff and look for Grangetown Community Action on Facebook. We have a growing number of followers and are keen to encourage a social network to promote Grangetown community events, activities, issues, businesses and organisations.
| EVENTS
Tuesdays: Grangetown Parents and Toddlers Group, Salvation Army, Corporation Rd, 9am-10.30am; 11am-12.30pm; 1.30pm-2pm. £1 per child and £1.50 per additional child. New Tuesday sessions. Need to book a place by calling 029 20 640714.
Wednesday 24th August: Vaccines In Older Adults, Grange Pavilion, 1.30pm-4pm. A chance to meet Bristol University researchers, questions and answers about vaccines and discussion about health research. Includes refreshments. Saturday 27th August: - Keep Grangetown Tidy litter-pick, 10am-12pm. Meet Grangetown Hyb, look out for truck. Bags and equipment provided. Friday 2nd September: Grangetown Local History Society, Glamorgan Archives, Clos Parc Morgannwg, Leckwith, CF11 8AW, 2pm. Monthly meeting of the history group. Add your Grangetown event here, email grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk |
Pavilion success despite challenging first year
Grange Pavilion management have celebrated an "extraordinarily busy year" after opening during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The annual general meeting of the community-led organisation behind the new £1.8m venue in Grange Gardens was held in the last week of April and looked back at a very busy year and nine years from when the seeds of the idea for the project took root.
Secretary Emma Harris talked of the "optimism and enthusiasm" to be found in the community hub, while chair Ali Abdi said the reaction from visitors had been regularly that they had been "blown away" by the building and its facilities.
Ali admitted the pandemic had made the first year "extremely challenging" but the venue had found ways to deliver safe and effective services. "We have remained open throughout the last year, providing a vital service by supporting and facilitating programmes and space, including a food parcel delivery and advice service," he said. "We were welcomed back with a flurry of bookings and regular hirers." Co-chair Nirushan Surdasan told the meeting of how Grangetown Youth Forum had established itself and the Pavilion had helped bring young people together, while being a place all ages could meet. Treasurer John Fellows recalled the difficulties in finding a suitable venue for organisations to meet under one roof until the Pavilion was finally opened. The Pavilion, which was unable to hold a launch party last year and held a "virtual" opening online instead, put that right in May. Hundreds of people attended an official opening event on Saturday 21st May, which showcased the facilities and highlighted some of the activities and projects associated with the venue, which range from yoga classes, a parent and baby group, a gardening club to craft and designer market.The ribbon-cutting was carried out by pupils from local schools, who were winners in a competition to say what they loved most about Grangetown. Labour elected again in Grangetown ward The four Labour candidates won seats on Cardiff Council for the Grangetown ward in the May elections. Voters elected four councillors on Thursday 5th May, after electoral changes increased the number of local members from the previous three, to reflect the growth in Grangetown's population. Locally-based PR consultant Sara Robinson joins sitting councillors Ash Lister, Abdul Sattar and Lynda Thorne as Grangetown's representatives with comfortable majorities over Plaid Cymru/Green candidates.Grange Pavilion is officially...open! Ribbon-cutting by local children, as this fantastic community facility looks to a long future. (Come along, stalls, activities and music all day ??) #Grangetown #Cardiff pic.twitter.com/lkCIczZSaW
— Grangetown community (@grangecardiff) May 21, 2022
There was a turnout of 33.8% and the results were as follows: CONSERVATIVES:?? So, so privileged that the people of Grangetown have put their trust in @ashl93, @lyndat48, Abdul Sattar and I (the newbie) @cardiffcouncil. Couldn’t be more proud of our campaign and this team. To everyone that voted & supported us in campaigning, DIOLCH. pic.twitter.com/4NFvhLo6FU
— Cllr Sara Robinson (@sararobinson81) May 6, 2022
Joseph ANYAIKE 487 votes
Conor HOLOHAN 478
Llyr Thomas POWELL 442
Vivienne WARD 425
Ash LISTER 2,885 votes * ELECTED
Sara ROBINSON, 2,733 ELECTED
Abdul SATTAR, 2,665* ELECTED
Lynda THORNE 2,533 * ELECTED
* Sitting councillors
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
Irfan LATIF 258 votes
David MORGAN 266
Aamir SHEIKH 250
Tariq AWAN 1,511 votes
Sarah KING 1,382
Luke NICHOLAS 1,312
Frankie-Rose TAYLOR 1,131
Joe FATHALLAH, Welsh Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, 109 votes
Jonathan GEE, Propel, 175 votes
Sailesh PATEL, Propel 162
Michael VOYCE, Propel 150
Barriers have been put up blocking paths through the park, although the trail linking Penarth Road, Ferry Road and Watkiss Way and the River Ely is still open to walkers and cyclists.
The former Ferry Road waste site closed in 1994 and was turned into a nature reserve but work is needed to manage the by-products of gases and liquids from old, rotting waste buried underneath.
But in recent years, contaminated water has been getting into pollute the nearby River Ely and Cardiff Bay and so Cardiff Council says work is needed on both the leachate - the liquid which is pumped out and treated - and methane gas extraction systems. It said heavy equipment will be on site "and to ensure that the work can be carried out safely, all access to the park will be closed until at least the middle of June." However, the path around the park - used by walkers, runners and cyclists - which links to the Ely Trail will stay open during the work, which starts on 31st January. A council spokesperson said: "When waste is buried in a landfill site, two by-products are produced - methane and leachate. It's important these are managed correctly to ensure the public and the environment are protected. The works underway at Grangemoor Park are designed to update and improve systems on the site." The park, between the river and the Cardiff Bay retail park, is a popular beauty spot, with views over Grangetown and the Bay, and also a haven for wildlife and wild flowers. There has been criticism however about the lack of notice to park-users about the closure, with news emerging only three days before the barriers went up, while there has also been a lack of detail about the effect on the park's habitat and wildlife. Green light for £65m estate revamp
A £65m redevelopment of the Channel View estate has been given outline planning permission by Cardiff Council.
The phased project will start with 81 new homes in two blocks for the elderly, with future developments including 319 more homes to replace 1970s housing and 14-storey tower block. 
Councillors have reassured Channel View residents that all will be offered new homes on the revamped estate, which will see 214 existing properties - 56 houses and 158 flats - demolished and replaced.
The first phase will involve one block rising to 13 storeys, with 57 flats, and a second block with 24 more flats. Both will have communal gardens and roof terraces.
Cardiff Council is behind the regeneration proposals, which will include building over part of The Marl park, although the loss of a strip of land backing onto existing homes on Channel View Road is due to be offset by open space, communal gardens and landscaping within the new larger estate. Some residents have criticised the communication about the proposals, although consultation started nearly four years ago. Some home-owners also expressed concern whether they would get full value for their homes. A 50-signature petition was submitted and Cardiff Civic Society objected on ecological grounds, including the loss of trees, although the development sets out planting three times as many trees as those due to be felled. 
The plans also involve:
"The residents in phase one will have to move out initially so that new homes can be built, but they have the option to come back into a new property or to have a permanent move elsewhere," they said.
Those affected who own their own home are also being given the option to sell their old houses to the council and an offer of buying or shared ownership of a new property. "The key priority of our project is to keep the existing community together and to rebuild new, sustainable, low carbon homes for the existing residents," said the councillors. "We have always stressed that we want to work with all residents to ensure that we can make this exciting development happen." I am also surprised and sorry that the residents spoken to have anxiety. We have been consulting for the last 4 years and involved residents at a very early stage drawing up the plans. Every tenants and resident affected to has been written to a number of times. https://t.co/W5Bs31RX6O
— Lynda Thorne (@LyndaT48) June 7, 2021
"The group will work alongside the Parks department to represent those who use the park and help make the best of our lovely gardens," said resident Mandy Atwell.A first meeting to set up the group was held in December to discuss ideas and for people to see what role they'd like to play, large or small. Another will be held in the New Year. Nursery school opens food box project Grangetown Nursery School have recently opened a community food box project. Big Bocs Bwyd, Community Food Box is a "pay as you feel" shop, where members of the community fill their bag with what they need and pay what they can, although a £1 donation is suggested. It's been promoted with families around other local schools. People can come along to the school in Avondale Road between 9am and 9.30am or 3.15pm-3.45pm, Monday to Friday. Grangetown News wins community media award
Grangetown News has won the community journalism of the year award, at the Wales Media Awards.
The judges said: "A very good local publication with lots of community news which tackles issues that concern the community. It is well produced and provides the sort of information and stories that people want to read. We suspect residents look forward to it dropping through their letterbox." We were shortlisted at the 2019 awards and received news of the 2020 award, at the online ceremony in April 2020. Due to the pandemic and the fact we rely on volunteers to deliver the newspaper, we have put plans on hold for the next print edition until early in 2022. In the meantime, we're trying to update this website and social media as often as possible and would welcome any help or contributions.There is now an online version here of the autumn 2019 edition - and ahead of our next print edition later in 2021 we are looking for contributors, as well as volunteer deliverers, especially for streets in North Grangetown and off North Clive Street.A very good local publication say the judges…….congratulations Grangetown Community News @grangecardiff, winners of Community Journalism of the Year, sponsored by @ITVWalesPress @JournoCharity #JCWMA20 https://t.co/uboqTthT2g pic.twitter.com/rVGnuY1pZM
— WalesMediaAwards (@W_M_A) April 30, 2021
Please email grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk or go to our Trello board to register an interest in delivering.
Copies are distributed to 6,500 homes, shops and businesses. It is also be available in Grange Pavilion, Grangetown Hub, Channel View, local shops, venues and pubs and you will be able to view an online version.
Grangetown News was first produced in 1978 as a quarterly magazine and for many years was edited by the late Joan Gallagher. In the last decade we have developed our website and Twitter presence, to keep a feed of news in between editions. For the last five years, it has been transformed into a 16-page colour tabloid newspaper, with two or three editions a year. It has been entirely self-funded and depended on the support of the local community.
The newspaper - with website and social media presence - was chosen by the judges in the community news category. Can we take this opportunity of thanking all our readers, contributors, volunteer deliverers and advertisers for all their help and support over the years.
If you can help contribute, have any ideas, want to submit an article, feature or event email grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk
Should you have a local news story or would like to tell the community about your organisation or school then our paper is a perfect way of reaching people! If you are a local business/organisation who would like to advertise to the local community our paper is an ideal place to place an advert.
Our rates are listed below:
1/8 page - £40
1/4 page - £70
1/2 page - £110
1 full page - £200
1 full back page - £250
The Grangetown News is still printed 100% in COLOUR, but is printed in a tabloid format, making your articles and adverts larger than ever! This is a pilot project which will hopefully allow us to increase readership through spreading more positive, local news stories. The editions are 16 pages. All articles submitted should be in a Word document (or jpeg for images / designed adverts - All images to be supplied high-quality 350dpi, colour pictures converted to CMYK) and sent to grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk.
If you would like to discuss advertising in the Grangetown News, please feel free to contact grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk, or call Ashley on 07572875804.
As well as more local news stories, there are features on local businesses and also sport. The paper has also been designed by Grangetown residents. Online versions of the features - with more photos - will also be put up later on this website But it's not too late if you want to get involved:
Other Cardiff community websites: Cathays Danescourt Lisvane Pobol Caerdydd Radyr Roath Rumney Splott St Mellons Tongwynlais Whitchurch/Llandaff North © Grangetown Community Action and webmaster 2022. Last updated August 8th |