Flooding and pollution could be a serious problem in Cardiff’s Hailey Park if plans for a new sewage works go ahead, say campaigners.
Protesters gathered on the streets of Cardiff to complain about plans for a sewage pumping station in Hailey park that they say will cause flooding and damage the local environment.
Residents oppose plans to locate a new sewage station that they say will have negative impact on the local environment in the River Taff. Their protest this Thursday outside Cardiff City Hall is their third demonstration.
“We’re concerned for the local environment, especially the river. And it’s also the impact of flooding in the area, because we have a lot of problems with flooding ,” said protester Alex Hazlehurst. “There’s just no improvement to the infrastructure and this adds 6000 homes worth of wastewater to an area is already prone to flooding. Just last night, my street was flooded.”
The residents protested this time, and they hoped the government would respond to their questions and address their concerns about flooding. Sarah said that they have local school and they are also worried about the children.
“What is the Council going to do to protect our parks from development, our rivers from sewage discharges and our streets from flooding?” said Pam, the organiser of this protest.
Since the water level of the Taff rose in the 1970s, Hailey Park and the surrounding area have been plagued by flooding problems from time to time. The large flood in February 2020 still impressed many residents, and last week, Evansfield Road and Station Road near the Hailey Park also flood alarm sounded.
The developer is Welsh Water and the pumping station will be built off Ty Mawr Road, which is shown on the map above and will be approximately 24 metres long and 21 metres wide. It will allow excess sewage from Plasdwr to be transported to Cardiff Wastewater Treatment Works via an existing sewage system.
“We have been protesting for since we knew it was in the offing. There’s a big group of people that are doing this,” Sarah said. “The sewage needs to be pumped; we understand. I think there are alternative suggestions about what can happen.”
Cardiff Council ward member for Llandaff North, Cllr Jennifer Burke-Davies once said in the committee meeting that there was a feeling in the community that “trust has been broken and that there is a lack of transparency” about the planning process behind the sewage development.
More information about Hailey Park and sewage pumping station planning you can read here: http://friendsofhaileypark.org.uk/about-us.html