Controversial plans for live music events at Cardiff's Bute Park have been given the go-ahead.
The city council's licensing sub-committee approved the licensing application to allow events of up to 35,000 people on Blackweir Fields following a heated meeting on Wednesday.
The announcement of the Blackweir Live series, taking place this summer, angered a number of residents as tickets were being sold before a new licence had been approved.
Cardiff Council, who applied for the licence, said having events at Blackweir Fields will help the Welsh capital fill a gap in its live music offering, but some park users and sports clubs have raised concerns about the potential impact it will have on Bute Park.
One resident who lives in Bute Park said she would feel “imprisoned” in her own home during events if the plans went ahead.
Concerns were also raised about traffic, as North Road will be affected by a temporary road closures as part of future events, and noise.
Blackweir Live will begin this year with Noah Kahan on Friday 27th June, followed two nights later by Kings of Leon and Courteeners.
In the following month, the park will welcome other artists like Alanis Morissette on Wednesday 2nd July, Slayer on Thursday 3rd July and Stevie Wonder on Wednesday 9th July.
There is already a licence covering Blackweir Fields for events of up to 25,000 people and the land has been used for a firework display in the past.
The licence that’s now been approved for the site has 46 conditions attached to it to manage future evens correctly and to try and mitigate any potential negative impacts. Under the licence, there can only be a maximum six main event days during the year.
Cllr Sean Driscoll, a member of the sub-committee, raised the issue of tickets being sold and advertised before a licensing application had been approved at Wednesday’s meeting.
He asked: “Do you think we have done this the wrong way around?”
Representing the council, Jeremy Phillips KC, said “it has been a question of timing” and that to secure global artists like Stevie Wonder, the organisers acted quickly.
He said: "The leading time has just necessitated them taking that risk", but went to insist that the wider community has “by no means been taken for granted”.
Friends of Bute Park and the Cardiff Midweek Cricket League (CMCL) are among the community groups that raised concerns publicly about the plans for events on Blackweir Fields.
The friends group said they were worried about “vast swathes” of parkland being made unavailable to residents and visitors during large parts of the summer.
They also said that adding more to the Bute Park events calendar was “tipping the balance in the wrong way”.
One cricket team, Cardiff Bay Dragons, also came out to raise concerns about the council’s plans.
Club chairman, Syed Abbas said the potential long term impact for their future was a very real concern.
Cardiff Council said special care will be taken to protect cricket squares from damage and the technology used at Blackweir will be the same as that used when high profile cricket grounds such as Old Trafford in Manchester host events.
Residents were also angered in March after the council cut down a number of trees on the edge of Blackweir Fields where one of the proposed entrances for the summer music events will be.
At Wednesday’s licensing sub committee meeting, Cardiff Council’s operational manager for park services, Jenny Judd, said six of the trees cut down were either dead or diseased.
She said 10-15 single stem ash trees affected by ash dieback needed to be felled and 12 trees were coppiced.
Ms Judd later added: “Based on information of the independent ecologist…based on the information we have got, I am confident that we have done enough to manage this proposed event moving forward.”
A council official confirmed at the meeting that there is a proposed road closure relating to North Road for the events. However, a final draft transport plan has not been completed yet.
Event development manager at Cardiff Council, Heather Brown, said there will also be staff on the highway to ensure the safety of pedestrians and concert-goers.
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