Tuesday, 23 October 2007

Capturing Cardiff - My Pitch

For the Online part of my course my assignment is to 'capture Cardiff' in a 700-800 word online magazine feature. Audio, photos and video will accompany the article itself to make it truly multi-platform in the converging media age that we live in. I have to make a pitch to the course leader Matthew Yeomans and here it is...

I would like to look at the fierce debate currently taking place between Cardiff Council and a group of local residents.

Cardiff Council has recently announced the
biggest ever school investment plan in Welsh history. £115 million will be spent on the project which will involve closing some schools and opening new ones. Everyone's happy you might assume. Not so. Rumney Recreation and Eastern Leisure Action Group (RREEL) has been set up by local residents who are opposing plans to build a new school on the Eastern Leisure Centre site because of the loss in green space.

I plan to investigate this issue - what are the arguments on either side of the debate? How does this issue link to the greater problem for Cardiff schools that there aren't enough pupils to fill the school places?

3 comments:

  1. no debate ! burman ain't touching the fields it will be a fight to the death.............this our residents and people of cardiffs oasis the only green lungs this side of cardiff, I played in the river that ran through the fields in the 50's I remember the flocks of birds that used the fields before St Mellons was built-up with had a dog walking club after school with the local doctor, all the summer games of baseball, all the settled facilities used by senior citizens many their once a week contact with the world.
    Burman if you want a greedy dirty brown envelope from one of your developer mates you have chosen the wrong site........oh yes what about the medical centre going there..what medicine groups payroll are you on...........

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  2. A reflection of the strength of feeling against the plans to build the new school on the recreation ground in Rumney/Llanrumney.

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  3. Tell as many people as you can. RREEL will be demonstrating at County Hall, Wednesday 19th December, 12.00. WE HAVE A CHRISTMAS BOX FOR RODNEY FROM D.E.L !! (Don't build on Eastern Leisure) Only Fools and Horses run Cardiff Council! Yes it will be a fight to the death. THEY ARE NOT HAVING THE REC FULL STOP. The Council already have two sites. It is not the fault of the residents of Cardiff East that these two sites are in much need of repair. In terms of education, apparently Rumney and Llanrumney are doing fine where there are. (Yes schools can always do with more money) They are community schools. A school on Eastern Leisure for the areas of RUMNEY, LLANRUMNEY, TROWBRIDGE and ST.MELLONS is not a community school!! When I was in school...(oh dear I sound like my parents)...all the teachers had was a blackboard and a piece of chalk. Why do the council think the children will become grade A students if they have a 21st century school?

    From the meeting at Eastern Leisure Centre, we found out that the one building on the site map, shown to us by CCC, will incoporate not only a leisure centre that will provide equal levels of facilities but also a school for up to 1600 pupils, changing rooms for the public sports fields (those that are left!) and a school sports hall!
    They have forgotten to show where they plan to put the Youth Centre and the Medical Centre. By the way the map did not have a scale on it!

    There were many questions the Council could not give us a straight answer for eg:
    residents of Llanrumney Avenue wanted to know at the meeting would the Council send them compulsory purchases of their front gardens because the road alongside the rec is already very busy.

    A Feasibility Study & an Environmental Impact Study won't be commissioned unless the scheme is implemented. Why do they expect us to say yes to this when they don't have any facts to tell us?

    Show your support if you can and come to the demonstration Wed 19th Dec. If you can't look up our website www.rreelactiongroup.co.uk for more info about what you can do.

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