Grangetown Community Action

With the temporary closure of Grangetown Library for refurbishment, the office has moved to: Bayden Scout Hall, Ferry Road, Grangetown, Cardiff, CF11 OJR. The telephone number is 029 2066 7246 and the email address is the same, grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk.

Tel: (029) 20 377 010

You can still contact us via e-mail: grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk
Office hours: Tues-Thurs 10am-1pm
www.grangetowncardiff.co.uk Twitter: @grangecardiff
Formerly known as Grangetown Community Concern and registered as a charity. Established in 1977.

Diane Dowsell	Ken Barker	John Fellows
Rhys Price	Hazel Ball	J Chris Lomax	Ashley Lister

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 2014-2015:

cChairman: Councillor J Chris Lomax
Administrator: Christine Davies (pictured left)
Treasurer/Secretary: Ashley Lister
Vice chair: Hazel Ball
Publicity officer/Website: Steve Duffy
Executive committee: Ken Barker, John Fellows, Diane Dowsell, Tariq Awan, Rhys Price, Steve Khaireh, Father David Morris. Advisers: Councillors Ashley Govier, Lynda Thorne; Vaughan Gething AM, Sian Kennedy, Joyce Martin, David Reeves

Contact us if you or your organisation would like to be represented. Our executive committee meetings are usually held at the Conservative Club lounge, Corporation Road.

Sunny festival and park anniversary

The Cardiff Music service foundation brass band (top); Grangetown Community Choir and two Victorian gentlemen stroll back in time

Grangetown Festival enjoyed a sunny week as it took on a Victorian theme to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Grange Gardens.

The park officially opened 120 years ago on Friday and to celebrate a Victorian picnic took place on Friday teatime.

There was music in the bandstand for the first time in a long time. Firstly, some lovely acapella singing from the Grangetown Community Choir - who meet every Monday at the Cornwall Street church hall at 7.30pm - and then a trio of musicians from Cardiff Music Service, led by Emma Coulthard. There was then a great performance in the perfect setting by the boys and girls of the Cardiff Music Service foundation brass band. It is made up of promising 9-11 year olds from schools from across Cardiff. The park was opened on 19th June 1895 by music from the Roath brass band and it was fitting to think that this music will carry on for another generation at least. Conductor Tom Griffin selected music that park-goers might have listened to down the years.

"Grangetown was the first suburb of Cardiff to get a bandstand in its park so it will be a perfect way to celebrate 120 years to the day it first opened," said Ashley Lister, Grangetown CommunityAction secrerary.

More photos from the picnic in the park

Saturday's parade and fete had a Victorian theme, with more music, displays and a bouncy castle, as well as a pop-up cinema in the bowls pavilion. There was a good attendance on a warm but windy afternoon, with local singing and rapping talent entertaining from the bandstand, a karate display and a record number of stalls.

For the first time, the festival was sponsored by Cardiff University's Gateway Project.

Project lead Mhairi McVicar said: “It’s a great opportunity for us to support the local community, find out what people think about what we should be doing in Grangetown, build relationships and promote the exciting work of Community Gateway.

"Cardiff University is committed to building a long-term partnership with residents of Grangetown to make the area an even better place to live through world-class research, teaching and professional development opportunities."

Photos from Saturday's carnival day

The carnival day, which has been co-ordinated by residents’ group Grangetown Community Action since 1978, started with a parade from Courtmead Gardens. The fete kicked off at 1pm in Grange Gardens, with Stephen Doughty MP providing the words of welcome. Others attending included local councillors and Vaughan Gething AM. The pop-up cinema will continue the celebrations with the main feature film starting at 5pm.

More festival photos - click on the image for larger versions

A second residents’ group, Grange Pavilion Project, opened up the former bowls pavilion and bowling green in Grange Gardens as part of the festival, to continue to explore new ways of using the facilities as a community space.

Resident Richard Powell, of Grange Pavilion Project, said the university, through moral and financial support, was helping the community to achieve local aspirations and come forward with proposals that are “believable and do-able”.

Academics from across the University are exploring ways of working in partnership with residents to develop world-class teaching and research to benefit Grangetown. As well as offering residents the chance to build new relationships and spend time with neighbours, the festival will allow the University to get the word out about Community Gateway and what it has to offer.

A pub quiz in aid of the Lord Mayor's Charity - Velindre Cancer Care - was held at the Cornwall Pub on Thursday 18th and raised more than £80. Thanks to Nicola and the staff of the pub for their help.

The festival week started with a teddy bears' picnic for children, organised by St Paul's Church, last Saturday. There was also an outdoor service and strawberry tea at St Samson's on Sunday afternoon. The annual school sports day takes place at The Marl on Tuesday.

Grange Gardens was a gift to Cardiff in 1894 by Lords Bute and Windsor, who owned the land on which it stands and donated it to Cardiff council. Just over 9,000 square yards belonged to Bute and 5,764 square yards came from the Windsor estate. Cardiff's parks committee had three years earlier approached the two landowners, as they recognised the by now well developed suburb had no proper recreational area.

The laying out of the park cost £2,374 and a bandstand was constructed in February 1895 - the first in Cardiff at the time - for the additional cost of £100. However, it was complicated by the fact the wrong foundations were laid for the bandstand. "Grangetown Gardens" - designed by William Pettigrew, the Scottish head gardener to Cardiff Corporation and municipal engineer William Harpur - opened on June 19th 1895 by councillor Joseph Ramsdale, the chairman of the parks committee. "A very large number of the inhabitants of Grangetown" gathered for the ceremony and the mayor proposed a toast to Lord Bute and Lord Windsor. Mr D A Burn's Roath brass band entertained with a selection of tunes. There was also a celebratory dinner later.

An early 20th century image of the park and the leaflet, which you can click to download in PDF

The history society has produced a leaflet on its history, which you can download and print off here. Or there is more information on here.

The teddy bears' picnic at St Paul's Community Hall

Time for action: Community group looks to future with new name and new plans

The festival is a multicultural event and will be given a revamp - as well as looking for volunteers to help organise it

The long-running Grangetown Community Concern group is looking to the future with a new name - and new plans.

The charitable group was set up in 1977 - its main functions include publishing the tri-annual Grange News paper and organising the annual Grangetown Festival and Carnival Day in June. One member also runs this website and the @grangecardiff Twitter network.

But is has been hit, like many other organisations by cuts to its funding and also by an ageing committee.

Now following a review it has decided to re-launch itself with a new name and some new plans.

Grangetown Community Action, as it will now be called, will look to the following:

• To revamp its annual festival and carnival - for 2015 it hopes to incorporate music events, re-establish the parade and also celebrate the 120th anniversary of Grange Gardens with a Victorian theme
• Continue with Grange News with closer relationship with the Grangetown community website and social media
• Work to support specific projects, involving volunteers - chiefly a litter-action group to help tackle the shocking litter issues in Grangetown; also look to a Grangetown Shop Local campaign in autumn 2015, aimed at promoting local businesses, community enterprises and shops.
• Support and encourage other campaigns - whether Save Grangtown Play Centre or supporting parents calling for a Welsh medium school.

Anyone who wants to help with any of the above projects or has suggestions, please contact us - grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk

Why has Grangetown Community Concern had to change?

One of its original briefs, to help run a day centre for old people ended years ago but it still organised two events a year for the local elderly, although attendances have been down.

Members have been discussing whether to wind up, try to bring in new blood and continue or to try and re-invent itself.

GCC has a part-time administrator, who is near retirement, charitable status, a constitution and bank account, and office space in Grangetown Library since its move from the old Clydach Street YMCA building in 2005.

Long-standing member Brian Drew, a Grangetown-born retired teacher, has stepped down as treasurer but wrote his own review for members of what choices the group faced.

"A Positive Past But An Uncertain Future" argues that GCC still has a useful role in organising the festival, which remains popular; while the newpaper and website are both "genuinely useful" in communicating across the community.

But despite fleeting membership, GCC has struggled to engage with Grangetown's multi-racial community, while "Grangetown is a much more prosperous, youthful and dynamic society than in the 1970s [when GCC was set up] and needs and problems are different," Mr Drew writes.

GCC recently elected youth worker Ashley Lister as its secretary, to bring a younger person on board but most committee members are in their 60s and 70s.

"We lack young, vigorous, innovative members to breathe new life into the Concern," says Mr Drew. "We have an ageing executive and a light touch advisory committee many of whom seldom or never attend meetings. The activities the members get involved with are done well on the whole by those who are fit, able, and free from other commitments. But we are unable and sometimes unwilling to take on new activities which might grow the Concern."

Mr Drew said GCC can do nothing to change and "slowly travel down the road to extinction when the money runs out". Or he suggests running GCC as a purely voluntary organisation and cut its activities. The other option he suggests is to take a "careful and realistic" look at resources and ask "whether we can re-invent ourselves by making a concerted effort to continue to contribute to the life of Grangetown." But this would entail a "realistic assessment of GCC's ability and desire to meet them." There would also need to be a drive to increase membership and engage with other groups.

There were two meetings in September and October to discuss moving forward with new projects and to give the group and its activities a revamp.

Webmaster's footnote: I have been involved in Grangetown Community Concern's committee for the last decade, primarily to help with publicity, to set up and maintain the website and run the Twitter account. I have also volunteered on carnival day and at events for the elderly.

I agree with much of Brian's analysis above. GCC has lost its way and become a little stuck in the mud over recent years and has not embraced or kept pace with changes around it.

Many years ago, Oscar The Octopus was the GCC symbol on the Grange News masthead. Its tentacles were the symbol of becoming intwined in different areas. Sadly, Oscar is a bit washed up now and in need of rescuing. Despite appeals for new members, these have fallen on deaf ears. Committee meetings have been like Groundhog Day at times. My own feeling is that Grangetown still has people who would volunteer, who have skills and experience but would want to put them to use around busy lives and only for worthwhile projects. My concept of volunteering is doing something I enjoy, and spending as little time on committees, apart from essential business. You need worthwhile things to do, a challenge here and there and people who get things done.

Despite the difficult financial climate, there is a potential for a pool of volunteers who might want to involve themselves in supporting or working on local issues such as the following. There are groups already in place for some of these, obviously, but hopefully you get the idea:

• The new community hub at Grangetown Library opening in 2015 - a community room, cafe, evening openings. Nearly 100 people volunteered to help when the consultation took place earlier this year. This has a potential for being an exciting communuity venue for the area.
• Butetown, Grangetown, Riverside Communities First works in the area - but it is quite a top-down presence and GCC could have a stronger role alongside it.
• Cardiff University are to launch a long term project in Grangetown, with a health theme. Could there be collaboration here too?
• Campaign for a Welsh medium school. There is a well establised campaign group, the demand is unrefutable but the difficulty in finding a site and progress has been painfully slow. Could more across the community be involved in supporting something which would be of such positive benefit?
• Campaign to save the Grangetown Play Centre. A crowd funding project is set to launch, which would see community sponsorship and potentially community ownership. Again, something new but bringing together people across the community potentially.
• Community litter action group - The Grangetown Twitter account is inundated with reports of fly-tipping and litter. Councillors have recently met over an action plan for the area. Could volunteers help keep "watch" and maybe help with occasional clean-ups, along the lines of the Cardiff Rivers Group, with local rewards for those who volunteer?
• There are other organisations working to set up community facilities in St Paul's Church Hall and the Grange Gardens Bowls Club. More potential venues for activities.
• There is still hope of a new community arts facility in the pipeline
• This community website has been going for a few years. I have had ideas about changing it and would welcome articles, opinions and more news and features from other contributors. One idea is regular features on local businesses - and who are the people running them. This could run alongside a "shop local" campaign, and given the proposed facelift for Clare Road and Penarth Road shop fronts, maybe we can be involved in some way. Could we get local wi-fi, help set up free web pages for those businesses who don't have them? The website partly mirrors Grange News - and fills in the gaps between publication dates - but the newspaper still has a role.
• Social media is playing more of a part in people's lives. Our Twitter account has more than 1,300 followers and tries to promote news and opinion of interest. Hopefully a can help spread the social network of other users, organisations, businesses and blogs in Grangetown.

Could Grangetown Community Concern re-invent itself as a group involved in one or some of the above? Either to act as a partner, supporter or enabler? There is a long established structure in place. What we need is the interest and the people. Are you one of them?

Sun shines again for Grangetown festival

Gorgeous weather brought the crowds out again for the annual Grangetown Festival day in Grange Gardens.

Stalls and information stands proved popular again and there was naturally a long queue for ice creams, as well as hot food and cakes.

Thanks to all the volunteers, stallholders and residents who helped make it another great community day.

Festival week also saw the schools sports afternoon, concert and well-attended toddler songs and story-telling in English and Welsh at the library.

Community Concern considers future after funding cut

Grangetown Community Concern is to review its role over the next year, after a sharp cut in its funding.

The charity, which is 37 years old, needs to raise another £2,000 to keep going. But chairman Chris Lomax said it had to consider whether or not to wind up unless it could encourage younger people to get involved with its work.

With some senior members in their 70s, Mr Lomax told the GCC's annual general meeting that they had to look at whether to continue.

"Since my last annual report, things have changed dramatically with Cardiff Council withdrawing our grant and putting us under a lot of pressure with funding," said Mr Lomax, also a local councillor.

GCC publishes the Grange News paper and organises the long-running Grange Festival, as well as events for pensioners. It employs a part-time administrator and also receives support from the likes of Cardiff Bay Rotary Club, "without whose financial help several activities would not have happened," added Mr Lomax.

A review looking at potential options is being prepared before being discussed by members in the next few months.

You can download a PDF copy of the Spring 2014 edition here (7.9MB)

Thanks to J R Freeman and the Rotary Club of Cardiff Bay for their kind support.

Tributes to Joan Gallagher, a "force for good" at the heart of Grangetown Grangetown Community Concern was very sad to lose our long-serving and much-loved secretary Joan Gallagher MBE, at the age of 85, in September 2010. Joan was a prominent member of Grangetown Community Concern since it started in 1977, and only in recent months had stood down from editing the Grange News community newspaper after an involvement stretching three decades. Over her long association, she had also served as chairman, vice chairman - every position except treasurer. She had continued to be very active in all aspects of the organisation's work and her indefatigable spirit remained at the heart of it; she was still involved in helping to organise GCC events such as pensioners' lunches, trips and the annual carnival week. Joan's many years of dedication to Grangetown was rewarded with an MBE in 2004. She also served as a Labour councillor in Cardiff for 12 years - both with Cardiff City Council and South Glamorgan County Council before local government reorganisation. She was also dedicated to the scout movement both in Cardiff and Scotland, a family tradition which was inherited by her daughter Christine, who is also administrator at GCC. Joan was treasurer of the 13th Cardiff Scout troop. Joan was also involved in other organisations, including the local food co-up. Joan, a mother of six children - Christine, Susan, David, John, Patricia and Brian - died at home suddenly on 27th September. She also leaves nine grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and many friends in the Grangetown community, which she served. Daughter Christine said: "She was always there for all of us - she'll be very much missed". Joan spent most of her life in her native Cardiff, apart from a period from 1955 to 1969, when she and her late husband Hugh, a civil engineer, lived in his native Scotland. The couple had married in 1946. Two years ago, when celebrating 30 years of the festival and the community paper, Joan reflected: “The most important thing about Grangetown is its community spirit. To us, Grangetown is like a village in the city. We’re enclosed by the rivers Taff and Ely, the railway and its bridges – it makes us slightly isolated.” Joan said she encountered that "unique" spirit during the war. “In 1943, I worked for a credit drapery in the town centre and had to collect on my bicycle in the evenings during the blackout. In Butetown and Grangetown, the people there were always the best payers. And you’d know where you could stop for a cup of tea!” Chris Lomax, chairman of Grangetown Community Concern, said: "Joan was like a mother to us all." "She just kept us going and with all the activities, she was always there to guide us, as well as being an incredible example to all the old fogeys! Her heart was Grangetown and I hope that energy is still beating for Grangetown in the future. She will be sadly missed and never forgotten for what she contributed to the area and for her many friends." Among tributes was one from Alun Michael, Cardiff South and Penarth MP, who had served with Joan on Cardiff Council, where he said her greatest contribution was "nurturing the area’s community spirit during good times and bad". He called her "a constant force for good and for engagement" in the community. Mr Michael added: "The MBE was a formal recognition of Joan’s work, but it’s the fact that everyone associates Grangetown’s community spirit with Joan’s efforts through the decades that is the real recognition. It’s a simple fact that Grangetown – and Cardiff as a city – will be the poorer for Joan’s passing but of course the real loss will be for the family. Although with such an extended family – including a large number of great-grandchildren – there is certainty that she will always be remembered and that others will carry on her work". Carol Bartlett, of Grangetown Nursery School, called her a "truly inspiring lady who worked so hard for the good of the community". Zena Mabbs, chair of Grangetown Local History Society said members also wanted to express their sincere condolences to Joan's family. "Her presence will be sadly missed by all those who loved her and also by the community of Grangetown who benefited from her wonderful contributions of time, caring and concern over so many years," she said. Father Ben Andrews told the hundreds who mourned her at her funeral at St Paul's in Grangetown that her heart had always been in the community and in the "very many organisations" she served, as well as being sorely missed by her large family. Her grandaugter Tracey told the congregation about her Nan, how she loved to socialise, enjoyed a joke and their weekly shopping trip. A silent tribute was held at Grangetown Community Concern's meeting in November, while Mr Lomax paid another tribute to Joan, who he said had been "the heart of the organisation." Grangetown Community Concern has established an award in memory of Joan, to be awarded annually to someone living or working in Grangetown who has made an outstanding contribution whether in work, school, an organisation or generally in the community. Joan is pictured here (left) helping at a Grangetown Community Concern-organised lunch for pensioners, with her daughter Christine and son-in-law Alan (right of photo) DETAILS OF THE JOAN GALLAGHER AWARD AND HOW TO NOMINATE The award is a recognition of local achievement or contribution to the community - for instance, this could range from sporting or academic achievement, voluntary contribution, arts/craft, charity, caring or good works or outstanding service through work. Adults and children of all ages are eligible for nomination. To qualify they must either live, work or be in school in Grangetown or if they live outside to have contributed to the area. Nominations can be made by individuals, families, organisations, schools (teachers, governors) or employers Nominations can be made easily by post or email to grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk. We want a simple 250 words or so on why the nominee should be considered for the award. The deadline is festival week in June. A judging panel nominated by Grangetown Community Concern will make choice for the award We will invite a shortlist of nominees for a presentation evening during festival week.

About us Grangetown Community Concern was set up in 1977 to act as an umbrella group for other voluntary organisations in the area. Originally, its aims and objectives were to provide and encourage services for all age groups, with a particular focus on the elderly. The organisation was based from 1985 in the Clydach Street day centre before it had a temporary home in the Buzz Café in Penarth Road. It move to the new Grangetown library in 2006. For a number of years, GCC organised a daily lunch club for the elderly, as well as special lunches at Christmas and on May Day, when there was coach trip. Due to dwindling numbers, GCC in 2014 decided to refocus and re-think some activities. After more than 35 years, the organisation relaunched as Grangetown Community Action. It decided to continue with organising the week-long Grangetown Festival in June, including an open-air service, a schools sports afternoon at Leckwith stadium, culminating in a parade through Grangetown and a carnival and fete at Grange Gardens. We encourage local groups and schools to participate during the week. The event started in 1978 as a one-off carnival day but expanded to a week-long series of activities in 1983. An old shot of a carnival day, when it was held at St Patrick's, and the May Day trip We also have this community website, www.grangetowncardiff.co.uk/www.grangetown.wales which has also been developing on social media. Every quarter, Grangetown Community Concern produces a local newspaper, which is delivered to thousands of homes in Grangetown and neighbouring Butetown. This has been produced since 1978. It contains local news articles about the community, from local schools, churches and other organisations. The long-running publication is dependent on funding from advertising by supportive local businesses to keep going. Grangetown Community Concern was the first group in Cardiff to receive the prestigious Queen's Golden Jubilee Award. The group was one of only 12 across Wales and 200 in the UK to be honoured in this way, as part of the celebrations of the Queen's 50 years on the throne. Group chairman Chris Lomax and administrator Christine Davies were invited to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in July 2003 to mark the award. "It's a great honour for the whole area, we're delighted," said Mrs Davies, who said the group can use the crown symbol on all its publicity. The award, presented by the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, highlights community-focused voluntary activities "of a very high quality, that have generated a high level of goodwill and respect amongst those they serve." There is a look back at 30 years of Grange News and the festival on our features page.

Photos from past Grange festivals

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