RAG AGM Notice 2015

RAG Newsletter No 34 Annual Report of the RAG Committee for 2014 The RAG Committee has worked hard over the course of the last year in our campaign to get Llanishen reservoir refilled. This is not a straightforward matter to achieve, as the reservoirs belong to Celsa Steel UK, a private company, which has no legal or other obligation to refill the reservoir. However, we have now met with representatives of Celsa on two occasions and have begun to develop a good working relationship with the company. It is certainly very different from the days of Western Power’s ownership when any approach we made was either ignored or immediately rebuffed. Over the course of the year we have also met with a number of other people and organisations that have an interest in the site, such as Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales and we now have a much better idea of some of the issues that we will need to confront. At the last AGM, in March 2014, we still had not managed to meet with Celsa although it had purchased the reservoir site from Western Power in September 2013. This was not for want of trying on the part of RAG or our local political representatives who also tried to make contact on our behalf. As you may remember, Celsa issued a statement, shortly after purchasing the reservoirs, saying that its main focus was on its core steel producing business, and that because of a difficult business environment arising from high energy prices in the UK and imports of cheap steel from abroad, it was not in a position, at that time, to make a decision about the future of Llanishen reservoir. At the start of last year, representatives of Cardiff Council were meeting regularly with Celsa to discuss the challenging economic climate, especially as Celsa is one of the biggest manufacturing employers in the city. Through the good offices of Councillor Julia Magill, the Council offered to act as a conduit between RAG and Celsa, and this link was further strengthened when Llanishen Councillor, Phil. Bale, became Leader of the Council in March 2014 and took on the Economic Development portfolio. In other words, Phil became the person who was meeting with Celsa and could argue our cause. The Economic Development unit also tried to help us engage a consultant who could help us develop plans for the reservoirs, but failed to find someone suitable. In the end, we engaged Prof. Calvin Jones from the Cardiff Business School, who is an expert in the economic impact of tourism and particularly venues for outdoor activities. He helped us to put together the ‘Blue Heart’ document which we published towards the end of the summer and which set out our vision for the sort of public amenity that the reservoirs could become. Apart from RAG, other people have played a very important part in developing this vision and we are also meeting on a regular basis with ex. staff and members of the Llanishen Sailing Centre, as well as representatives of the Cardiff Reservoirs Fly Fishing Club. Both groups are keen to see the reservoir refilled and used again for their respective sports. In the autumn we engaged an ‘all-panels’ reservoir engineer, Mr. Chris Hoskins, to do an assessment of the condition of the reservoir and the likely costs of having it refilled. Chris visited the reservoir in early October, and we were met there by James Ellis from Celsa who spent the afternoon accompanying us. We are still awaiting Chris’ final report, as there has been a delay in obtaining some of the documentation that was originally held by Western Power, and, to which, Chris needs access. However, his informal initial impression was that the reservoir structure appeared to be sound. In November we met with the Chief Operating Officer and Strategy and Regulation Director of Dwr Cymru / Welsh Water (DCWW), as we were seeking advice about the issues involved in operating a large raised reservoir, and DCWW has lots of experience doing this at various sites around Wales! The discussion was helpful and included the issues of public liability insurance and maintenance costs. These have major financial implications and need to be at the forefront of future considerations of how the site is to be managed and by whom. Later in November we also met with representatives from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to discuss our plans to develop the site, particularly with respect to sailing, fishing and walking. They raised concerns about the two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the reservoir which comprise: Lisvane Reservoir, designated for its overwintering birds; and the Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoir Embankments which are designated for their grassland fungi, particularly waxcaps. One of NRW’s main statutory duties is to protect these two SSSI’s, so it is concerned about any increased visitor pressure, which might cause damage to them. As you will know, NRW has in the past few years asked the site owners to restrict access to the embankments around Lisvane reservoir, as the large number of people, particularly dog-walkers, that were visiting the site was causing bad erosion of the grasslands. NRW is not doing this just to upset people – it has a legal responsibility to make sure that the SSSIs are protected and their special interest is not damaged. It is clearly going to involve some creative thinking to see how we can develop plans to re-enable public access without harming the SSSIs. The final meeting that took place just before Christmas 2014 was with Luis Sanz, the Managing Director of Celsa UK, and James Ellis, who is also part of the company’s senior management team. They are still not sure what to do with the site, and said they needed more time to consider their options, but they did not rule out our proposals, and were keen to maintain an open dialogue with RAG. We stressed the importance of having Llanishen reservoir filled as a back up supply for Lisvane reservoir, in case of a long dry period. In fact Lisvane reservoir had to be ‘topped up’ from Llanishen in 1995 and 2003 when it was at risk of drying out completely. The meeting was conducted in a very constructive and cordial manner, and was a welcome change from our dealings with Western Power. Clearly, there are still many challenges that lie ahead, and reaching a long-term solution for the site is not going to be easy, but already RAG has achieved a lot. We have prevented the site from being swallowed up by a housing development, and the protection afforded by the SSSIs and the Listing of the reservoir structure by CADW, means that it is extremely unlikely that the site faces any future risk of development. We must continue working with Celsa, Natural Resources Wales, and Cardiff Council to achieve our final goal, which is to protect the area and to find some way that the site can be re-opened for present and future generations of Cardiff residents to enjoy. RAG Committee, February 2015 .

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