Seeing work in progress - redevelopment site visit

This morning's Retail Partnership Board meeting was preceded by an hour-long walk around the redevelopment construction site. A dozen or so of us were kitted out with safety gear in Southgate House, and walked around to the Barrack Lane entrance and site offices, where we were signed in to the site with electronic passes which we had to swipe in order to unlock a security portal to get in and out of the working area. Thorough and impressive. Except that my swipe card didn't work, the only one, and caused us a delay, which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been the last to arrive to be kitted out with security gear, having misjudged my arrival time to start the day. I also succeeded in dropping my helmet noisily as I tried to put it on. Not my morning, I hate early starts. They were all so good, putting up with a bumbling fool of a Vicar, these retail bosses. But then you don't get to be such a boss unless you're good with people I guess.

I was a bit hyper I guess, due to having an insider photo opportunity, and a chance to quench my technical curiosity on our minders. We were led around the site by a charming young Asian woman, who looked totally at home in safety gear - probably a young graduate in her first job. I wondered if engineering was in her blood. She led us around the ground floor at the Hills Street end before taking us up a scaffolding tower with steps, sharing a great hole right through the structure from roof to basement with one of the giant tower cranes.

We looked over Hills Street to where the link with SD1 is under construction, then ascended to the second level to view the construction of the Mall roof. About 150 yards from Hills Street south is now covered over and in the course of acquiring either its glazing or roofing materials. At the far south end of the Mall, the first 50 yards of Mall framework is visible. In between is a 200 yard gulf, with only the basic steel skeletal framework. Midway, a Grand Arcade is under construction. This is at right angles to the Mall, and the intersection will contain a huge glazed lantern, within a few months. The Grand Arcade will be a pedestrian route open from 6.00am to midnight, and lined with shops and bars. Its western opening is directly opposite the Royal Arcade. A neat homage to Cardiff architectural tradition, albeit bigger and better by nature.

The shopping centre flat roof surface serves as ground floor for the Hayes apartment blocks, arranged in an E shape (south to north) to create large courtyards for access. In two years from now these will be flourshing roof terrace gardens. A splendid use of space. Three sections enclosing one courtyard are already constructed up to fifth floor level. The others have hardly started, with the exception of the lift tower which stands majestically on its own, safe for the scaffolding tower of stairs which accompanies it to dizzy heights.

I felt very privileged to be there with my camera, and took 75 photographs, of which I had to discard 20%, out of focus or shaky, a high figure for me. I should have taken my posh new camera with its anti-shake device and superior automatic features, as my top pocket camera really struggled to work out exposures in high contrast interior settings, and produced many overexposed pictures which needed adjustment later. Never mind, I'll be going back in two weeks time for the 'topping out' ceremony. I'll need to get some handling practice in the meanwhile, to overcome clumsiness as it's too bulky to go in the top pocket, and needs a belt and pouch container.

The photos are in a file of their own on my redevelopment photo blog

Retail reporting

Attended the City Centre Retail Partnership board met this morning. We listened to reports about Christmas trading and heard about slow trading early in the month with a last minute burst of activity, a pattern reported across the country. Internet retailing accounts for a larger share of the market year after year, but when it gets to last minute buying and uncertainties over deliveries of mail, real shopping centres still attract customers needing to spend. The overall volume of trade less diminished than might have been the case. The media publicity campaign seems to have been successful in this respect, and despite the lousy November-December weather the ice rink and Santa's grotto attractions still did very well indeed. A positive outcome to a lot of very hard work in keeping Cardiff a desirable place to visit, but definite signs of the economic slow-down, to make everyone wonder what coming years will bring.

We hear news that the redvelopment is well on schedule, such that the John Lewis store and the new library bulding, which had its top-out ceremony last week, will be handed over by the construction companies for fitting out, towards the end of this year. The ground floor of the library will have three swanky restaurants, and these could well be open first, maybe in time for Christmas 2008. We'll see.

At the end of the meeting I had the opportunity to report on Cardiff Business Safe, and the changeover of security radio systems occasioned by the final collapse of Cardiff Chamber of Commerce whose entry into receivership was announced as I was going on holiday. The difficulties we've had in managing the affairs of CBSLtd. are all tied in with the demise of the Chamber, and with the inability of the City government officials to recognise that CBS would also need support, as it's impossible for any organisation to exist in a vacuum.

To my horror I found that the solicitors we asked to regularise our position with Companies House had only done half a job, leaving me to chase for signatures and make another, hopefully final visit to complete the unfinished business of 2006, before getting 2007 affairs up to speed after this meeting. Thankfully, CBSLtd. is not a big organisation, not too complex to cope with once things are unravelled and in order. The down side, as with any small organisation, is access to the expertise and resources needed to ensure success in detail. I fund it very worrying that basic administrative support for an organisation that arranges security communication for the city centre ended up neglected and disregarded. It was important to appraise the Retail Partnership of the problems and reassure them of the prospect of better things to come.

Rubbish - keeping on the case

Since Friday last, a large un-emptied wheelie bin with a Council logo on the front, has stood at the north west corner of the church tower overflowing with rubbish on to the street. In fact, it was joined in that position by two bins from the Owain Glyndwr, and left there, after they were emptied and not put away in their bin store. Sunday Evening I rang the Council's 101 problem solving referral unit to report the bin, and was told it would be emptied on Monday morning.

Monday passed. Tuesday morning came. On my way to the City Centre Retail Partnership monthly meeting I took a photo of the bin to show to Steve, the operations manager, to see if he could get it cleared away on the fifth day since its arrival. He was not un-surprised at my report, as Waste Management seems to be fraught with management problems at the moment, such that the boss is on sick leave. He kindly printed out the picture, so we could get a better look at it and show it around the office. Then it occurred to me that I was about to walk into a meeting with the Council's Chief Executive Byron Davies. He's always friendly and considerate towards me, and when I saw him he came over and shook my hand and asked how things were going. I just couldn't resist showing the picture and telling the story. He calmly took out his phone and exused himself while he spoke to some poor soul in waste management. He returned after a few moments promising it would be removed straight away.

He spoke at the meeting, addressing retailers' concerns over the impact of pedestrianising St Mary Street, the inadequacy of shoppers parking and public transport issues. He announced the set up of a weekly forum of all involved in service delivery, presided over by himself, to ensure every problem was spotted and tackled, during the next two years of reconstruction and major change to the appearance and running of the city centre. When I returned to the church two hours later, the wheelie bin was still there, and it remained there all night.

When I arrived for the Wednesday Eucharist, it was still there, half emptied. And this obstructing part of the very busiest pedestrian thoroughfare of the city! Not even the city's CEO can work miracles. For all the rhetoric about partnership working, there remains a protectionist proprietorial culture in which section bosses don't always take orders willingly. You'd think they'd all want to work for the good of the city all the time not some of the time, but so often it seems this is not the case. The next couple of years will be a real challenge for the city's elected members and local government officers. Can they deliver the vision of a 'proud capital' which they proclaim? Will the world want to invest in it?

Churchyard Path and Gates blessed

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This weekend, I have a rare sense of achievement.

Yesterday, the Friday after Ascension Day, Assistant Bishop David Yeoman came to St John's to celebrate the lunchtime Eucharist, and later to dedicate the new gates and path in the south churchyard 'garden'. The churchyard closed to burials in between the World Wars. It was handed over to the Council to look after and made into a 'garden' open to the public in 1983. This didn't work very well because there was only one entrance gate. When substance abusers adopted it, the shopping public become too afraid to enter for fear of getting trapped inside, so it wasn't long before the garden was left locked. Although some flower beds were still tended, parts of it became overgrown and rubbish strewn. There was a strange incongruity between the regular appearance of fresh bin bags in the few litter bins adorning the locked garden, and the bottles, fast food wrappers, plastic and cardboard boxes thrown over or stuffed through the railings. A sad site indeed. An icon of communal slovenliness.

Part of the deal made by the City with developers Land Securities, involved money spent on works in the public realm. Newer smarter street furniture, lighting and granite paving, also a makeover for the churchyard 'garden' that involved putting a new path through from East to West and giving it gates which could be closed at night. The church council was very happy with this proposal and agreed to ask for a Faculty to cover the work over three years ago. Long delays ensued, not least because of the slowness of city lawyers negotiating with the Representative Body of the Church in Wales a new lease for the new path, plus a settlement of monies outstanding on other portions of land being used by the city to provide a basement entrance to the Old Library next door. It's a long saga, too boring to tell, and it started within a couple of weeks of my taking officer in November 2002. It was finally secured and back rent paid up in January 2007. Then in March, work began on the 'garden' make-over, and the construction site shutters only came down at the beginning of this week.

It rained for the ceremony. Nevertheless we had a brass trio to play fanfares and accompany the blessing. Four children from Gabalfa Primary school, which had produced some winning poster designs to adorn the construction site fence for the duration, helped the Bishop to pull open the gates and break the red ribbon which was threaded through the railings around the entire site. It looked great. Council Leader Rodney Berman and local SD2 project manager Simon Armstrong made short speeches, and then the assembly withdrew into church for tea and sandwiches with more brass music. Despite the weather it was a satisfying occasion. Most of the guests were City officials, SD2 staff or church members. Most I had met, worked with and know by name, because of my role as City Centre Missioner. I had a certain sense of satisfaction in being able to welcome people to the ceremony and into church, knowing that almost all of the non-St.John's people have only ever seen me out and about in my workaday dress. NO doubt I'll get teased about that as time goes on. We're all working for the good of the city in our different ways, and share the same sense of pride and adventure in these changing times.

On a sad note - when I went to visit Nia Wyn-Jones manufacturing the gates in her workshop, her mother Gwen was working on them with her, welding pieces together, a woman of my age. A few weeks after the gate work was finished, she died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage. Her husband attended the ceremony and told me the story. Nia was off somewhere filming for S4C TV and sent him to represent her. The gates are a credit to Nia's craftsmanship. But now they're also a memorial to her mother.

One other sign of the times. At the City Centre Retail Partnerhship Board meeting on Tuesday I was presented with a Safenet shortwave radio for use in the Tea Room. We've had a series of thefts and other small incidents which have resulted in us acquiring second hand CCTV cameras (old ones links to Video recorders rather than hard disk recorders), courtesy of the city centre management. There's been genuine concern at some of the local rogues preying upon mothers with kids and old ladies who think they are safe and sound in church. The radio link keeps us in contact with the community safety network in the city centre, and forewarns us of trouble. The CCTV deters the opportunist thieves. But once again people aren't quite so tense and unsure of themselves in their usual familiar safe place. We are fortunate that there's such good will towards the Parish Church by fellow workers in the City.