This is a community website for Grangetown in Cardiff, highlighting people, business, community activities, local news and things to do in the area...and linking other websites.

We live locally; this is a voluntary project - in connection with Grangetown Community Concern - completely free and not a profit or money-making or political initiative.

The idea is to create a community resource, which can also act as a window for those outside the immediate area.

E-mail us if you'd like to help or to send any contributions for inclusion. Also if you'd like to be included FREE in our DIRECTORY, FILL IN YOUR DETAILS ON OUR E-FORM or email us.

COMMUNITY NEWS Seagulls tackled + Take-away plan rejected
GRANGETOWN COMMUNITY CONCERN Carnival photos 2009
DIRECTORY Support your local Listing of shops, businesses, services and organisations.
HISTORY An introduction to Grangetown history And a chance to send your memories and photos
FEATURES Paper talk 30 years of our community newspaper * North Grangetown's facelift
CRIME/POLICE Latest PACT and policing news October/November police priorities
ENVIRONMENT Food for thought Grangetown recycles its waste - collection timetable

DIARY DATES:

ADD YOUR Grangetown EVENT HERE!

Monday 23rd November: North Grangetown Residents' Association, 7pm, Cornwall St baptist church hall. Residents welcome to discuss local issues of concern, as well as progress report on the housing renewal scheme.

Tuesday 24th November: Grangetown PACT, Samaj Centre, Mardy Street, 7pm. Monthly community meeting with police and councillors to discuss local policing priorities.

Wednesday 25th November: Grangetown Community Concern executive committee, Buzz Cafe, Penarth Rd, 7.15pm.

Thursday 26th November: Health and Wellbeing Day, 10am-2pm, Women's Workshop, Clarence House, Clarence Road, Cardiff. The day will include free classes, relaxation and health checks for women. Contact Sian Thomason 20 493351 or sian.thomason@womensworkshop.org.uk

Saturday 28th November: Buy Nothing Day - Community Litter-Pick: 12 noon for 12.30pm start; until 3.30pm. Meet outside 89 Corporation Road, Grangetown. Local people invited to join a community litterpick, on the Taff Trail, lanes and other problem areas. Litter grabbers and bin bags provided. Come along for as little time as you can spare - bring gloves and warm clothing. More details: Email Kieran on edenderry00@yahoo.co.uk

Help For Heroes charity event, The Grange Pub, Penarth Rd, from 7.30pm. Barbecue, karaoke, raffle and singer Katie Love in aid of forces charity.

Flats plan for old laundry site

Plans have been unveiled again for the site of the old laundry on the corner of Mardy Street and Pendyris Street.

This time, they involve 34 flats - social housing planned for Taff Housing. There have been previous applications for the site over the last couple of years, involving similar housing schemes, while the site is currently being used as a car park aimed at commuters.

Other plans in the pipeline include converting a house in Clare Road into a hotel/B&B and plans for a cashpoint on the outside of the chemist/post office on the corner of Cornwall Street.

Litter-pick for Buy Nothing Day

Grangetown has been picked as one of the areas in the UK taking part in a community litter-pick for Buy Nothing Day on Saturday 28th November. People are being urged to take a break from shopping - and help their local environment instead.

Organiser Kieran McCann is hoping there will be enough volunteers to tackle problem areas, including the lanes and Taff Trail, as well as litter blackspots people know near their homes. The idea of the day is anti-consumerist, and pro-environment, but Kieran says it's not anti-Christmas.

"We live in a throwaway society where we buy convenience things and then discard them without a thought," he said. "Buy Nothing Day highlights theenvironmental effects of consumption and therefore for this year’s Buy Nothing Day I am celebrating by organizing a litter pick supported by Tidy Towns along the Taff Trail and Grangetown."

The litter pick takes place from 12.00-3.30pm on Saturday 28th November. Meet outside 89 Corporation Road, Grangetown, at 12.00 noon for a 12.30pm start. Litter grabbers and bin bags provided. Come along for as little time as you can spare - bring gloves and warm clothing. More details: Email Kieran on edenderry00@yahoo.co.uk

All change for Heath Hospital

Cardiff Bus has shortened the routes of the numbers 8 and 9 buses, which currently run from Cardiff Bay through Grangetown to the Heath Hospital.

From October 4th, passengers now have to change buses in Westgate Street if they want to travel onto Roath and to the hospital.

Details were given by a Cardiff Bus representative at the September meeting of Grangetown PACT. The routes of the No 8 and 9 have been changed in the city centre, in light of the opening of the St Davids 2 shopping development.

Instead of travelling down St Mary Street and through the city centre, via City Road, Crwys Road and Heath, the buses now turn right out of Tudor Street into St Mary Street and take a "circular" route around the Hayes Bridge Road area, to serve St Davids 2, before returning back to Grangetown and Cardiff Bay. Passengers now have to catch the new No 38 and 39 services there to travel onwards to the hospital - these can be caught in Westgate Street (opposite the Millennium Stadium) or in St Mary Street (by Wyndham Arcade). Residents were told this would improve efficiency of transport and not add to journey times, and was in line with shorter routes elsewhere in the city.

But concern was expressed at the lack of consultation and that the break in the journey would inevitably cause inconvenience to those with hospital appointments or visiting relatives, while for those wishing to travel just one way, the fare would double to £3 (the cost of a day saver).

The new timetables were not ready in time for the meeting but are now on the Cardiff Bus website.

Every month we select a "photo of the month" to help showcase the work of the digital photographers from the Grangetown Flckr Group. The competition is just a bit of fun and is now into its second year!

Wholesome Meal

Our tasty choice for September/October Wholesome Meal is by Time Grabber - a Clarke's Pie has never looked so inviting and beautifully presented. As it celebrates is centenary, this Grangetown delicacy deserves the glossy treatment.

Share your photos of Grange

For those with an interest in photography, there is a photo-group website for people to share their images of Grangetown.

The Grangetown Flickr Group was created to allow people to add their photos of Grangetown places, people and events. "To be honest my prime motive was to put Grangetown on the map," says webmaster Sean Kisby.

What's good about the photos there so far, is there's a mix of people and places - the "disappearing" and sadly "disappeared" landmarks of Grangetown, as well as some more off-beat and domestic shots.

If you'd like to contribute, follow the link at www.flickr.com/groups/grangetown

Past months winners

Sellfridges Penarth Rd Cardiff Bay Mirrorball (2) May's choice Evening Sun on St Patricks Church Grangetown view, May morning. Bartek Nowicki's Removal Fire Engine Outside ICornwall Street Cardiff

Clarks Pies - Eating Competition Ben Salter's Under The Bridge Mr Davies' shoeshop 1

Gasholder Sunset 1, photo for September, Sean KisbyGreen dancing/October by Chris Henden Grangetown, CardiffLifesaverGrangetown RooftopsCarnival Volunteer Force Roxe Jam 08Bay Link Cardiffincy wincy spiderDawn at Pendyris Street Library Winter Sungrangetown car bootRetail Park model Topiary on the Taff


Society at family history day - and oral history recorded

Members of Grangetown History Society took their new display boards and laptops to the City Hall on Saturday 3rd October for a Family History Fayre. What a busy day, and people had a cornucopia of displays to absorb them both downstairs and upstairs in this beautiful setting.

The society joined local history groups from across England and Wales for the event, on two floors of the hall, which was of interest to people researching their family trees or local areas. As well as photographs on boards and on computer screens, members were able to help people from different parts of the country with questions about the area.

Meanwhile, the Society is recording memories and stories for its ongoing oral history project. It's always looking for people with stories to tell - of living, going to school or work in Grangetown for instance. It's organised its first"drop-in" session for Saturday October 17th (10am-1pm at Grangetown Library), while visits can be arranged if required. All you need is a little time to spare - and the odd tale to tell. If you would like to take part - or know someone who might be able to help - email the society or call in at its monthly meeting (Grangetown Library, first Wednesday of each month, 2.15pm).

2010 calendar on sale

Grangetown Local History Society's popular calendar for 2010 - featuring old photos of the area - has gone on sale (£2.50).

It is available in the following outlets: Clark's Pie Shop, Martyn Youngs Fruit and Veg, Penarth Road, Lloyds Newsagents, corner of Durham St/Clare Rd and Grangetown Library, Havelock Place.

The cost is £2.50 and we hope everyone enjoys the choice of photographs this year. Postal copies can be obtained by contacting Rita Spinola 02920 345962. We are confident the calendar will be a sell out; so make sure you get your copy early!

Zena Mabbs, chairperson Grangetown Local History Society

Did you know there used to be a synagogue in Merches Place?

ZENA MABBS, chair of Grangetown History Society, traces the history of a building which has been used by three different religions since it opened nearly 110 years ago.


The three ages of the building - as Jewish synagogue, Hindu temple and Christian Pentecostal church

The synagogue in Merches Place was known as the Foreigner's Shul or Furriners' Shul and opened in 1900, formed from recent immigrants to the area. For instance, in Allerton Street in 1900 there lived 13 Jewish families, six of whom described their occupations as tailors. Ten families lived in Clare Road, consisting of two watchmakers and two pawnbrokers.

Information taken from the Cardiff directories of the period show variations in the name of the location of the building. In 1904, it was called Talmud Torah Meeting House, Saltmead, with reader and teacher M Katz. In 1915, it was listed as Talmud Torah Jewish Meeting House,Merches Place; and in 1920 it was the same name but in Merches Gardens.

The Jewish congregations in Cardiff - they also met in Cathedral Road and the town centre - eventually merged and moved to a synagogue to the Cyncoed area. By 1978, the old synagogue in Grangetown had become a printing press and was purchased for the sum of £22,000. It then became the Shree Swaminarayan Temple, president: Mr. Naran Bhimji Patel, for the growing Gujarati community until 1993 when the new Hindu temple was finished nearby.

The building was taken over for its current use as the United Pentecostal Church and is called the New Hope Centre. As you can seen, the exterior has not been materially altered from when it was used as a synagogue.

Thanks to Cardiff Shul and the Shree Swaninarayan Temple for use of the photographs. More information is available from their websites.

If you have any memories, or other photographs you wish to share relating to this building please contact the Grangetown Local History Society, c/o The Library, Havelock Place, Grangetown, Cardiff. The society meets on the first Wednesday of every month, new visitors are always welcome.

Remembering the birth of South Clive Street

"All the furniture we owned was piled onto this handcart. For the first few weeks of living there we slept on the bare floor boards. At that time along the whole length of the street houses were in various stages of construction." Jack Payne with memories of 1937, when South Clive Street was first built and who lived there. Read the full story in our history pages.

Thanks to those of you already interested in our Grangetown Local History section, as we continue to build up features and photos about the area - divided into three sections, the early and Victorian Grangetown; wartime Grangetown and a a section looking at sport, transport, local life and entertainment, as well as stories from the post-war era.

Thanks to the Grangetown Local History Society (who meet the first Wednesday of the month, Grangetown Library, 2.15pm), we've published some photos from their archives - including some "then and now" images. We will hopefully re-tell some stories, include some interesting facts about the area. It's been interesting already to hear from as far afield as the US, Canada and Australia from people with family roots in Grangetown! So Email your memories, stories and old photos

Sites we like!

There are links to a lot of local websites at the bottom - and more in the directory. If you'd like to be included, please email us.

A few we came across recently, took the eye. First Cardiffians, which is dedicated to assembling photos of old Cardiff - or old buildings and landmarks in different districts across the city. A very promising heritage site, which we're missing.

There's also a fantastic zoomable map on the recently created Grangetown Map site, which homes in on local landmarks and shops too on the flash, animated street plan. A good tech-y feature and if they extend it across the city, it would be an excellent tool for locals and visitors.

Also, there's a very detailed and exhaustive Cardiff Pubs website, a real labour of love and very informative.

You may already be familiar with writer Peter Finch's excellent Real Cardiff series, which is a miscellany of prose, poetry and opinion from journeys around the city. He also has Real Cardiff web pages, which give a flavour of the books.

Among a few local community sites is one for Old St Mellons, being carefully put together by Rhys Gregory. Good to see more springing up in different parts of the city, which network together nicely.

Grangetown Community Concern's newspaper is a regular and long-running FREE link between thousands of homes in Grangetown and parts of Butetown.

  • It provides regular news of community organisations, schools, sports bodies and local people making the news.
  • It's a great way for local shops, businesses and traders such as plumbers, electricians and decorators to reach homes in a growing area.
  • The newspaper relies on the support of advertisers to continue this non-profit-making resource - covering the printing costs of the paper, which is written, edited and delivered entirely by volunteers.

We have decided to print three editions a year and the next newspaper will be coming out in the run-up to Christmas. A few production problems have meant we were unable to produce an autumn issue.

E-mail here for details and to volunteer to help deliver. FREE to more than 6,500 homes across Grangetown and some of Butetown - the newspaper is a long-running and vital community link, which is non-profit-making and depends on advertising and sponsorship to keep it going.

We still need volunteer deliverers - especially for Channel View (part), Oakley Place and York Place. If you can spare half an hour every two or three months, contact Christine or Joan in the office, (029) 20 377 010!

Advertising rates for 2009:

Full page: £130
Half page: £75
Quarter page: £48
Eighth page: £25
Small ads: £7

Copy and adverts - contact: Christine on 029 20 377 010. Email contributions to grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk

Directory for Grangetown

A community directory of local organisations, services and activities was distributed FREE to homes throughout Grangetown and Butetown in May 2006.

Grangetown Community Concern assisted Butetown Healthy Living Programme in the project.

As well as the printed version, we're updating an online version, which also includes local shops and traders.

If you want to be included or amend your entry, you can e-mail us here

We hope one day to be able to publish an updated printed version, so help us keep it up to date. If there are any changes or inaccuracies, please let us know.

We'd be glad to receive contributions or relevant articles for the website, please email us at grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk

LOCAL FACTS

Population: 14,367
Households: 6,230
Welsh-born 74%, English 11%, elsewhere 12%.
Average age: 34
Working full-time: 38.8%
Of the unemployed - long-term: 32%
Type of house: Terrace (59%), flat (15%), semi-detached (14%)
Renting home: 35%
Not owning a car: 39%
Ethnic group: White (77%), Asian (13%), Black (4%), Mixed (3.76%).
Welsh-speakers (or some knowledge) 14%
Based on the 2001 census data

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City guides: Cardiff Council BIG Cardiff Cardiffians (history/photos) Cardiff city map
Visit Cardiff Cardiff Online Cardiff On The Web Itchy Cardiff Metroplex Pure Cardiff View Cardiff Guide Cardiff Underground Cardiff Pubs Real Cardiff

Media: BBC Where I Live BBC Wales News icWales BBC Lleol i Mi (Welsh) Y Dinesydd (Welsh)
Web gateway: Wales on the Web (Nat Library) Worldwide Welsh City links: Millennium Stadium National Museum of Wales New Theatre Cardiff Bus Cardiff Castle Cardiff City FC Chapter Arts Centre My Cardiff Jobs
Local links: South Grangetown Communities First The Grangetown Flickr Group Grangetown Map Grangetown facts & figures Channel View Leisure Centre Green Up Grangetown Cultural Concerns Radio Cardiff Riverside Market Treehouse funiture BBC Wales - Clive Street
Misc links: Anecdotal City Voluntary Action Cardiff Switch Cymru Peter Finch
Other Cardiff community websites: Adamsdown City Road Ely/Caerau Radyr Old St Mellons Whitchurch/Llandaff North

Site last updated Niovember 17th Webmaster or email us

© Grangetown Community Concern and webmaster 2009