Man wins £1,000 after complaining that children kicking football had ‘substantial effect on his life’

A Cardiff man has received a payout of over £1,000 after complaining about the noise from his local play area.

The Llandaff North resident complained to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales after he felt his complaints had been ignored by Cardiff Council.

He claimed the noise from a children’s play area in Hailey Park was having a ‘substantial’ impact on his life.

But when the council announced earlier this year that they were removing the popular play area, residents were outraged.

Since the council has said they will maintain the existing play facilities until other provisions are in place.

The Ombudsman also told Cardiff Council to pay the complainant £300 for the inconvenience, and if it was not resolved in eight weeks, he would be paid £75 a week.

Since March, he has received £900, alongside the initial £300 lump sum.

The Friends of Hailey Park group said they were disappointed a new funding stream had been made available following a single complaint after being told there was no money for developments in Hailey Park.

‘More lessons need to be learned in protecting children’s free play in nature and open parkland, in protecting existing communities’ cohesion and social spaces and in protecting public money when housing and other developments are being planned. This situation should not become a precedent,’ they said.

The resident complained to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, who found that Cardiff Council’s response had ‘failed to advise the complainant what stage of the procedure it was being issued under or how he could escalate his concerns further.’

Following the complaint, the popular play area was ordered to be removed, which would have left children in Llandaff North with no free activities in the area.

But after 1,000 residents signed a petition calling for the multi-use games area (MUGA) to stay, the council said they would no longer remove it but instead work to find a solution whilst engaging with local residents.

Residents were particularly frustrated by the prospect of the play area being removed after the basketball hoops were taken down due to a complaint from the same resident in 2019.

Parents, locals, and councillors were worried that its removal would put an added strain on grassroots clubs and lead to an increase in antisocial behaviour.

One resident who lives opposite the MUGA said she had never heard any noise and enjoyed seeing kids walk past. Another added: ‘At the end of the day, we are living opposite a park – what do people expect?’

A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: ‘The Council has committed to maintaining the park’s existing play facilities for local residents until alternative provision that mitigates the noise nuisance is in place.

‘Funding to enable the development of these plans has now been secured through the Council’s neighbourhood regeneration programme.

‘Initial engagement with local school children and information sharing with the wider community will begin shortly, with a view to resolving the noise issue and delivering improved facilities for the community as quickly as possible. In the meantime, the Council has agreed to comply with the recommendations set out by the Ombudsman.’

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