Roath Park: Cafe's late opening plan opposed

Terra Nova Cafe in Roath Park sits within the gated area, currently accessible 24 hours a day

About 150 people have called for proposals to allow a park's cafe to serve alcohol until late in the evening to be scrapped.

The Terra Nova Cafe in Roath Park, Cardiff, has applied both to be allowed to serve alcohol and to extend its opening hours until 23:00.

It coincides with the park remaining open all night, following a suspension of locking gates due to the pandemic.

A petition opposing the applications has been signed by 150 people.

Terra Nova's owner declined to comment while the applications were under consideration.

Local resident Klaus Ueber, who started the petition, circulated a letter to nearby homes saying the council's parks' department was considering continuing to keep the gates to the park unlocked at night indefinitely.

He said combined with the opening hours and licensing application, this was a "serious threat to the very nature of the park and the amenity of our neighbourhood".

The cafe's name is linked to the park's monument to Antarctic explorer Cpt Robert Scott

Mr Ueber said: "The cafe would effectively become a night-time pub with no dedicated car park and customers free to remain in the park as long as they like after the 11pm closing time."

Some residents said they had concerns about parking and noise.

One who signed the petition said: "Parking is already an issue with no public transport on Lake Road West so this would encourage drink-driving and noise pollution.

"There are already four licensed premises in the area."

Another commented: "This is a family venue with many young children. As such it is totally inappropriate for alcohol sales."

Penylan councillor Rodney Berman, who is also the Liberal Democrat candidate for Cardiff Central in the Senedd elections, said residents had contacted him with "significant concerns" about the applications.

"The biggest concern seems to be around the possibility of the cafe opening late into the evening and the potential for this to lead to late-night disturbance if it is also serving alcohol," he told BBC Wales.

"When planning consent was initially granted for the current cafe some years ago, it was only to be opened during the hours the park normally operates. During lockdown, however, the council has not been locking the park at nights."

He said some residents had already complained about noise caused by the park being open all night and he had passed those complaints to police.

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A council spokesman said: "Increased access to Cardiff's parks has been important for the mental and physical wellbeing of many residents over the past year and, with lockdown restrictions still in place, there are no current plans to return to locking Roath Park at night.

"This policy is being kept under review and we continue to liaise with South Wales Police to ensure that the local community is being well-served by the park remaining open."

They said all decisions made by the licensing committee would involve consulting the emergency services and take into consideration crime and disorder issues, along with public safety, public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

The licensing application is expected to be heard later this month.