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Many Cardiffians will know intuitively what this headline means: to put it kindly, Cardiff Council’s cavalier approach to planning with respect to the wishes of the community, green open spaces, the built environment, and common sense and decency to boot.

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It is also no surprise that some of their wilder plans are being put in place for a part of the city that has consistently been silenced and damaged through these processes, as far back as the 1960s; we are referring of course to the communities of Tiger Bay and the Docks.

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The latest round of soul-destroying plans include a Military Medicine Museum for Britannia Park and the outlandish idea of buying (for a cool £30 million) – then flattening – the Red Dragon centre in order to build what now appears as an even more bizarre proposition in the age of Covid and zoom meetings – an outsized indoor arena (when, moreover, there’s a similar facility down the road by Celtic Manor).

The latest proposition is on a somewhat smaller scale but is no less galling for that – it reflects all that is so depressing about the way in which this council goes about its business. The Paddle Steamer, an iconic establishment in Loudoun square, now faces demolition off the back of a development that has seen no engagement with the local community, and barely any response to the valid objections already presented in the pre-consultation phase.

We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Coronavirus: A lot of the PM's speech seemed to change at the last minute. The PM doesn't really begin to answer any of the difficult questions facing the country, though he creates new ones for. By Sam Coates, deputy political editor Fill 2 Copy 11 Created with Sketch. Friday 4 December 2020 21:55, UK Saturday could be the most important day in Brexit since the UK's formal exit from the EU at the end of January. Significant gaps remain between the two sides in the negotiation over a post-Brexit trade deal.

The plan for social housing units is to be welcomed, in an age where councils across Wales have failed miserably in maintaining a stock of council housing, resulting in mass exploitation through private rents as well as homelessness. However, in an area constantly deprived of the amenities taken for granted in other parts of the city, there seems to have been little thought given to what it means to build these units without any space for a business such as the Paddle Steamer, and other services besides.

The cafe is a hub for the Somali and Yemeni communities, young and old, and whilst the building and its environs are ripe for renewal, its demolition will come as a huge blow to many of those who use it for various purposes – including informal and pro-bono advice on some of the most difficult matters facing members of the community.

Hypocrisy

This is why everyone who is concerned, in Cardiff and beyond, should support the campaign of local residents, being led online by Butetown Matters. This is just the latest example of council practices and a planning regime that affect people adversely up and down the country albeit in different ways – processes that show little regard or respect for people and their communities, little appetite for understanding what they need, and an attitude that results in developments that are destructive for the fragile ecology of many of our communities.

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This particular episode is all the more pernicious, happening as it is to communities and minorities subjected to repeated structural violence, and this at a time when Cardiff Council is indulging in a huge song and dance about removing Picton’s statue and creating a BAME taskforce to give voice to those very communities. The hypocrisy and inadequacy of making such symbolic gestures whilst then failing to listen, on one of the first relevant issues that arises, is stark.

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All that need happen here is that the communities in question are treated with respect and on the basis of equality; that they are engaged with, their needs given consideration, and the development adjusted in ways that answers the requirements of all concerned.

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So please consider taking a few minutes to register your objections here before the deadline on the 24th of September.

Labour still appears to be a party of in favour of Brexit.

Jeremy Corbyn today announced that in the event a Tory government strikes a Brexit deal, or a no-deal divorce looms, then he and his party would proactively support a referendum - and in those circumstances Labour would campaign for remain.

This is a significant shift and shadow cabinet members are right to underline the importance of the change.

But the party is silent on what would happen in the event of an election and what would be in the Labour manifesto.

Will the party still try to strike its own Brexit deal with the EU in the event it wins and Mr Corbyn becomes prime minister?

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Would that vote be put to a referendum?

Would Labour campaign for or against its own deal, and therefore for or against Brexit?

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The trade unions wanted more clarity on the general election question yesterday, but Mr Corbyn has resisted, ensuring the freest possible hand going into conference.

In a letter to members today, Mr Corbyn is silent on all of these questions.

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His support for Remain in the letter to members is heavily caveated - and only applies in circumstances where Labour faces a no-deal Brexit or Tory deal.

From this silence, it can be inferred that in an ideal world, Labour would negotiate its own better Brexit, possibly then going on to implement it without a referendum.

This raises many questions that will have to be settled: though not yet.

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The most likely moment for a resolution will be Labour's 'Clause V' meeting when it decides the manifesto, after the date Britain is going to the polls has been set.

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All of which appears to be a gift for the Tories in the view of many Labour MPs: many worry that Labour will suffer if it is still seen to support Brexit, and thereby not reunite the Remain course around its flag.

Labour has formally decided that so long as the Tories are in power, they want a second Brexit referendum.

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Nevertheless the caveats mean there is a long way left to go in this argument.