Green Party fights to Save the Northern Meadows
Welsh Ministers have ignored the advice of 163 health clinicians and backlash from the local community in granting approval for the Velindre Cancer Care Centre to be located at the Northern Meadows. Cancer care experts expressed concerns that the hospital would provide safer patient care if it was co-located at the University Hospital Wales.Green Party list candidate Debra Cooper, member of the local Save the Meadows Campaign said “This is one of the few places in north Cardiff where we have green open space. We need it for our children and we need it for future generations.”
The Save the Meadows Campaign submitted a petition signed by over 7,500 people calling for a re-assessment of the location. The resulting “debate” in the Senedd was completely “one-sided” noted observers. Ministers failed to discuss the case for locating cancer care at an alternative site. There was no discussion of the cost effectiveness of access roads or the Mutual Investment Model. Ministers were unable to answer questions about the number of un-safe emergency transfers from University Hospital Wales to Velindre in the current cancer care model.
Anthony Slaughter, Leader of the Wales Green Party said “One of the lessons to come out of the Covid pandemic is the importance of access to public, open green spaces for people’s mental health and general well-being. Natural, untamed places, like the Northern Meadows, are of particular value in our urban communities, offering an invaluable opportunity to reconnect with nature in these stressful times. Cardiff already ranks low in UK league tables of access to public green space and we cannot afford to lose any more of these precious places. The Green Party will continue to stand with local campaigners in the struggle to preserve the Meadows as they are, for the benefit of our communities and future generations.”