The ACE Community Engagement team has been working together with community members, public services, charities and local groups over the last ten months to develop a community plan for Ely and Caerau. Now we are pleased to share it with everybody and start putting it into action!
The summary version and full versions of the plan containing 40 actions are available to download here:
Summary Community Plan for Ely and Caerau (531KB)
Full Community Plan for Ely and Caerau (3.1MB)
Please join us at Ely and Caerau Hub on Cowbridge Road on Wednesday 15th May between 10am and 1pm to celebrate our community plan, ask questions and share some cake!
The plan was agreed by the Community Steering Group, representing residents, schools, churches, community groups, charities, South Wales Police and Cardiff Youth Service. They said:
“At every step, this community plan has been co-created with residents of all ages, people who work here, public services and Cardiff Council. Many of the actions are for the council or public services (including local schools and the police) to undertake; some are for local groups and charities to lead on. All of them respond to the needs and ideas shared by the community. Together we have produced a plan that we believe can make a significant positive difference.”
What did community members say?
People across Ely and Caerau told us about the community’s strengths. Lots of people mentioned community spirit, volunteering, green spaces and activities.
“Good community spirit… people always come together when they need to… you see people looking out for each other.”
“There are lots of positive influences within Ely, this is a close-knit community, full of nice and kind people. We need to focus on strengths of the local people and invest in them.”
“Lots of people volunteer locally, all the sports coaches, the food pantries…”
“So many things to do in this community.”
“I love how close we are to nature here.”
An older resident who had recently moved to Ely said:
“It’s brilliant here, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Within months we had people telling us about local things, asking if we needed a hand, a lift, picking up shopping.”
When we asked ‘what do we need?’ and ‘what needs to change?’ lots of people talked about community safety, support and safe spaces for young people, help with the cost of living, employment and training, and mental health support.
“Some places don’t feel safe to walk, anti-social behaviour is a real issue.”
“Drug dealing on our streets and not enough police on the beat.”
“More events and activities for young people, older people and to bring everyone together.”
“Young people need local role models and safe spaces to go.”
“More support for people struggling with the cost of living.”
“Make it easier for people to find out what’s going on, and how to get help if they need it.”
We gathered almost 4,000 comments across 47 engagements. We grouped the key issues that people raised into 6 broad themes. In spring 2024, we brought together 96 residents and 52 public and third sector partners in 7 community workshops to dig deeper into the issues and together we set about designing positive, tangible actions to make a difference across each of the 6 themes. Those 40 actions make up the Ely and Caerau Community Plan.
Investing in our community
In 2023, a community grants scheme, funded by Welsh Government and administered by Cardiff Council, distributed £100,000 of funding for activities for children and young people in Ely and Caerau. Many of those activities were delivered by small local groups. Welsh Government, Cardiff Council and the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner together funded ACE’s Community Engagement team to support the community to develop the action plan. The 40 actions detailed in the plan will see around £2m of grant funding secured from different sources, including Welsh Government, the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, and Cardiff Council, invested in the area across the next year.
