I need to make this post, if only as a courtesy to those travelling to cardiff this weekend. Shortly I will make another post with some more specific details that some people might still need.
Back in November 2007 I emailed cardiff council about capital bocking. I was told the oval basin area is available to hire at the cost of £500 per day and that we need to meet various criteria before a booking could be made. I replied and explained we're not an organisation, just a large group of people. We were not performing or selling anything, just meeting up. I never got a reply back. I had a meeting with a different council department in April this year and we discussed CB. They agreed it sounded very exciting and they were going to discuss it with the events team to see if the council could co-operate with the event. They did stress to me that a meet up of this size MUST be classed as an event, if only for safety reasons. I played along. As months went by I chased for updates and was told meetings were happening but nothing more.
Approx 10 days ago I called up to check everything was ok and in place. It wasnt. Seeking clarification, I was told in no uncertain terms that we need to pay the £500 per day charge or we would be asked to leave. This is where my blood pressure started to rise. After a few talks with the guys in charge I could see they were not budging and we had no way to raise the money in time. Ultimately I took the issue to my local MP and councillor who in turn raised it with the chief executive of Cardiff county council.
In a nutshell, up until 6pm today we were still at risk of turning up and having CB without any authorisation and could even face the risk of being moved on or even arrested for trespassing on council property. The reason I did not make this public knowledge was because a lot of people are travelling with parents etc and I didnt want to start a panic.
Today I have been informed that despite several attempts by high officers in the council, we are not hiring cardiff bay in any way and that the council are considering us a "group of individuals" (sound familiar?). This does mean the meet up can go ahead without the threat of any conflict from the council but it does make a few things difficult for us which I will highlight on the weekend.
The biggest of these is that the basin area will at all time be totally open to the public and we must respect this.
Liability insurance is down to the individual bockers or bocking groups. There will be no official first aiders on site. No free water. No power supply for a PA. Basically, we're just there....kind of like an ordinary weekend out with the welshbockers but with a lot more of you joining us.
I hope this doesnt put anybody off and everyone still comes. It is completely beyond me why the cardiff council do not embrace this event, especially for an activity that is so popular with spectators and strongly promotes outdoor activity for all ages. Personally, I think they are shooting themselves in the foot, but thats cardiff council for you.
As the biggest event in the world thus far, Capital Bocking is extremely important for the growth and future of this sport. It will attract a lot of attention and we need to ensure it is successful in every way possible. We'll only do that with the help from the people who started capital bocking....and thats you, the bockers
