Nato Summit

The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones AM, said: “I am delighted that some of the most striking buildings in both Newport and Cardiff will be used to showcase the best of Welsh hospitality during the NATO summit.

It was reported on Radio Wales this morning that now key buildings in Cardiff are also getting the Celtic Manor ring of steel treatment, i.e. a 5 metre high metal fence around them.
Coupled with the fact the whole of South Wales is predicted to come to a stand-still (M4 signs all but saying please don't go near here on the 4/5th September, just how is this event helping the Welsh Economy?

The only bits that will make the news will be protests and the policing of the protests.


Have the protests started already...




Reminds me of the Plan Ahead Joke

i wonder if the nato summit will be held in Welsh as well as English? I imagine WG funds will be used, so it is only fair that we have Welsh otherwise NORAD will be bombarded with Tweets from Carwyn the Consistent

i wonder if the nato summit will be held in Welsh as well as English? I imagine WG funds will be used, so it is only fair that we have Welsh otherwise NORAD will be bombarded with Tweets from Carwyn the Consistent

As defence isn't a devolved policy area, the answer is no. The UK government is paying for this summit and responsible for organising the whole event. Wales, the Welsh Government and the local authorities involved have had no say whatsoever in any of the road closures or security fencing.

The only aspect that has been decided in Wales are the school closures.

A list of road closures in Cardiff:


* A series of night closures will run from August 14 to August 21 as contractors get to work building the steel fence that will wrap around Cardiff Castle, encompassing a section of Bute Park.

* On the nights of August 14, 15 and 16 North Road will be closed to Boulevard de Nantes, with traffic sent down Colum Road.

* For the following days contractors will be completing a section running from Boulevard de Nantes and Kingsway through to Castle Street and Cowbridge Road East, up to the park entrance next to the river bridge on Cowbridge Road East.

* From around August 17 no right turn will be possible for traffic heading east along Cowbridge Road East and Castle Street into either Westgate Street and Boulevard de Nantes, with traffic only able to travel north.

* From the morning of August 15, there will be only one lane inbound along the tidal flow area on North Road just south of Maindy Pool and Maindy Bridge through Blackweir.

* A lane closure in front of the castle for traffic heading from Canton is also planned.

* On September 4 roads will be closed from the junction of Cathedral Road/Lower Cathedral Road to the junction with North Road and Colum Road.

* A fence is also planned for the Bay around Roath Basin with a bus route to Porth Teigr re-routed.

* Parts of Westgate Street, High Street, Boulevard de Nantes will be shut, as well as adjacent roads including St John Street, Queen Street and the Friary. Signed diversions will be in place.

There will also be multiple rolling road blocks and the Butetown Tunnel is likely to be closed at times.

I can see this wiping tens of £millions off our economic output rather than boosting our economy.

In fact, I will be writing and publishing an article on this very soon.

The police have also been visiting everyone in Havannah Street, photographing them and requiring them to fill in a detailed form about their employer, car, etc, in order to issue them with passes as they may want to close the street off to all but residents. Presumably some tinpot Head of State and their entourage is staying at St Davids. Not sure what residents are supposed to do if they get lucky one evening - "sorry, darling, we can't go to my place because I don't have a police permit for you" is not a very encouraging pickup line.

The Roath Basin operation is apparently because some of the military are arriving in their warships, according to the police. Seems an excessively inefficient method of travel to me, even compared to Cardiff Airport.

I'm always a bit dubious about these events that are said to "put us on the map". Last time I looked we were on the map already! At least with sporting events or something like Eurovision there's a measurable economic benefit. NATO on the other hand seems to offer a lot of disruption in return for some pretty intangible benefits. Still, I suppose these things have to be held somewhere.

Would agree Ash. I know that we are being risk assessed to death in work at the moment due to our services being across the city and you just think it's not worth all this effort.

I wonder about the benefit of these type of events. Whilst the presence of many journalists/politicians/hangers on with their expense accounts will give a short term fillip to the hotel and restaurant sector will there actually be any lasting legacy? If the legacy is that Cardiff/SE Wales will have a higher profile with an attendant rise in visitor numbers then surely the news that the WG is only spending £7m to promote Wales (compared to £47m for Scotland and £6m for tiny Jersey) pretty much kills that idea dead from the off? See the article below -

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/new ... rnalSearch

In the interests of balance -

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... al-7628192

Apparently having a Nato summit in your area is worth more than spending millions on promotion, at least according to the organiser of the Chicago summit.....

In the interests of balance -

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... al-7628192

Apparently having a Nato summit in your area is worth more than spending millions on promotion, at least according to the organiser of the Chicago summit.....

I see your point as I'd never heard of Chicago until the NATO summit was held there

Quite.