A charity for disabled people in Cardiff claims it has been forced to shut all its services this weekend because of the Champions League – and were only told about the plans at the last minute.
Cardiff Pedal Power, a charity to help disabled people ride bikes based in Bute Park, says it can no longer offer services over the next few days because the road that gives access has been closed.
It claims its specially-adapted bikes cannot be used in the park due to the strict security arrangements.
The charity, which encourages and enables children and adults of all ages and abilities to experience the benefits of cycling, claims it was only told about the arrangements just days before the big clash.
Kevin Rahman-Daultrey, development officer, said: “Because of UEFA closing down access to our site, we’ve been unable to offer services.
“All of the road access has been closed to where we’re based. Additionally, we had a phone call last night telling us what the closures mean for the park as well – meaning people on the accessible bikes are very likely not to be able to utilise the park for cycling.
“The main concern is that we’ve been trying for four weeks to speak to both the police and the local authority about the closures, because we knew they were coming, to see if any arrangements could be made. No-one got back to us until 9pm last night to tell us basically this is happening.
“So we said there’s no real viable way for us to offer services and we might as well close because otherwise we’re going to be offering something of no use, because there’s no viable way for them to cycle anywhere.
“So we’re quite disappointed that a sporting event is resulting in disabled people not getting to participate in sport.
“Obviously the economic impact on us is that we’re a small charity and not being able to run a service in school holidays on a weekend is a real killer.”
A spokesman for Cardiff Council said: “Camp Cardiff, the event organiser, has been in contact with Pedal Power on a weekly basis over the past few months and we have kept the route through Pontcanna Fields completely open for them with no disruption to their day to day business. The onus is always on the event organiser to facilitate this engagement.
“On that basis we are surprised that they feel they have had no communication. We are more than happy to discuss any problems they are experiencing.
“It’s also worth noting that there has been extensive advertising and media coverage on the road closures that are required for the UEFA Champions League Final weekend.
“All of the information on the road closures and the impact on Bute Park has been available on www.faw.cymru/cardiff2017/ for some time, as well as all local media websites.
“Saturday’s restrictions will only be in the southern part of Bute Park on the east side of the river and Llandaff Fields will be available for everyone to use and enjoy.”
