Wednesday 30 October 2013

Will New Owner Celsa Refill Llanishen Reservoir? Not Anytime Soon!

Following the submission of the 3000 signature petition, on 24th October at the general council meeting Cllr. Kate Lloyd asked the Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr. Heather Joyce about refilling the reservoir. Cllr Joyce made the following statement in response:

"I can confirm that I met with Celsa management representatives on 15th October.  Celsa confirmed its acquisition of the two reservoirs in North Cardiff for strategic purposes in order to protect the water supply for the company's plant in Cardiff, which currently comes from the Lisvane reservoir.  Llanishen reservoir was also acquired in order to meet the long-term expansion plans of the company and future needs for additional water supplies.  Until such time as trading conditions in the U.K. improve considerably, Celsa will not, in the short-term, be able to give commercial consideration to undertaking any non-operational work such as refilling Llanishen reservoir, as their limited financial resources are focused on supporting day-to-day business operations.  However, the company has indicated that it does hope to expand its operations in the future once this position improves in the medium to long-term.  I am scheduled to meet on a regular basis with Celsa management representatives and will continue to raise this matter with them, in order to obtain a progress report on their future plans here in Cardiff."

This doesn't sound too good. Celsa have 'limited financial resources' and would only look to refill Llanishen Reservoir if they expand their business. And in todays ferociously competitive world of business its more probable Celsa will never expand which means they'll  never refill  Llanishen Reservoir.