> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.propercardiff.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Centre of Butetown life fighting threat from noise complaints - URL: https://www.propercardiff.news/centre-of-butetown-life-fighting-threat-from-noise-complaints/ - Published: 2026-11-04T13:07:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T13:07:12.000Z - Description: “We cannot afford to lie back and let it happen.” - Author: Marcus Hughes - Tags: Cardiff, News, Butetown Butetown Community Centre only exists at all because residents fought hard for it. When most of the original Tiger Bay housing was demolished in the late 1950s, the people of Butetown had to win “a lot of arguments” before a community hub was eventually included in plans for the new estate. Run by the Butetown Community Association charity since the 1960s, volunteers have made the centre a place where neighbours meet, families celebrate, and people struggling to afford food turn for support without judgement. That's not to mention the countless people taking part in the classes and projects run within its walls every week. But they are facing a new threat. On August 17, the charity's trustees received a letter from Cardiff Council's Shared Regulatory Services informing them that a noise complaint had been made. On September 9, they were served a formal “noise abatement notice” which means the council has deemed their activities a “statutory nuisance” under the Environmental Protection Act. Volunteers say this hasn’t been an issue previously in their more than 50-year history. None of their activities have changed recently. They have a few evening functions per month, which sometimes include music, but these haven’t increased in regularity, size or volume. The notice has meant they’ve had to place a limiter on their sound system, which cuts out the music on their PA when it plays above a certain volume. Centre manager Carrole Fox now spends evenings manually monitoring the volume with a sound level meter. Carrole has also had to employ SIA-licensed security to keep doors and windows closed during scheduled events, which was very difficult during the summer heatwave. Carrole said those mitigations have led to cancelled bookings, resulting in a loss of income the charity relies upon, on top of their added expenses. They also worry this could lead to them losing their premises licence. > “It’s the licensed activities that pay our bills. It’s our only source of income. We don’t charge for the food pantry, we don’t charge for classes, and we used to charge for room hire but since Covid people tend to meet online. Our only form of income is if we hire out for parties, weddings, or funerals. > “So if we lost our premises licence we would be in trouble.” Last week, the launch event for Caribbean Community Wales (CCW) was repeatedly interrupted by the sound cutting out because it kept hitting the limit. The CCW is an initiative to bring Caribbean people and their allies together to share their culture, learn about their history, and influence the future of the community in Wales. While the notice doesn’t specifically name the complainants, trustees understand the complaints stem from the Anchor Works build-to-rent apartment complex, located 50 metres to the rear of the community centre, where residents began moving in recently. The 432 apartments were developed as a joint venture between real estate investment firm Angelo Gordon and the Ridgeback Group, with rent for a one-bed flat starting at £1,120 per month, according to the operator’s website. --- *Please consider becoming a subscriber to support independent journalism in Cardiff.* [Subcribe](#/portal/signup) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/54/ff/54ff9d2b-26e3-4686-8ccb-8171bd843950/content/images/2026/11/Screenshot-2026-11-04-at-12.25.44.png) The Anchor Works apartments on Dumballs Road were recently completed Trustees say they believe the apartments to be the source of the complaints as it is the only new residential development nearby, and Shared Regulatory Services officers have focused their noise monitoring to the rear of the community centre where the complex is located. Chair of Tiger Bay and The World: Heritage Culture Exchange and committee member Gaynor Legall said she feels the apartments are another example of a development that hasn’t benefitted the community of Butetown. She said: > “Over the last 60 years Butetown has been so-called ‘redeveloped’ and there’s been so many changes. At no time has Butetown really benefitted from those developments. Given that this is a community asset, that it is at jeopardy I think it is very, very sad. > “That it is at jeopardy is apparent I think by the way that the council officers are behaving. > “Every single community asset in the area has been fought for and there have been battles with developers, council – everything. Now this seems to be a frontal attack on something that is important to the community. We cannot afford to lie back and let it happen.” The Butetown Community Association, which runs the centre, formally appealed the abatement notice in September. Trustees argue the Agent of Change principle should have made it the developer’s responsibility to consider any existing noise sources during the planning stages. The Agent of Change principle was introduced in 2018 in a Welsh Government planning policy following the Save Womanby Street campaign. It is designed to protect grassroots venues from issues like this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/54/ff/54ff9d2b-26e3-4686-8ccb-8171bd843950/content/images/2026/11/Screenshot-2026-11-04-at-12.37.00.png) Apartments directly overlook the back window of the centre's function room During the planning process for the Anchor Works development, a planning committee report appears to have identified Butetown Community Centre as a nearby facility, but did not specifically discuss it as a potential noise source. A later acoustic assessment identifies traffic, the automotive training centre, a waste management facility, and the football pitch as a noise source – but doesn’t appear to assess the amplified music from Butetown Community Centre’s licensed events. In a hearing held at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on October 27, the charity’s trustees set out the grounds of their appeal and the noise abatement notice was temporarily suspended. They are now preparing for a follow-up hearing in February. But Lyn Eynon, one of the Butetown Community Association trustees, said this hasn’t eliminated the threat. Volunteers are still having to spend time and financial resources enacting noise mitigation measures as a precaution and to prevent any damage to their defence while the case is still pending. > “This is a location and a community that has long been present in Cardiff and has long had music as an important part of what happens. The community centre is not first and foremost a music venue. A wide range of activities occur there. Music is played at occasional dances, at funerals, at celebrations like weddings and so on. It’s just what the centre does. > “When the centre was rebuilt back in 2011/12, the planning documents explicitly stated that amplified music was one of the things the building had to be designed to support.” The committee is planning to launch a petition in the coming days which this newsletter will link to when it is published. Angelo Gordon and Ridgeback Group did not respond to our request for comment. A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “As this is an active legal case, the council is unable to comment on the matter until the legal process is complete.”