Cardiff Bay is the Street, intimidated New St Mary residents say
CARDIFF Bay has been described as the “new St Mary Street” of the capital, with some women describing feelings of unease even during the day after large crowds descended on the area.
Hundreds of people gathered over the Easter weekend, prompting extra police to be sent to the scene to tackle what was described as a “massive party” and “like an illegal rave”.
People drank, partied and sang, ignoring social distancing and coronavirus rules still in place which do not allow large gatherings.
Huge piles of rubbish were left behind on the steps of the Senedd, prompting a large-scale clean-up.
One woman who lives nearby told BBC Wales that some men in the crowds were cat-calling women and intimidating people.
Another resident described people urinating in her apartment block complex, and feeling uneasy walking around at night.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Becca Head said: “Usually there’s so many places people can go – at the moment they don’t have those pubs, bars and restaurants to go to when it’s sunny so those crowds go outside.
“You feel that you don’t want to go for a walk around Mermaid Quay when that’s your home. It’s a really difficult situation.”
She added: “On Friday I stayed home, I did go out on Saturday afternoon just for a walk around the barrage with a friend... there were lots of people drinking really heavily, there were a lot of men cat-calling and intimidating people, it was not a nice atmosphere.”
Another resident shared her experience of life in Cardiff Bay, describing how crowds often gathered when the weather was milder.
Silvia Ziliotto said: “The Bay is a good spot for people to gather, with the Senedd and the Roald Dahl Plass, so it’s been quite unpleasant for residents.
“There was obviously a lot of alcohol involved.
“I got home at around 6pm or 7pm on Friday and then I saw plenty of people coming down from Cardiff Bay train station. And most of the people were carrying bags full of alcohol.
“The weather made the situation even worse, being the first sort of miniheatwave, so people thought it’d be nice to gather. I was waiting for the rain.”
A Section 35 dispersal order placed on Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, remains in place, which gives officers and PCSOs the power to exclude a person from the area.
Fencing was put up around the steps of the Senedd after days of people drinking and partying at the Bay.
Good Friday proved the worst, with people claiming up to a thousand revellers were in attendance at a gathering which lasted through the night.
Officers were seen lining up in front of the Senedd building and a further group was at the Pierhead Building as well, dealing with individuals who had attended the gathering.
One image showed one person pinned to the floor by three officers.
The next day the area was left covered in rubbish, prompting outrage from residents across the city.
Silvia said she agreed with other women who had expressed unease at walking around the area, especially in the evening.
Silvia added: “I saw that some people are saying Cardiff Bay has become the new St Mary Street of Cardiff and I completely agree with that.
That’s one of the reasons why the last few nights I’ve stayed in my house, I didn’t want to go out, and sometimes I like to go out for walks in the area especially at sunset.
“But in the last few nights with all those people down there I didn’t want to, because it wasn’t really a place where you could feel safe.
“Which is obviously an issue because you should feel safe where you live.”
Silvia said a number of people had urinated in her block’s garage. She said: “That’s the most annoying thing about it.
“In my building it was disgusting because the garage stank of wee. It’s terrible.”
In her interview with the BBC, Becca Head added that she took an Uber home by 5pm because of “how bad it was” instead of a usual short walk.
“It’s not a nice place to be at the moment,” she said.
“I felt scared. I felt like I was going to be followed and shouted at.
“I’m used to that when on a night out in town, but not in my home in Cardiff Bay.”