City council refuses to say how much cash it made from summer live gigs

CONCERNS have been raised about Cardiff Council's decision not to reveal the amount of money it made from the Blackweir Live gigs this summer.

- TED PESKETT

The music series, which saw a number of major artists like Stevie Wonder and Alanis Morissette perform at Bute Park in June and July, was criticised by a number of parkgoers and sports teams over its potential impact on the site.

Cardiff Council argued that Blackweir Live would generate tens of millions for the city's economy and money for the local authority itself to use on things like protecting green spaces.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) made a freedom of information (Fol) request to Cardiff Council in July asking for the amount of money it made as a result of the Blackweir Live gig series this year.

However, the council did not respond to the request after 20 working days - a requirement public bodies have to meet when an Fol request is made.

The LDRS asked the council again to respond to the Fol request. After 10 working days of not receiving a response to the request, a complaint was made to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

It was only after the LDRS contacted Cardiff council's press office to say it was writing a story on the issue that an FOI response was sent back stating that no answer would be forthcoming as "the information is commercially sensitive and therefore exempt from disclosure".

The leader of the Liberal Democrats group at Cardiff council, Cllr Rodney Berman, said: "I'm somewhat concerned the council isn't able to be more open and transparent about this.