Velindre Cancer Centre Autumn 2024 update

Welcome to the second Acorn/Sacyr UK new Velindre Cancer Centre (nVCC) project news update. Every quarter we will tell you about project progress, what is going on within the community around the build, as well as initiatives that are taking place around the community connected with the project

Culture

Acorn, the consortium behind the new Velindre Cancer Centre, has formed a Community Benefits Governance Board that will lead discussions and make decisions on the wide-ranging community benefits associated with the new Velindre Cancer Centre project.

The Board will meet on a quarterly basis and will consider everything from small grant applications to community volunteering schemes.

As part of the new Velindre Cancer Centre build, Acorn, the consortium that has financially backed the project, is required to fulfil a certain number of Community Benefit Initiatives to benefit the local area, including 100 volunteering days from project staff by the end of the build in 2027.

A collaborative workshop was held in August to generate and shape the community initiatives that will come out of the new Velindre Cancer Centre (nVCC) development.

Nearly 50 stakeholders, people either involved in the build from the Acorn Consortium, Sacyr UK, a partner from an organisation connected with the new facility, or local community leaders, gathered at Cardiff and Vale College to come up with a strategy on how the cancer centre could benefit the local community.

Ideas included potential initiatives such as a Velindre Walking Trail to connect local charities and voluntary organisations in joint community engagement, to a Community Enterprise Hub, which would create a co-operative to look at local procurement opportunities for local businesses.

Nature

Sacyr UK partnered with the Cardiff Rugby Community Foundation on its free Fit, Fed and Fun Camps to allow children to attend a summer camp at Coryton Primary School to become more active and healthier over the summer.

The aim of the initiative was to support young children, many of whom come from deprived areas of the city, to stay fit, eat a healthier diet, and have a fun day out. Children who attended the camps also enjoyed a free, well-balanced and nutritious breakfast and lunch throughout the six-week break, helping to alleviate financial stress on families during the summer holidays.

Anna Davies, Sacyr UK’s Community Benefits Coordinator at the new Velindre Cancer Centre site, said of the initiative:

“It was a pleasure to spend a few hours coaching alongside the team and seeing the children enjoying an outstanding sport in a fully inclusive environment followed by a tasty meal.”

The Fit, Fed and Fun Camps are run in association with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and are delivered by the Community Foundations of Wales’ four professional regional rugby clubs.

Nadine Griffiths of Cardiff Rugby Community Foundation said of the initiative:

“Many of these children are having free school meals and so it’s great to make sure they are getting that meal, and this is one day in the six-week holiday period that we are able to get them out and give them some fun.”

Members of the new Velindre Cancer Centre project team, along with members of its supply chain, also visited Whitchurch High School to take part in its ‘Dirt is Good’ event on 11th July. The event was organised as part of the project’s partnership with Cardiff Commitment.

Year 6 pupils from Whitchurch High School’s cluster primary schools attended as part of their transition to high school and took part in an activity called the Dirt is Good – which enables young people to take action on the environmental and social causes they care about. Pupils worked in groups to plan, develop, and deliver a Dirt is Good Project supported by new Velindre Cancer Centre team members.

Future

The past few months have been a busy time for the project, in that time Acorn, the consortium behind the new Velindre Cancer Centre, has:

• Delivered team building and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workshops to 240 pupils at Risca Comprehensive Schools.
• Put around 60 local people through a Carbon Literacy programme.
• Partnered with Living Magazines and Front Door Communications to provide communications support throughout the three years of the project.
• Held another Meet the Buyer event to engage with local contractors to demonstrate the opportunities available for them on the new Velindre Cancer Centre project site.

Resident drop-ins take place every last Wednesday of the month for the duration of the construction programme.

For more information about the project, visit the website at: newvelindre.info

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