Radyr and Morganstown Community Council, along with our excellent County Councillor, Rod McKerlich, have been working with Cardiff Council to develop a number of ideas with regard to road safety and highway improvements across our community. Indeed, Cllr McKerlich has been working hard on many of these ideas for many years with considerable success.
This work has resulted in the proposals to build three new zebra crossings along our main road; the closure of Golf Club Lane to traffic; proposals to install a section of pavement on Windsor Road - and, of course, Cardiff Council has recently consulted on its proposal to introduce a 20mph speed limit throughout Radyr and Morganstown (apart from Parc Radur, which will be included in a separate scheme, in due course). We have also discussed, with Cardiff, possible improvements to the Station Road area. To this end, we have agreed to present Cardiff with ideas which could improve road safety at this location, whilst also improving Station Road's role as one of our community hubs. In doing so, we are mindful of the fact that changes to the area would depend on Cardiff Council having funds available to undertake the work. Those funds could come from Plasdwr Section 106 money, or from other sources - but nothing can be guaranteed at this stage. Even so, we see our role as presenting Cardiff Council with a vision for Station Road. It will be for Cardiff to decide whether or not to implement it. We have today, therefore, invited residents and businesses located on, or near, Station Road, Windsor Crescent, King's Road and King's Avenue to respond to a number of ideas developed by the Community Council. These relate mainly to those roads - as well as the approach to Radyr Station. The proposals deal with parking, possible one-way systems, the use of Station Road by the community - and pedestrian safety near Radyr Station. Our initial survey has been sent only to residents and businesses directly affected by the proposal. Depending on the outcome of the initial survey (which closes at the end of February), we will then consider arranging a wider survey for Radyr and Morganstown residents. NB: If you live on any of the relevant streets, but haven't received a letter from us, please contact our office. As always, we will keep you posted. Update (3 March): the survey is now closed.
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Reliable sources have told us that the new tenant set to occupy the old Spar site on Station Road will be the Coop.
We will let you have further details as soon as we have them. What do you think? Are you pleased? Were you hoping for something else? Let us know by leaving a comment, below. Many residents of Radyr and Morganstown will be all too familiar with the roadworks at the junction of Heol Isaf and Llantrisant Road. The traffic cones; the temporary lights; the random traffic queues; the occasional minor alteration to the route; the big yellow tractors; the bumpy roads... Will it ever end?! Sometimes, it can look as if the roadworks are almost done. We can see the shape of the new junction. Posts have been installed, to hold the new road signs. Kerbstones have been laid... Surely, all that remains is to install the proposed traffic lights, connect them to the electricity supply, lay some more tarmac - and we're done? However, there is much more to this than meets the eye. We spoke with Plasdwr about progress - and this is what we've learned. This is not a simple task. On the contrary, this is highly complex. Connecting Plasdŵr to life's vital services is going to take some time. And it will happen at several places along Llantrisant Road, between Radyr and the western boundary of Plasdŵr. To make matters even more complicated, Plasdŵr will involve several house-building companies - all working to their own timescales. And as each tranche of houses is developed, it will need its own supply of water, electricity, gas, communications - and a sewerage system. And, from time to time, an SUD will be required (a sustainable drainage system) which will involve roadside works - and associated pipes and services that may also need to cross Llantrisant Road. As you can see from the list of vital services, this work will involve many different companies (such as Welsh Water, BT and several other utility providers). All working to different timescales - and all needling the appropriate planning permissions and licenses from the appropriate authorities. So the bad news is that we face many years of roadworks along Llantrisant Road, with the Heol Isaf / Llantrisant Road junction being the first of many - to be followed closely by changes to the Clos Parc Radyr junction. Both of these junctions will end up controlled by traffic lights. Cardiff Council has assured us that the timing of the lights will be adjusted and fine-tuned to give Radyr and Clos Parc Radyr residents enough of a green-light period to move out onto Llantrisant Road. We will monitor this in due course. However, when the traffic lights are installed at the end of Heol Isaf, they won't be switched on until Cardiff Council agrees it is the right time to do so. They may, for instance, want the Clos Parc Radur traffic lights in place as well, before both sets of lights are turned on (to better control traffic flow). As we wait for them to be switched on, we may see a temporary roundabout installed at the Heol Isaf junction. And the timing of all this? It's difficult to predict, apparently - given the number of services to be installed at several locations - and the number of companies involved. We can, however, except to have to wait until mid 2020 before the majority of the Heol Isaf junction is completed. That's another 12 months of roadworks! Not the best news, regrettably. And with the Clos Parc Radur junction works yet to begin, we can expect to be navigating these roadworks for a long time to come. And what will this lead to? Plasdŵr will bring more traffic, that's for sure. But we are promised:
Only time will tell, however, to what extent these developments will help ease traffic in and around Radyr and Morganstown. There will be some positive developments. Including four new schools. And Plasdŵr’s propsed 'district centre' will offer employment opportunities - as well as providing us with a new retail centre, with a range of large and smaller stores to serve both Plasdŵr and its neighbouring communities. So we won't have to travel as far to visit a large supermarket, to stock up on life's essentials. The district centre will be focused around a central square with community, health and leisure facilities - with the potential for new cafés, restaurants and pubs. Although work on the deisgn concept has begun (see here), work on the final design for the centre has yet to be started - with construction a number of year’s away. At the end of the day, Plasdŵr will be a 15 to 20 year development. Not all of it will be built on our doorstep - so we won't see all of the mud and tractors - but life in our corner of the capital city will change for ever. In the meantime, if you have a problem (with mud, noise, mess, stones in the road, faulty temporary traffic lights etc) or any other concerns (such as what will happen to the remaining hedgerows and trees) you can contact Katie Powis, Community Liaison Manager, for Plasdŵr on 07741 194199 or email katie.powis@plasdwr.co.uk. And, of course, you can attend the drop-in sessions that Plasdŵr arranges in Radyr, from time to time. In the meantime, if you have any comments about this article - or about Plasdŵr, you can post them below. Councillor Huw Onllwyn Jones has written to Spar Stores, owners of the lease for the old Spar shop site on Station Road, urging them to think of the community's needs as it seeks a new occupier for the site. If we receive a reply we'll publish it.
The message to Spar was as follows: Dear Spar I am writing to you on behalf of Radyr and Morganstown Community Council, located in Radyr, Cardiff.. We understand that you own the lease for the site on Station Road, in Radyr, which housed a Spar store for many years. This is now empty, of course, following the closure of the store. I understand that you are now seeking a new occupier for the site. The purpose of this email is simply to let you know that the community council is very keen to see the site being used by a business which would benefit the daily lives of as many people as possible in our community. Our high street is small, so the nature of the company occupying the Spar site will be significant. Clearly, the future use of the site depends on who can be attracted to occupy it. And clearly, for you, this is a business venture from which you need to make a profit. Even so, we hope that some thought can be given to wide and frequent community benefit when the decision is made with regard to the future use of the space. We hope, therefore, that the above can be considered by you as you take this matter forward. In the meantime, please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you with your developments in Radyr (we did, for instance, support the opening of the Radyr Tap, the new micro-pub on Station Road). I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you - and best wishes Cllr Huw Jones In the meantime, what would you like to see coming to the Spar site? Take part in our survey to let us know! We responded to planning objectives prepared by consultants working on the Plasdwr District Centre (the proposed, very large retail park close to Llantrisant Road). Here's an illustration of how the site might look - as shown on the Plasdwr website. How does it look to you? Nice and welcoming? Or bleak and characterless? Here's our response:
Town and Country Planning Acts 1990 (As Amended) Partial discharge of condition 44 (District Centre design code) of 14/02733/mjr Please see below comments by Radyr and Morganstown Community Council with regard to the design of the District Centre. The centre is likely to be used very frequently by the residents of Radyr and Morgansrtown, thus our great interest in the site. We would like to see:
We hope you find these comments to be of use - and we would be very happy to discuss these views with the relevant companies and authorities. With best wishes. Huw Onllwyn Jones Vice Chair Radyr and Morganstown Community Council |
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