Cardiff Council matters: It is not yet decided if the Senedd elections will go ahead in May as planned or whether they will be postponed for up to 6 months. A UK census will occur on 21/3/21.  Consultation on the budget for 2021/2 is taking place. Consultation on proposed modification to school admission procedures is underway

Highway matters: As previously advised, HGV access to Radyr and m Morganstown will be policed by a camera deployment and it is scheduled to be operative from April. Temporary traffic control on Llantrisant Road near Danescourt will be in place to enable upgrading of the water main. Golf Club Lane is now closed to vehicular traffic and bollards will enforce this. Alterations to the parking regime at Radyr Comp are causing congestion and officers plan a survey to assess this when the school re-opens.

Drovers Way play area: the flood problem is now more frequent and more serious; it would be a waste of money and possibly dangerous to replace the faulty play equipment before the problem is fully understood and resolved. We expect the results of a costly modelling report in late February and it then a matter of devising a solution and finding the cash, which may not be a trivial sum. I will meet the cabinet member shortly to discuss this. 

Local Development Plan: a fresh local development plan has been agreed at Cardiff Council and the consultation on methodology will end soon. Clearly, this is a matter of great importance to our communities.

Mound Field/ Transport for Wales:  I have lobbied widely to secure reasonable legacy benefits and to ensure minimum detriment to local residents. I will continue to do this and I am working with our Community Council to represent all local residents.

Radyr Sidings and Pact matters: I met with some Sidings residents who are alarmed by recent instances of crime and anti-social behaviour; local Senedd members accompanied me and we raised our concerns subsequently with senior police, Taylor Wimpey and Cardiff council.

Waste collection: the additional Christmas collection encountered twin problems of staff absence due to Covid and extremely high levels of refuse put out for collection. Despite delays, the backlog was cleared.
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Local Christmas decorations; many thanks to R+MCC and RMA and local volunteers for brightening our villages and proceeding with local celebrations in the face of adversity.


County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 30th January 2021
E-mail rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk       phone 20842764

We are pleased to share these announcements from the Radyr And Morganstown Association about Remembrance Sunday services:

With Wales still being in Lockdown, Remembrance Sunday this year – on 8th November – will be very different.  For many years we have witnessed a large turnout around the War Memorial in Heol Isaf, followed by a service in Christ Church.  However, with gatherings forbidden and churches closed, neither is possible.  Instead, there will be brief service at the War Memorial starting around 10:45am, conducted by local Ministers Rev’d Vicki Burrows and Rev’d Judith Holliman. Please do not attend this service.  It will be broadcast live via YouTube and everyone is encouraged to join in that way.  Details of the service and the YouTube link can be found at this News Item on the Community Website.

For those who would like to join in a service on Sunday, Rev’d Vicki will be conducting a Remembrance Sunday Eucharist Service via Zoom starting at 09:30.  Details can be found on the Parish Website, here.

In addition, the Rev’d Judith Holliman of Radyr Methodist Church will be conducting a Zoom service at 6pm, when they will be 'Remembering With Poetry'.  If you would like to attend the service, please e-mail Rev'd Judith for the Zoom link: judith.holliman@methodist.org.uk​

Highway matters: work on the three new zebra crossings and 20mph signage is roughly half completed. The temporary junction at the southern end of Heol Isaf is close to being replaced by the planned signalised junction. The consultation process on possible closure of Golf Club Lane is nearly complete.

Bus Service: At the request of residents, I pointed out to the commercial director of Cardiff Bus that the last service to R+M leaves Cardiff at 18.35. He agreed, effective Monday 19th   that the last two 63 buses terminating at Danescourt would continue to R+M; they leave Cardiff at 19.05 and 20.05.

Garden Waste: despite previous objections, once again garden waste collections are suspended until March 2021. Residents who wish to object can add their names to this petition:https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/continue-with-garden-waste-collections-in-cardiff

Parking at Radyr Primary: As foretold, the monitoring of parking by fixed cameras in Park Road is starting immediately.

Drainage issues: Cardiff Council drainage team was successful in its application for funding from Welsh Government to undertake the hydraulic assessment and construction of a preferred engineering option to resolve flooding problem at the Drovers Way play area. We will meet on site to progress this. I remind residents to monitor local highway drains and report any which are blocked.

One Planet Cardiff:  last week saw the launch of this initiative is aimed at making Cardiff “carbon neutral” by 2030.

Planning matter: near neighbours are objecting to the planned Suds (sustainable urban drainage system) for the north area of the Plasdwr development. They have raised a well-supported petition and I am working with them.
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County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 18th October 2020
E-mail:  rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk   phone 20842764

September Report from County Councillor Rod McKerlich
Highway Issues: Work has started to install the 3 zebra crossings and 20mph signage on the main road; it will take about 12 weeks.  I have discussed various problems arising at the junction of Heol Isaf and Llantrisant Road; the contractor was instructed to make some changes. The officer in charge of the HGV “gateway” intends a leaflet drop about the scheme and the intended completion date. Fixed cameras in Park Road will facilitate prosecution of motorists flouting parking restrictions at Radyr Primary. Following a resident’s representation, I have asked for a Disability Access assessment of the pavements in Morganstown.

Drainage issues: recent heavy rainfall is a reminder of the need to ensure that drains are not choked and are in good order. Please check your local drains and advise me of any which are blocked. The drainage issue at Drovers Way play area is unresolved.

Youth Issues: The police and Cardiff Council officers are joined in an effort to stop late night carousing on the riverbank. I attended a joint meeting of police, council officers, County Councillors and concerned residents to discuss vandalism in the Forest Farm area where costly damage has occurred; various measures were discussed, as were possible funding routes.

Royal Mail; No decision has been made about the local delivery office but it remains out of use; I received the following helpful advice when pressing for an update: “Should one your constituents not be at home when we attempt to deliver an item first time, we do attempt to deliver to a neighbour. However, if this is not possible I would like to reassure you that customers do not have to visit a Customer Service Point to collect these items if they are not able to or do not wish to do so. Customers can arrange a redelivery free of charge on a day that is convenient for them (including Saturdays), or Royal Mail can deliver the item to a different address within the same postcode area. This service can be arranged by calling the number on the “Something for You” card we leave or by visiting www.royalmail.com/redelivery.”

Metro: Work is underway to electrify the valley lines, which run through Radyr Station. When completed, rail users will have better trains each with higher capacity, running more quickly at the rate of 12 per hour instead of 6 per hour. This is most welcome but we have asked that, as work will be done mostly at night, it should be mindful of nearby homes with sympathetic working practices; I have asked for a contact who will deal speedily with any infractions of this code.

Rough sleepers: any visit to Cardiff city centre will reveal that rough sleeping has almost disappeared in response to the efforts of Council officers aided by concerns over covid-19.
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County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 21 September 2020
E-Mail rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk      phone 20842764

Highway Issues: Work to install three new zebra crossings on Heol Isaf/ Tynant Road will start on September 18th. A fixed camera will be installed near Radyr Primary to monitor compliance with parking regulations; at Bryn Deri, there was a suggestion of making Caer Craig a “controlled” area at start and finish of school day, which would restrict access to registered users at these times. I welcome comments on this idea. A permanent scheme is planned outside Radyr Comprehensive School as part of the improvements that will be delivered ultimately through the proposed S106 scheme. I have reported further concerns about the temporary junction at the south end of Heol Isaf. The consultation about 20mph speed limits within R+M has concluded and the regulatory order is approved having removed non-adopted roads from its applicability.

Central area drains: recent heavy rain caused a “river” to run along Heol Isaf and down the lane at the rear of the shops. The lane is unadopted but I asked for an inspection of central drains followed by clearance of any, which were blocked.

Water Mains issue:   to enable work on a water main, 4-way traffic lights will operate at the Danescourt roundabout throughout September starting on the first; the lights will be manned during the day to minimise disruption to traffic.

Royal Mail sorting office: I am aware of local concern about possible serious inconvenience arising from possible closure of Gwaelod depot. With support from community council, I have made representations and I was told that no decision had been made, If closure is planned I will be consulted again in advance. I was given some (available) tips on how to avoid the need to go there to reclaim mail.

Drovers Way Play Area: the CCTV survey revealed the cause of corroding play equipment and flooding of tennis club. I regret that the solution is not easy to determine and it will be expensive. There is no immediate possibility of installing new play equipment and I regret this.

Street names: I have agreed some new names for new streets in Plasdwr after consulting community council
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Problems near Radyr Station and Taff Trail; attendance by local police and transport police is at a higher level but it needs greater parental involvement to resolve these issues.

Refuse collection; this continues to need my requesting remedial collections on a regular basis

County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 25th August 2020

e-mail rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk      'Phone 20842764

Play area: Residents of Parc Radur will know that the waterlogged play area became the source of severe flooding of the tennis club and a house on Heol Isaf; severe damage was done to the tennis courts. CCTV inspection has revealed the various causes of this flooding and it is clear that major work (in addition to that already determined) is needed to deal with these. I walked the area with members of the appointed sub-committee and the tennis club; we made strong recommendations to Council officers and now await their response. We are very grateful for the various contributions, which have been promised, but these may be dwarfed by the consequent costs. In fairness, Cardiff Council did not design or install the existing drainage system.

Other Play areas: those at Fisher Hill Way and Cwm Farm are open or about to open.

Highway Issues: work will start in late August to install the three new Zebra Crossings on Heol Isaf and create the 20mph zone. The much-needed pavement on Windsor Road is complete. The closure of Golf Club Lane has been slightly deferred. I conferred with highways officers about the configuration of the temporary slip road at the junction of Heol Isaf and Llantrisant road. It was clearly dangerous and additional signage was needed, as was the strimming of the vegetation, which obscured the line of vision. Officers offered to improve social distancing on the north side of Station Road by removing the car parking spaces and installing bollards. I declined, as we need these car parking spaces. That suggestion could be workable if parking time limits were enforced but this would require a meter system. I welcome comments on the judgment I made.

Radyr Library: is now partially reopened

Waste Management: several missed collections were due to relief crews collecting but sometimes due to refuse vehicles being obliged to return to the depot due to unusually high amount of refuse.  Residents can now access recycling centres. Anti-fly tipping measures are now reinstated and you should only employ properly authorised companies to dispose of domestic refuse.

Youth issues: I have received many comments about the large gangs who have roamed some areas of the ward. The community council and I have discussed this with the local police (at senior level) and the transport police; we are not demonising our local youth or those who come here to socialise with them. However, we cannot condone vandalising cars, dumping of large quantities of rubbish on private land and disturbing residents in the early hours.  As a community, we must rely on our police to control this and we must ask parents to support the police in this regard.

Taff Trail Signage: I have asked for more signage to assist the many users of our  footpaths  on both sides of the River Taff
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County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 27th July 2020
E-mail: rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk     phone 20842764

Traffic Matters:  ongoing work at the south end of Heol Isaf is described by Plasdwr as:

“From w/c March 2nd our contractors, Alun Griffiths, will start removing the current Heol Isaf roundabout and replacing it with a new, four-way signalised junction as part of the infrastructure improvements for Plasdwr. While this work is taking place, the two original lanes on Llantrisant Road will be closed and traffic will use the newly constructed lanes on the northern side of the carriageway, where a temporary mini roundabout will be created allowing traffic to travel as normal along Llantrisant Road. Traffic travelling from Heol Isaf will be able to use the temporary roundabout to turn right onto Llantrisant Road, heading towards Llantrisant. To head left towards Cardiff, traffic from Heol Isaf will use the newly constructed slip road to bypass the roundabout altogether. There will be no left turn at the roundabout for traffic coming from Heol Isaf. These arrangements are expected to be in place until the new junction is complete in summer 2020”

The closure for 11 weeks of Heol Pant y Gored will mainly inconvenience residents of Pentyrch and Creigiau but it will add to traffic on Heol Isaf; this could have been managed better with some local consultation. Cardiff Council has issued a white paper on traffic issues and it contains some good ideas while suffering from no information on how to pay for necessary measures such as the Metro.

Council budget: this will be set at the end of February and a consultation document is available in Radyr Library.

Footpath 41: this footpath from Plasdwr to the steps on Heol Isaf near Radyr Comp is well used but the surface is in a poor state. I have requested an inexpensive upgrade.

Radyr Library: In addition to existing range, it now hosts “digital sessions” each Friday between 2 and 4

Planning application 20/00187: R+MCC and I are working with community representatives from Danescourt and Llandaff to oppose this application for De Braose Close; it would impact Radyr Woods.

Coronavirus: Cardiff Council is working with Public Health Wales; I can provide a link

Bryn Deri:  Staff and pupils are to be commended on another fine inspection report all our local schools are in green category

Welsh Water: investigation of the local water network may result in brown discolouration of tap water; this is harmless but I can give contact details to any concerned resident.

Storm Dennis: the cricket ground is flooded and various trees have been blown b down but we are lucky to have suffered less than near neighbours. We thank council staff and emergency workers who gave quick responses.

County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 14th February 2020
E-mail : rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk      phone: 20842764






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Traffic Matters: it is envisaged the 3 new zebra crossings on our main road will be installed by end May unless there is difficulty in getting a contractor who can meet that schedule. The TRO and subsequent work to set a 20mph limit in R+M excluding Parc Radur will be completed at the same time. I am in discussion with Council officers about a possible means of making it much less attractive for HGVs to make illicit use of our main road; checks on feasibility are well advanced. As previously advised I have asked that a protocol be set to ensure proper consultation before developers or utilities disrupt pedestrians or motorists to a significant extent. I requested NO2 monitoring on our main roads and 2 testing points are now operational; they confirm that current levels are well below the concern level and it will be useful to see the effects (beneficial or otherwise) of proposed changes to traffic management. If this testing were augmented by testing pf particulate levels, it would be even more useful. I have pointed out flooding points on Llantrisant Road near Plasdwr and Goitre Fach developments. There is a current public consultation on the longstanding need for a pavement on the west side of the Windsor Road bend because of concerns expressed by R+MCC and me.

Electoral Review: Radyr and Morganstown has been well served by Cllr Marion Drake and, since 2008, by me but we were both serving over 5000 demanding electors, well over the Cardiff average, Successful representations by R+MCC and  me, resulted in a decision that from 2022 this ward will elect 2 County Councillors.

Green waste missed collection: Christmas trees will be collected on your area’s scheduled garden waste collection. If residents were able to chop their tree up, we would ask that they do and place it into their green bin for collection. However, if they are unable to do this, Christmas trees should be placed alongside their bin for collection.

Plasdwr hydrology concerns: I have been raising longstanding concerns about localised flooding in Parc Radur and the relevance of these concerns to planned development in Plasdwr. I have now raised this again and demanded that this issue be discussed at planning committee as a matter of urgency.

Budget consultation: Outlines of Cardiff Council budget for 2020-21 are available and public consultation is invited

LDP review:  November Cardiff Council approved consulting on a full review of the LDP (essentially to create a new LDP) and a full LDP review is the right approach in view of the failures of the current one! I spoke in favour of a full review pointing out these failures.

Changes to bus service to R+M: When I became County Councillor in 2008, the service was 2 per hour and went to Cardiff via Fairwater and Canton, taking 45 minutes. I lobbied Cardiff bus for a better service and  3 services going direct with a journey time of 23 minutes was introduced. Regrettably, this has not produced greater usage of the bus service. I agree that cutting services is not a sensible way of encouraging bus usage but I am an opposition Councillor with little control over the Council budget to offer a subsidy. While Cardiff Council owns Cardiff Bus, it is run at arm’s length and has been told to remove the annual deficit. I append the reply I got when I queried proposed reduction in service:
“In a round of changes in 2019 we planned to reduce the 63 Radyr service back to 2 buses/hour – from a financial performance of the route that is all it could withstand.  We didn’t implement the change at that time as we were awaiting the commencement of the S106 Goitre Fach Farm to start so would have been 2 changes in quick succession.  As with all things the Goitre Fach Farm date moved and we now a fixed start date which is a little later than we had expected. 
The information is here; https://www.cardiffbus.com/new-62-route-and-changes-service-63  
Rather than having a change to put the Radyr service to a frequency that finically it could sustain, we held slightly to not have two changes in succession that would have been unnecessarily disruptive so delayed the planned reduction to 2 buses per hour. 

New first school on Plasdwr; following consultation, the recommendation is to proceed with a two-stream school as set out I the original proposal.

Graffiti/ fly tipping; A number of incidents occurred and were resolved speedily One kissing gate was repaired and another awaits repair.

Library events: The next litter pick is on Monday 20th January between 10 and 11.30.There are a number of regular events in the library including coffee mornings, bridge lessons and a bridge club. Check next time you visit the library.
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County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 16th January 2020
e-mail  rmckerlich@cardiff.gov.uk         phone 20842764

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