Radyr and Morganstown Local Development Group

Making the voices of Radyr & Morganstown Residents heard on matters of planning and Local Development

The Radyr and Morganstown Local Development Group (RMLDG) is an independent group of local residents which has come together to be informed and take positive action on matters relating to Planning Consent and the revision of the Cardiff Council Local Development Plan, with particular interest in how it will affect both the area of Radyr & Morganstown and those who live here.

6 February 2026

On 27^th November 2025 Cardiff Council approved the Replacement Local Development Plan (2021-36) which was then put on deposit prior to an examination by Welsh Government Inspectors. We are pleased to report that the Plan was in line with our discussions with the Council and rejected the various proposals made by land owners and developers for further land in NW Cardiff to be allocated for development – see our responses to the relevant ‘Candidate Sites’ below. The Examination will start on 9^th June, will last approximately three weeks, and will be conducted partly in person in County Hall but mainly on-line using Microsoft Teams. There will be an initial ‘Pre-Hearing Meeting’ in County Hall on 24^th March, open to members of the public, which will explain the process and provide a draft hearings programme. RMLDG members will be attending that meeting. If you have not already been invited to that meeting you can register your interest by contacting the Programme Officer, Kerry Trueman, on Kerry.trueman@cardiff.gov.uk by 13^th February.  Further details about this meeting can be found by following this link.

The Hearings will consist of three tests – ‘Does the plan fit?’ (is the LDP is consistent with other plans); ‘Is the plan appropriate?’ (is the plan appropriate for the area considering the evidence); and ‘Will the plan deliver?’ (is it likely to be effective). We think the plan is sound but it is likely to be challenged by land owners and developers who have already registered a number of comments and objections. RMLDG members will be attending the Hearings as we think appropriate and we will keep you informed of progress. The Hearings will be open to the public but only those who have made relevant representations during the deposit consultation period (as did the RMLDG) are eligible to participate, others may observe.

If you have any questions on this process or just want to be kept in the loop actively, then join our WhatsApp Group by sending your contact details (mobile number) to this address. Or follow us on Twitter, @RMLDGroup, or Facebook, www.facebook.com/RMLDGroup

As reminder of what we have said, here are our Candidate site responses:

61 Goitre Fawr  – Radyr & Morganstown ward. Fields between Radyr and Rhydlafar – Our Comment

80 Cwm Farm – Radyr & Morganstown ward. Fields NW of Radyr Gardens/Morganstown – Our Comment

23 Plasdwr Uchaf – Pentyrch & St Fagans ward. Fields W of Rhydlafar and Pentrebane Road – Our Comment

60 Radyr Station Car Park. This site is included in the Deposit Plan as a Transportation Proposal, which would be subject to separate assessment and consultation in the future if progressed. Our Comment

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WE HAVE NOT REMOVED THE DETAILS OF OUR CONCERNS AND OBJECTIVES FROM THIS PAGE AS THEY REMAIN RELEVANT. KEEP COMING BACK TO THIS PAGE WHERE WE WILL REPORT ON ANY PROGRESS OR OTHER INITIATIVES.

Our original comments on the individual sites are below.

Key points:

• accessibility and highway capacity – impact on transport infrastructure
  • The existing Plasdŵr development, which primarily exits onto the Llantrisant Road, is already struggling with traffic volumes, even before it is 25% complete. Yet more development in this area is almost inconceivable in this context. Without the implementation of the proposed Metro line through Plasdŵr, for which there is no funding, more development will mean more road traffic even if that is in the form of more buses. The idea that Radyr Station (with access via Heol Isaf) is a viable transport hub for even more development is difficult to envisage.
• buses
  • Even if the assumption is that buses will be a primary means of encouraging residents not to use their cars, there is no current evidence that sufficient buses will be available. At this time the funding for bus services is being cut and the number and frequency of services reduced.
• landscape and environmental impact – sites of special scientific interest and so on
  • There is sufficient concern over what we are losing – have already lost – in the Plasdŵr development but the additional candidate sites sit in areas allocated as “countryside to be enhanced and protected). Look at our information page for more details.
• infrastructure capacity – water, sewerage etc
  • Dŵr Cymru stated that there was sufficient water and sewerage capacity in the then current network at the time Plasdŵr was approved. This has proved spectacularly incorrect with all the additional work that has had to be put in place. Again look at our information page for more details.
• flood risk
  • Building on agricultural land and thereby replacing a natural environment which absorbs water with one that requires significant storm drain capacity is not clever. There have already been problems across the whole of the existing development. Yet more development in this area will worsen the problem.
• air quality
  • More traffic on the Llantrisant Road is not good news, particularly if it is stationary at peak times. Do read this article, which is extracted from our information page.
• relationship to community facilities – schools etc
  • Plasdŵr comes with the promise of some community facilities, including schools, medical facilities and a ‘Commercial Centre’. However, most of these are not scheduled to be started until quite late in the construction of Plasdŵr, which the Council now admits is unlikely to be completed until 2035. If yet more land in NW Cardiff is designated for development, there is a chance that the new allocation will start to be developed before Plasdŵr is completed and we will have houses without the necessary infrastructure.  The only sane conclusion is that Plasdŵr should be completed before adding more chaos and, since that completion date may well be at the end of the RLDP period (2036), there is no need to include new sites as ‘reserved’ or otherwise.

WE HAVE NOT DELETED THE REMAINING PAGES IN THIS GROUP AS THEY STILL CONTAIN THE KEY MESSAGES EMBODIED IN OUR CAMPAIGN TO DATE.