October 2026 – County Councillor Reports
Below are the monthly reports from your County Councillors for the Radyr & Morganstown Ward.
Cllr Calum Davies – October report
Received by the Web Team on 1 November 2026
Quarry Petition
Following the flooding incident in Gwaelod y Garth earlier this year, it is essential that we get total transparency as to what led to the flooding, including the quarry’s role in the incident. However, we as a local community can also take action to ensure we get that, which is why I am starting a petition, utilising the authority of the Council to get Accountability, Answers, and Action to learn lessons and prevent repeat occurrences. I will be making calls for specific commitments against these three As when presenting the petition so you in Morganstown – and those further afield – can feel secure in your own homes. If you wish to sign, then please email me and I will let you know how.
Workplace Parking Levy
The Council has opened its consultation on a Workplace Parking Levy, closing on 17 January. I am deeply concerned about the ramifications of this scheme as it is currently modelled on a city-wide basis and would see employers having to pay per parking space for its employees over a certain threshold. For me, this is part of a wider anti-car and anti-job agenda that seeks to extract more money from businesses – although it will likely hit public sector workplaces too – at a time when we see our tax money is not being reflected in the services we receive as it is. You can complete the survey at here. Hard copies of the survey can be requested, via consultation@cardiff.gov.uk.
Land Value Tax
Cardiff Conservatives proposed a motion asking the Council to declare that we are opposed to the introduction of a Land Value Tax in Wales. Early indications are that this much-discussed reform of Council Tax would increase bills across large swathes of Cardiff as land in the capital city would naturally be more valuable than elsewhere (us being the London of Wales). This would hit residents in Radyr & Morganstown particularly badly. It would leverage money on the value of the land even though the vast majority of people do not make money off that value – yet you would be expected to find new money based on that valuation. Sadly, no other parties voted with us. Hopefully, it never rears its head again in future.
The Sidings
During my rounds, I have collected some casework down at The Sidings. Firstly, now that the central green has been adopted by the Council, I requested that it gets a much-needed trim – which it has been now been given. Secondly, there are weeds growing out by the verges as well as protruding out of the paved part of the road – so I have asked for action to be taken on this. Finally, I have had Council officers request a change on Google Maps where a part of Arudur Hen was mislabelled as De Clare Drive. The numbering layout on the estate is hard enough to navigate as it is! Hopefully, we will see resolutions on these soon. Separately, the Council has cleaned a filthy signs pointing into Station Road after my recent request.
Radyr Weir
Alongside other councillors, I joined a meeting with Cardiff Council officers to discuss the long-running project of replacing the rotten wooden steps that led into Radyr Weir. While the Council discourages recreational activities in these waters, it wants to ensure that there is a means for people to safely exit the Taff whether they are in there by accident or on purpose. I hope to be in a position to inform residents on the timetable for this very soon.
Written Questions
Ahead of every Council meeting, I have the chance to table five written questions to the Cabinet. I aim to use up my allocation each and every month to find out information useful to myself as a representative of Radyr & Morganstown but also in my other roles on the Council, including as the Conservatives’ Investment & Development spokesperson and Chair of the Policy Review & Performance Committee. This month I asked:
- Is the swimming pool at Radyr Comprehensive School still on track to open up the public in January 2027?
- Does the Council have any funding streams or programmes to help attract potential post offices to Cardiff wards?
- Would the Cabinet Member agree that three months is sufficient for Welsh Government ministers to make a decision on planning call-ins from when a holding directive has been issued and six months to produce an actual decision?
- Has the Council had any conversations with the Ministry of Justice about adding prisons or prison places to Cardiff to prevent further early releases of criminals?
- Will the Council commit to publishing publicly the results of its review to compliance with the Supreme Court ruling once complete?
Answers can be found here on the written questions section of the Council meeting agenda.
Cllr Helen Lloyd Jones – October Report
Received by the Web Team on 28 October 2026 – covers August, September and October
Morrisons and the Post Office
This has been on-going throughout the summer. People have applied to the Post Office to run a Post Office in Radyr. The Post Office has been working with them to find a suitable location.
Our MP Alex Barros-Curtis has written to the Interim CEO of the Co-op to see if they would host the Post Office since they have plans to extend into the old Spar shop. The Community Council were in talks with the Co-op and had met their Construction Manager (everything came to a stop when the Co-op were hit by a cyber attack and lost a lot of revenue). However, I have put the Construction Manager in touch with our MP. Our MP has also lobbied the current Minister with responsibilities for the Post Office
Both Cllr Davies and I have asked if Cardiff Council could allow Post Offices to operate within the Hubs around the city. In a reply from the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive, they have said the practicalities of allowing hubs to shelter Post Offices are being considered.
Gwaelod y Garth
Awful to see what our neighbours in Gwaelod have gone through this summer. It is NOT in Cardiff Council’s power to stop the blasting. I believe it is the Health and Safety Executive that have this power.
Our MP has raised the matter in Parliament. He has called for quarries near historic mining areas to have transparent risk ratings, stronger monitoring and proper oversight.
What was impressive was the way the Emergency Services and Cardiff Council swung into action. Many people have told me that Cardiff Council were wonderful during those first days after the incident. If anyone wants to follow more, there is a Facebook group ‘Stronger Together Lesser Garth’.
Radyr
Station Road
We have had a meeting this October with officers from Cardiff Council and some of the Community Council Members. The officers explained possible improvements that we might be able to have using some S106 funding to improve the area. The Community Councillors who had been involved in the meeting had another meeting to discuss the options that might be available to us.
Think it helps to know that Section 106 money is given by developers to the Authority to be used to ameliorate the issues caused by the development in that area. There are a set of conditions. So, we here in Radyr can’t get Section 106 funding from development in St Mellons. We can however benefit from the Plasdŵr development.
BUT there are further conditions attached to Section 106 money. You may have noticed we had a lift installed in the Old Church Rooms and a set of toilets. Part of the funding for that came from a Section 106 which had the condition that it had to be for community use.
We are due to have another meeting with the Cardiff Council officers in November. After which the Community Council hopes we will be able to share more information.
Windsor Road
I have asked Cardiff Council if they will look at the right-angle turn on Windsor Road. Concerns have been raised that there is poor visibility on the bend as there are nearly always cars parked on the side of the road (and a measure of pavement parking). The marking of the centre of the road has also disappeared.
Park Road junction with Windsor Avenue
There is a similar problem here where the visibility is poor especially where the footpath has been widened. This is also having repercussions on the bus going up Park Road. Again, I have asked Cardiff Council if they could have a look at the problem.
Golf Club Lane
No change, I did apply (unsuccessfully) for a grant to help the Golf Club improve the Public Right of Way that starts where Windsor Road meets Drovers Way and then keeps to the perimeter of the Golf Club course before emerging on Llantrisant Road. Will have to find another way of funding it.
Golf Club and Trees from the Coed Caerdydd Project
Delighted to see the link I created between the Golf Club and the Coed Caerdydd (Trees of Cardiff) Project develop. The range of trees that Coed Caerdydd is able to offer the Golf Club is exciting. Since many will go along the perimeters we should all be able to enjoy watching the trees mature.
Piling and Plasdŵr and Parc Plymouth
This was a problem in the early summer. I wrote to the Redrow (now merged with Barratts) contact. I have had no irate emails from residents who live closest to Plasdŵr recently.
Val’s Field The playground in the new houses development nearest to Ty Gwyn will be called Val’s Field. Val was a country woman, born and brought up and then lived all her life at Ty Gwyn. She helped so many children learn to ride, she organised the gymkhanas, and the dog show and got the tractors to turn up in the Sidings. Hopefully we can mark this in the 2027 Festival.
Drovers Way Playground
The second solar light has been ordered for the path by the playground. This is completely due to Anthony Jenkins and the Park Radur Management Company PRMC who have worked together with the Plasdwr community fund to enable another light to go in. The last email I received about the light said it should be installed this month (October) Thank you Anthony and the PRMC for making our paths safer in the winter months.
Radyr Woods
Delighted that the rest of the Information Boards are now installed. Wonder who will be the first to tell me what the slight difference between these Boards and the earlier ones is? It was a community effort, the lovely photo of the Boardwalk was taken by Nick Dallimore, I worked with the graphic designer with the maps and the features to be captured. Radyr and Morganstown Community Council funded them.
If you are interested in helping the Radyr Wood Wardens (all volunteers), contact assistantclerk@radyr.wales
The Sidings
Hurray! Hurray! The green central area in estate’s grounds has been adopted by Cardiff Council. The Council has always responded very quickly when there have been problems in the small children’s play area even though it wasn’t on the Council’s land. The big problem was getting the litter bins emptied. Haven’t been made aware of issues with overflowing litter bins for several months, so the adoption is helping
If the land on the way down to the walk beside the river is now Council owned, and if the solar lights in Drovers Way work well this winter, we’ll work to get solar lights beside the zig-zag path.
Junction Terrace, Fisher Hill Way, The Sidings and Radyr Station Car Park.
There were a lot of problems this summer with work going on at the Station Car Park. Have been told by TfW that there will be more disruption come Spring. TfW is trying to find a way of reducing the disruption.
Brynderwen
The storm brought some branches down on Brynderwen. Dealt with
Pant Tawel
This is a very old road. Roads are dated by buildings they pass. So, the Icknield Way is considered the oldest road in Britain because it passes a chain of Iron Age forts. Val Allen called the Golf Club Road (which leads via Ffordd Las to Pant Tawel) the Old Roman Road. There were elderly people in Pentrych calling the other end of Pant Tawel the Old Roman Road so I am pretty sure Pant Tawel is at least a Roman road. But it forks and the right fork heads up to the Garth and the Bronze Age burial site. So, it could be a Bronze Age Road. It is a road we must protect.
There have been 4x4s trying to drive up the lane. This could destroy the sense of antiquity that you get when you enter the lane. Please don’t try it. Walk, it is an incredible experience on foot.
The good news is that a gate has been erected between the Snowdrop Park (the open space by Willow Tree Close) and Pant Tawel to stop dogs and children running out into Pant Tawel lane. There are people living along the road. They do get deliveries and others who don’t always drive as carefully as they should and there have been some near misses. The groundwork for the gate meets the disability standards. The funding came from the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way Project and Radyr and Morganstown Community Council. Thank you to both of them for their help.
Walnut Tree Close and Ash Tree Close the Open Space
The state of the old farm gate leading into the Open Space is not good. Cardiff Council have indicated they will replace it with a new farm gate. It will serve as a reminder of the time which many can still remember when there were fields there.
Morganstown
Radyr Rangers
We are quietly optimistic that we are going to have good news soon. I really admire the tenacity of the Radyr Rangers committee members. They have a dream of what their members deserve, and they have not let it go.
Ravensbrook
Community Councillor Lauren Fear and I knocked on all the doors in Ravensbrook between two visits to the estate this autumn. Nearly every house on the quarry side of the estate told us about horizontal cracks in their houses and how the houses shake every time there is a blast from the quarry. This is obviously something that we should be flagging up with Breedon and the Health and Safety Executive.
Bethel Chapel
No change. I reported the state of the lane beside the chapel this summer.
Springfield Gardens
Residents have voiced concerns. Possible solutions to the churned up grass beside the shop have been suggested and one of the residents has made several helpful suggestions re improving line of vision on leaving the road to get on to the Main Road and a possible arrangement for short term parking. These suggestions are all under consideration by the Council.
The Compound Field beside Mound Field
The proposals to use the Compound Field for staff parking from the Garden Centre are still going through the planning system. We are unlikely to have an outcome this side of Christmas
Radyr and Morganstown
Radyr Comprehensive School Swimming Pool
The County Councillor with responsibilities for education came for a tour around Radyr Comp this month. The swimming pool was visited and discussed. I can’t see the pool opening this side of Christmas. There is corroded equipment in the plant house that will have to be cut in situ and then removed before the new equipment can be brought in. It was a pleasure to meet the new Headteacher, Natalie Richards. May she have a happy and successful time at our Comp.
Flooding under the M4 bridge
Been told this has been referred to the Flooding Department. Nobody complained about flooding under the M4 bridge during the latest downpour. Perhaps the Flooding Department did make improvements this year.
Flooding by Pugh’s Garden Centre
After being pleased last year, this latest downpour found the Garden Centre struggling with the amount of water on the road and in the Car Park. I did check, the pinch points that were cleared last year, looked clear. Know we have been told we have defective drains under that road. Know too that some of the problem was with Welsh Water drains.
It has been a very hot summer and the earth is very dry which means it doesn’t act as a sponge to absorb the rainfall. This meant that all the rainwater was running into the road. The only thing we can do is to try and keep the drains close to us as clear of leaves as possible.
Brynderi Celebrated its 50th anniversary
Was delighted to attend Brynderi’s 50th anniversary and thrilled when Mike and Ann Smith proudly boasted that their daughter had been one of the first pupils in the school. It was so good to have that feeling of a school embedded in the community. Congratulations Brynderi.
Litter Picking
There is an active group of volunteer litter pickers. Please contact peter.fortuneuk@gmail.com for details. .
I have a Facebook page Cllr Helen Lloyd Jones Do please follow me
Police Incidents
When we ask for a regular police patrol, we get told there aren’t enough incidents to justify their presence. Please use swp101@south-wales.police.uk and flag up any incident if you witness one.
Radyr Weir Landing Stage
Attended a meeting this week. The Council was talking in terms of installing a structure to enable people to get out of the river this summer.
My next Councillor’s surgery is in Cicchetti’s on November 14th @10:45 -11.45. No need to book to come along.
Now I’m going to return to Santa’s Elf duties. He will be at the Lighting Festival Dec 4th. (Hope we don’t have to cancel it this year) Santa will be going round the two villages starting at Morganstown Village Hall at 5:30pm and ending near Clos Parc Radur on Dec 11th. Details of his route are on the RMA website. The QR below will enable you to track Santa on the night he’s checking out his route in our community.
Panto in Morganstown Village Hall on Dec 16th. Phone the Community Council if you want tickets.
Web-Team note: Tickets for the panto “Peter Pan” are available from the Festival Website or the Box Office in MGY on Station Road. A full list of Christmas activities planned for Radyr & Morganstown can be found on the dedicated page on this website.