News

Jazz hands waving! Helen Lloyd Jones, Vice Chair of Radyr and Morganstown Community Council, ran her first Marathon this November in New York. The photo shows Helen waiting to start on Staten Island. The bridge behind is Verrazzano Narrows Bridge.  It’s the longest suspension bridge in America.

The marathon goes through all five boroughs of New York. It starts on Staten Island, then over the bridge into Brooklyn. Ten miles later on, it goes into Queens, then into Manhattan, before making almost a detour into the Bronx and finally emerges in 5th Avenue where it finishes in Central Park.

Helen made this super-human effort (she admits to being over seventy!) to raise money for a charity she helped to found called Both Parents Matter. It helps parents and grandparents stay in their children and grandchildren’s lives, if the child’s parents separate.

If you’d like to sponsor her, the link is www.viginmoneygiving.com/HelenLloydJones1

In brilliant sunshine, the Community of Radyr & Morganstown turned out in their hundreds to commemorate Remembrance Sunday 2019.  A wreath was laid on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen by Lt Col Guy Clarke, Deputy Lieutenant of South Glamorgan.  This was followed by wreaths laid by Lady Helen Lloyd Jones on behalf of Radyr & Morganstown Community Council and Dr David Silver on behalf of the Radyr & Morganstown Association.  Many further wreaths were then laid on behalf of many sectors of the Community.

The service at the War Memorial, organised by Ian Ogden, was conducted by the Reverend Vicki Burrows, Vicar of the Parish of Radyr.  The City of Cardiff Melingriffith Brass Band accompanied the singing of the National anthems.

At the service in Christ Church which followed,  Rev’d Burrows gave a moving sermon on the theme of sacrifice based on a past experience of conducting the funeral of an elderly brave airman who had been shot down during the war.

Overall, a fitting tribute by the local Community.

Plasdwr have published an update which confirms that the works around the Llantrisant Road junction with Heol Isaf and will continue until summer 2020.

For full details see https://plasdwr.co.uk/llantrisant-road-works-at-the-junction-with-heol-isaf-radyr/

If you would like to comment on this topic, or see comments already made, follow this link to the RMA Facebook page, the R&M Hub.  ( If you have not already got one, you will need to set up a Facebook account to access that link.  Guidance on how to do this can be found be be found on the Facebook Help Page.)

The Reverend Vicki Burrows, who was appointed as the new Vicar of the Parish of Radyr in February this year is bringing new energy and ideas to our Parish community.  Having spoken at the Association General Meeting in June, she is now introducing a range of new services and activities including Baptisms (Christenings) in modern and accessible language, Christingle Services at both churches during their Christmas Tree Festivals, a new Baby and Toddler Group and a series of Concerts involving professional musicians and local schools. The Parish has also just appointed a new Director of Music and would love to see new members joining the Parish Choir.  (Details of events can be found at /parish/events/).

Vicki is also organising a trip to the Holy Land in May 2020.   So far over 40 people have booked – there are only a few places remaining.

The Rev’d Burrows will also be giving the address at the traditional Remembrance Sunday service in Christ Church on 10^th November following the community act of remembrance at the war memorial in Heol Isaf.

Essential works will be continuing throughout the autumn to install drainage and complete carriageway construction across Llantrisant Road, and two-way lights will continue to be in operation for the duration of these works.

From Saturday October 26th the lights between the Heol Isaf roundabout and the petrol station will be in place 24 hours a day for approx. 4 weeks. We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused, our contractors are working hard to complete this work asap.

Abigail Cole from Radyr Comprehensive School was one of the winners of the competition organised by the Royal Mint Experience to get designs for each community along the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way so they can be collected in a downloadable Passport.

The design is beautiful. If you are birdlovers, you will recognise that she has drawn a kingfisher. Apparently her family often go down to the Taff Trail and they see kingfishers, so she has captured the kingfisher, the Taff, the hills by the Garth and Castell Coch.

The Penrhys Pilgrimage Project hope to use Abigail’s design on the Information Boards in Radyr and Morganstown. They also have  a dream of some community art at the start of the walk where they would like to see each place along the way named. They do have a first draft and they hope they can use the children’s designs in that artwork.

Cllr Helen Lloyd Jones and Abigail Cole

On the back of a request from the R&M Community Council, the Radyr & Morganstown Association asked its members a short while ago for ideas for improvement projects that might be funded by any money that might come available to spend in the local community.  Whilst the emphasis was on capital projects such as improvements to public open spaces, community facilities and local highway improvements, we were interested in anything else that could improve our quality of life.  Responses were requested by 8th September.

We had a good response and we thought it would be of wider interest to list the ideas that were submitted.  They are in this report.

All the ideas have been sent to the R&M Community Council for amalgamation with the ideas they had accumulated.  They will then submit a prioritised list to Cardiff Council.  Of course, not all the ideas will be eligible for funding under what is known as ‘Planning Gain’ but we hope that those that cannot will find their way onto an agenda somewhere.

Do contact us on rma@radyr.org.uk if you have any comments on the listed ideas, or if you have further ideas that you think should have been put forward.  And, if you would like the opportunity of being consulted about this or any other topic in the future, let us know (same address) and we will be happy to add your name to our address list.

Transport for Wales have said that residents entitled to a free bus pass must renew this concession before 31st December 2019, when existing passes will expire.

For details of how to apply on line, or to download the application form. visit www.tfw.wales/travelcards.

Evidence of age and address is required.

More misery for residents. Plasdŵr have announced yet more roadworks on the Llantrisant road in the same areas as before. Details can be found in the latest Highways update from Plasdŵr. This is round the junction of Llantrisant Road with Heol Isaf and around the garage. Two bits of this work will involve 24hr traffic light control, not just within school hours.

Work will start on the evening of the 28 August and continue until 12 October 2019.

There were some excellent GCSE results at Radyr Comprehensive School today, with a fantastic 72.5% of pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades including Maths and English.

The hardworking pupils achieved highly across the board with a Capped Points Score of 400.  87% of pupils achieved C or better in either English or English Literature. In Mathematics/Numeracy, 73% of pupils achieved at least a C. An impressive 80% of pupils achieved a C in Science and performance in Intermediate WBQ was also strong, with 72% of pupils achieving WBQ National

The school are particularly pleased with 34% of pupils achieving at least 5 A/A* grades.

A phenomenal 30 pupils achieved 5 or more A* grades, with 18 of these achieving 8 or more A*s

Cardiff Council are looking for potential capital (infrastructure) projects in Radyr & Morganstown.  What do you think any money that comes available should be spent on?  These could be improvements to public open spaces, community facilities, local highway improvements, or anything else that could improve our quality of life.  Please email us rma@radyr.org.uk with any ideas or thoughts you may have on this topic by 8 September 2019.

Radyr Comprehensive School are celebrating another excellent set of A level results from their sixth form students.

This year, a staggering 38 year 13 students achieved at least 3 A grades with 21 students achieving at least 4 A grades.

Overall provisional percentage figures are as follows:

• A*A % – 48%
• A*B % – 71 %
• A*C % – 87%
• A*D % – 96%
• A*E % – 99.6%

The school have also achieved their best ever set of results at AS level.

Congratulations to all the pupils and staff at the school

Thank you to all who came and enjoyed the sunshine at the Parish of Radyr’s recent Circus themed Fun Day. The variety of stalls offered many things to see and do and the BBQ Team sold out of food before the event was finished.

The day also raised a total of £2,771 towards the ongoing work of the Parish and our partners.

Find out more about the Parish of Radyr including current projects and Service times on their webpages.

Parish Fun Day 2019

View this gallery on Flickr

At the final meeting of the 18/19 Association Festival Committee on Thursday 11th July, David Silver, Chair of the R&M Association, presented Nina Rice, Senior Fundraiser, Wales, for the Charity Action for Children, with a cheque for £12,000.  This was the amount raised by the R&M Community over the past year.  Nina thanked the Association and the Festival Committee for choosing to sponsor the Charity and for raising such a large sum.  Working with everyone over the year had been quite a lot of work – but also great fun!  The money would be put to good use.

The meeting was also an opportunity to introduce the Association’s Charity for 19/20 – Tenovus.  David Silver said he look forwarded to starting work with the Charity in September.

Sunday June 30^th was a good day for walking, so intrepid adults, children and dogs met up at the back of Cardiff Castle and proceeded to walk the 4.8 miles back to Christchurch in Radyr along the Taff trail.

They had to navigate their way through a number of cyclists and other walkers to make it safely, first to Hailey Park for refreshments and then on to Christ Church for a scrumptious strawberry tea.

This event was organised by the Radyr and Morganstown Friends of Tenovus to raise funds. Over £2000 has been pledged so far but we are hopeful of more to come.

A huge thank you to all those that participated.

Why not Follow the Radyr and Morganstown Friends of Tenovus on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTenovus/

News from R&M Speedwatch:

Go Safe Cardiff have now given permission for Bryn Derwen (30mph speed limit) and Cae’r Graig (20mph limit) to be included in the Community Speedwatch areas as well as the currently approved areas of Heol Isaf, Radyr and Ty Nant Road, Morganstown.

Community Speedwatch is a locally driven initiative, a scheme operated by local volunteers in partnership with South Wales Police and GoSafe https://gosafe.org/community-speed-watch Members of the community join together to monitor speeds of vehicles, using speed detection devices. Vehicles exceeding the speed limit are referred to the Police with the aim of educating drivers to slow down.

If you are able to spare an occasional half hour to keep our community safe, volunteers are still welcome. Please contact Richard.Davies8@south-wales.pnn.police.uk

Here is the current information provided by Cardiff Council.

The Weight restrictions on Heol Isaf will remain in place.

Vital drainage works will be carried out on Llantrisant Road

Llantrisant Road – from the junction with Heol Isaf to Cardiff Road – will be closed in both directions from 9.30am on July 22nd for approximately three weeks, so vital drainage works can be carried out on the carriageway.

During the closure, the contractor will be carrying out work between 8am and 10pm from Monday to Saturday and from 9am until 10pm on Sundays.

The three week closure is the maximum amount of time that the road will have to close and if the work is completed earlier, residents, businesses and the general public will be notified in advance via an update press release. The work has been scheduled during the summer holiday, as research shows that after children break up from school, the traffic flow reduces significantly.

The Council has put plans in place to minimise disruption to residents and businesses.

These include:

The weight restriction on Heol Isaf will remain in place (except for the usual access arrangements).

The Council and our contractor have contacted businesses in the area and access will be maintained for both residents and businesses living or operating on Llantrisant Road from the junction with Heol Isaf to the junction with Heol St Y Nyll.

Residents who live in the Rhydlafar Estate will also be given access in and out of their properties, enabling them to travel along Croft-Y-Gennau Road to get to the south of the city.

All emergency services have been notified about the closure and protocols will be put in place to ensure that these services can operate effectively.

All bus operators have also been informed about the closure and any amendments to any services which usually use this route will be clearly advertised on the bus operator’s website.

Access for both pedestrians and cyclists will be maintained throughout the road closure via a temporary bridge.

All electronic signs (VMS) will be used within the Cardiff and South Wales Trunk Road Agency (SWTRA) areas, so that advanced notice is given to all road users prior and during the road closure. A signposted diversion route will be in place. Those travelling north out of the city will be advised to travel along the A48 or use Heol Isaf to access the A470.

Those travelling into Cardiff will be advised to use the M4 motorway. All HGV traffic to current development sites will be diverted along the A48 from Western Avenue.

On Monday, 17^th June, Vicki Burrows, who was installed as the new Vicar of the Parish of Radyr in February, spoke at a General Meeting of the R&M Association.  The theme of the talk was ‘My journey to becoming Vicar of Radyr’.  Attended by over 50 members, her amusing and enthralling talk took us from her early childhood with a Jewish Father (who had married ‘outside the faith’) through her introduction to Christianity, to her ordination as a priest, and to her appointment to the position in Radyr.  There were surprising facts and great anecdotes along the path and her talk was very well received by all present.  She claimed she ‘was not very religious’, but everything she said indicated otherwise.

If you would like to read a synopsis of her talk, you can find it in the draft minutes of the meeting by following this link.

At the end of the talk, the RMA Chairman, David Silver, presented Rev’d Burrows with a rose bush to put in the newly refurbished garden of the Rectory.

The next General Meeting of the Association is on Monday, 23^rd September at 7:30pm in the Old Church Rooms when the speaker will be Raymond Rivron, who will be talking about the History of Radyr Woods.  If you would like to know more about this meeting, or any other aspects of the work of the R&M Association, please contact the secretary on rma@radyr.org.uk.

Reverend Vicki Burrows, who was appointed as the new Vicar of the Parish of Radyr in February, will be speaking at the next General Meeting of the R&M Association on 17th June.  Some people will have read her article in the lastest (June) edition of Radyr Chain and will aready know that she has an interesting story to tell about how she came to be our new vicar.  And those who have attended a service in Christ Church, perhaps the Civic Service at the beginning of the May Festival, will know what a good speaker she is.

So this is an opportunity for you to hear more about Vicki’s background and, no doubt, some of her ideas for how she sees her role in our Community for the future.  Attendance at the meeting, in the Old Chucrh Rooms starting at 7:30pm, is open to all residents.

Other topics on the agenda include a short review of the recent May Festival (any feedback or ideas for the future greatly welcomed) and the Association’s ideas for the development of the Community website.