News

Our current Festival, the 32nd, has just finished. It lasted 16 days and we had 34 different events. Everyone loves the parade and Fete and the Concert in the Parc is enjoyed by the whole community, whatever their age.

Who organises the Festival? We have a Festival Committee which comprises of the members of the RMA Executive, a few people from the charity we support and a member from each organisation which runs an event. Each individual organisations and the charity plan and run their own events. However, the Fete, Parade, Concert in the Parc, the Play, the Film and all of the concerts are planned and organised by the RMA.

The RMA committee has only 9 members, a number of whom are not in the first flush of youth. We also have a number of excellent helpers who come along to events like Concert in the Parc and help us to set them up.

What we desperately need are more people to help us with the planning and organising of events. We urgently need someone to organise next year’s Parade. If no one comes forward it may well not take place. We have many local organisations for youngsters including , rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Scouts. Perhaps one of them, a group of them, or their leaders would like to organise the Parade next year. No one is expected to do it all themselves and plenty of help is available. What we really need is planners and organisers.

Next year is our 33rd Festival. We hope it continues for many years to come. However, to do so we need your help. This is the community’s Festival and if you want it to continue you need to support it, not just by attending events, but by helping the team arranging it.

If you are willing to help us, either with the Parade or with the Festival and all the other work we do please contact one of the committee or e mail rmachair@radyr.org.uk

This year’s Festival was a great success. Besides the 34 events a large amount was raised for our charity of the year “Action for Children”. We have been working closely with them since last July and fundraising activities started at Christmas with retiring collections from both local Primary Schools. This continued throughout the Festival. At every event you will have seen people with buckets and raffle tickets. All the money raised through the raffle and collected in buckets goes directly to the charity.

All money raised has not yet been transferred to us as some events were held in the last few days and organisers were still working on their figures.  At the final Festival event, the charity concert for Action for Children, the Chair of the Festival committee, David Silver, presented a cheque for £10,000 to the charity, which was the sum of all contributions raised by the community so far. This will increase as more funds are received from Festival events. A final figure should be available in July when we hold our wrap up meeting of the Festival Committee to review this year’s Festival and start to plan next year’s Festival.

The Radyr and Morganstown Community Council have launched their new website – http://RadyrAndMorganstown.org 

In due course the Community Council section from this website will be migrated to the council’s new home online.

To all amateur photographers.  Come and enter the Festival Photographic Competition – any subject.  Prints 10″ x 8″ to David Cargill, 8 Llwyn Drsygol, CF15 8DN by Saturday 27th April.  Judging and prize presentation Saturday 4th of May at the Fete.

A ‘Licensing Service’ was held in Christ Church on Wednesday, 27 February 2019 to appoint Rev’d Vicki Burrows as the new Vicar of the Parish of Radyr.  You can read about the service on the Parish News Page.  We wish her well at the start of her ministry within the Radyr & Morganstown Community.

We are delighted to announce that the 2019 May Festival Queen and her attendants were selected on Tuesday, 19th February.  They are:

Queen Megan Vigliotta

Maycee Tustin

Crystal Wales

We congratulate them on their selection and look forward to seeing them at the Crowning Ceremony on Monday, 6th May and at many Festival events.

This half term, from Wednesday 27th February to 2nd March, Radyr Musical Society’s latest show, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, opens at the Bishop of Llandaff High School.

This musical, brought to life by the same great minds that gave us “Guys and Dolls”, tells the story of J.Pierrepont Finch, a window cleaner who aspires to great heights. We follow his journey from mail-room clerk to vice-president, through a large number of toe tapping and hilarious songs. The show was revived on the Broadway Stage in 2011 and featured Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role and was nominated for several Tony Awards.

Tickets are on sale now and cost £12 (Concessions £10) from Sue on 029 2031 0894, or from www.ticketsource.co.uk/RMS

Congratulations to our three local schools, Bryn Deri, Radyr Primary and Radyr Comprehensive, who were all awarded Green status in the Welsh Government Categorisation announced this week. A great achievement with every R&M school in the top category.

On 18 January 2019, a third meeting was held between Radyr and Morganstown Community Council and Paul Carter, the Head of Transportation at Cardiff Council, to discuss road safety.

In November, Radyr and Morganstown Community Council submitted its response to Cardiff Council’s proposed layout for highway improvements in Radyr and Morganstown. This included a twenty point action plan.

This is what Cardiff Council told the Community Council at the most recent meeting:

• they agreed with all of the twenty action points proposed by Radyr and Morganstown Community Council in its response, apart from one. They did not feel that significant work could be undertaken to ease passage for motorists living to the east and west of Heol Isaf and Ty Nant Road as they seek to turn left and right onto those roads. The main problem would be the cost of installing, for instance, traffic lights. In the meantime, the introduction of a 20mph zone should make it easier and safer for motorists facing these manoeuvres.
• the process for installing tabled zebra crossings at Morganstown, Min-y-Coed and Radyr Health Centre would begin in February 2019. The full process involves numerous stages (see annex A), from a topographical survey, through public consultation, to detailed design, traffic regulation orders, tendering and agreeing contracts. All of this should lead to construction starting no later than February / March 2020.
• a similar process would be followed with regard to installing a 20mph zone for Radyr and Morganstown – although construction of this could begin no later than January 2020. Gateways for the zone would be constructed, which would include dragon’s teeth road markings on a red road surface
• Cardiff Council is proposing to close Golf Club Lane to traffic. The reasons for doing so include preventing more traffic using Bryn Derwen as a rat-run when traffic calming measures are installed along Heol Isaf and Ty Nant Road.
• the risks associated with the junction of De Clare Drive and King’s Road would be considered as part of future works to be undertaken at the station site (including a possible Next Bikes station and an extension of the line to Coryton).
• Cardiff Council were considering where in R&M to instal Next Bikes stations. There could be several of these installed – and some could be electric, given the steep topography of the area.
• Cardiff Council continues to discuss rail ticket pricing with Transport for Wales, to remove the incentive to catch trains from Radyr rather than Taffs Well.
• Cardiff explained that South Wales Police would be working with other agencies (including Cardiff Council and the Trading Standard Agency) to monitor HGV traffic through R&M – and taking enforcement action as necessary. R&MCC agreed to check with Taff Vale Quarry whether or not signage at the exit from the quarry advised drivers not to travel through R&M.
• Radyr and Morganstown Community Council should continue, in future, to press for implementation of its action points

Public display of proposed new playground at Drovers Way (at Clos Parc Radyr)

A partnership has been established, between R&M Community Council, Cardiff Council, the Clos Parc Radur Management Committee and Redrow Homes to deliver improvements to the children’s playground at Drovers Way.  There is some further information here.

To date, one swing has been replaced – and over £25k earmarked for further improvements.

In addition, Jamie Grundy, a local resident, is developing a crowdfunding campaign to fund the one or two, remaining, unfunded items of equipment. He has already established a twitter feed in relation to the crowd funding. You can follow this at: www.twitter.com/ParkRadyr

All of this will ensure that, for the first time, the playground circle will be full of equipment, rather than half empty.

Redrow Homes is also considering what work needs to be done to prevent mud and water flowing onto the site – as happens now.

Local residents will have an opportunity to view Cardiff Council’s plans for the playground, as part of Redrow’s Plasdwr drop-in session on Thursday, 7 February at the New Church Rooms (between 4pm and 7pm). Comments and suggestions will be welcomed.

Low-lying areas of Pentwyn Park have long been subject to surface drainage problems.  R&MCC has commissioned this work to get rid of the puddles and the soggy areas around the paths.

Minutes of the meeting held on the 19th January can be found on the PACT Page.

A full house enjoyed the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir at Christchurch on Saturday evening.  A variety of music and humour made for a good evening and a substantial contribution to the work of the Alzheimer’s Society .

Fantastic to see over forty people turning up to Radyr Library to litter pick on 15 January. Suzanne Baskerville from Cardiff Council had  done an amazing job of publicising the event and Gareth Davies from Keep Wales Tidy came along to add his experience and knowledge to the volunteers.

 It was a very successful morning and lots of red rubbish bags were filled.

 Suzanne will be back on 12 February and all volunteers will be most welcome!  10:00-11:30, starting at Radyr Library.

First Snowdrops of the year at Willow Tree Close. There’s more to come! These were planted by children from Brynderi and Radyr Primary schools, last year. Many thanks to all the children and the teachers and the volunteers who made this happen.

Councillor Dr Ralph Vaughan was delighted that he could continue a recently established tradition of planting a Chairman’s Oak in Radyr Woods to celebrate National Tree Week. He had a little bit of a help from Jim Goodwin, Chair of Radyr Woods Wardens.

Many people have noticed that there has been tree work in Radyr Woods this year. Trees have natural life cycles. Some in Radyr Woods had reached their sell by date according to a Tree Survey commissioned by the Community Council.  It’s important that there is also a program for planting new trees in place, and this Chairman’s Oak is part of the plan

Extract from “Sunday Times – Parent Power”, 25 November 2018:

The Welsh State Secondary School of the Year is Radyr Comprehensive, in Cardiff, which saw sharp improvements at both A-level and GCSE.  With 72% A*-B at A-level, its sixth formers performed better than those at any other Welsh state school.  Almost 200 children are admitted into year 7 each year, largely from Radyr’s seven feeder primaries in the immediate surrounding area.

NB: This information is taken directly from the newspaper, and is subject to fact-checking by the school – but they have won the Award!

Reverend Canon Jenny Wigley, Rector of the Parish of Radyr, retired in July and since then the Parish has been going through the process of selecting a new Priest in Charge.  We are delighted to report that Reverend Vicki Burrows has been appointed and will take up her post towards the end of February 2019.

Full details can be found in the announcement on the Parish Website.

Congratulations to the R&M WWI Committee and the many organisations and friends who have knitted over 7000 poppies in preparation for this year’s Centenary Remembrance Sunday.  The display on the tower of Christ Church, notably when lit at night, and the spread around the War Memorial in Heol Isaf, are quite remarkable.  Well worth visiting in their own right, and do come along to the Commemoration Service itself which starts about 10:25 at the War Memorial on Sunday, 11^th November.

Have you ever wondered how those bits of plastic and other items get trapped in the branches high above the Taff?  Here is your answer in pictures as the effect of ‘Storm Callum’ is seen from both the bridge over the Taff and around the hydroelectric scheme.

As a matter of interest, the turbines were not running as the fall in the river across the weir was insufficient to drive them.