News

On the first Monday and Tuesday of December teams drawn from both the R&M Community Coucil and the R&M Association put up 13 trees, with lights, around the Community. The three main trees – in Windsor Park, the Granny Park (in Morganstown) and Lychgate Gardens – will be turned on during the events on Friday evening. The 10 trees above the shops in Station Road are already lit and already make a lovely backdrop. The shops have also dressed their windows for Christmas – well worth taking a look.

A short while ago the festoons and motifs (fixed to the lamposts) were put up in Station Road by a contractor. These will be lit on Friday evening as well.

Details of the lighting ceremony should have been delivered to all households in R&M ove the last week. If you missed the A5 leaflet, there is a link to it in the Noticeboard, and there is another one here.

As for the evening itself (which promises to be cold but dry), the two trees in Morganstown and Lychgate Gardens will both be lit at 6.00pm accompanied by carols sung by choirs from our two Primary Schools. Both of those will be lovely mini-events and great photo-opportunities.

Station Road will be closed from 5pm to allow set-up of the main event. A number of the shops are staying open late. There will be 13 stalls selling all sorts of items, a mulled wine bar and a BBQ. There will be no need to go hungry. Chris Dale has kindly agreed to look after the sound syetem for us (he now does for most of our major events) so there will be lots of Christmas music to listen to. All the stalls will be ‘open’ by 6:30pm so do come along early to have a look around, soak up the atmopshere, and even have an early drink of mulled wine. (Soft drinks will also be available).

At 6.40pm the attention will briefly cross Heol Isaf to Windsor Gardens where the main tree will be lit by this year’s Festival Queen, and there will be more carols sung by the schools. Another photo-opportunity.

At 6.50pm the main lights in Station Road will be lit by ‘PATCH from LATCH’ and his special friend, young patient Martha Pugh. LATCH is the R&M Association’s chosen charity for 2013/14 (you will hearing a lot about them in next year’s May Festival). So we are delighted to welcome PATCH (a somewhat unruly ‘dog’, we are told) and Martha for this key part of the evening.

At 6.55pm Santa will appear to take up his postion in his sleigh outside the resturaant (which, sadly, will not be open – that is going to happen, we hear, on 1 January). The Scouts have kindly agreed to take charge of the crowds. Every child will have an opportuhity to speak to Santa, and will be awarded with a satsuma!

So come along and ejnjoy yourselves. As noted before, the forecast is good – no snow (we had that one year) but cold and dry. It will be lovely.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, 10/11/13, two burglars climbed on to the porch roof, jemmied a window and broke into the bar area of the club. As they clambered into the room they set off all the alarms. In time they had they smashed a trophy cupboard and took a number of trophies. They made their escape through another window, leaving broken glass and discarded trophies all over the floor. This was obviously a predetermined effort to rob the Club. Fortunately they were caught out by the alarm system and caught on CCTV. Let’s hope the perpetrators are caught! The police arrived within minutes. Accompanied by their dogs, they entered the premises to discover the attempted robbery.

A crane manipulating the Radyr bridge. All the tyres were let down to get under the low bridge before they could get the crane on the other side to install the new power lines. This matter has been the subject in the soapbox over the last few weeks. I think it is all coming to an end!

Our local County Councillor reports that Western Power Distribution will be removing soon the netting over various roads and bridges
WPD has agreed to remediate all damaged verges and paths

121 R&M Residents attended a meeting in the Drama Studio of Radyr Comprehensive School on 7th October 2013 to learn about the implications of the Cardiff Local Development Plan (LDP). Speakers at the meeting were Cllr Rod McKerlich, Chairman of the Radyr & Morganstown Community Council (R&MCC), and Nick Hawkins, Secretary of the Radyr & Morganstown Association (RMA).

Cllr McKerlich apologised that no Council Officers were present. He had extended an invitation to them to join the meeting but had been told that legal restrictions prevented their attendance at ‘private meetings’ at this time.

Residents heard that the LDP sets out the plan to build 41,100 new homes in Cardiff by 2026, 5000 of which will lie between the southern boundary of Radyr and St Fagans and Fairwater. A further 2650 homes are also to be built up towards Creigiau. The R&MCC and the RMA have been working with adjacent Community Councils in Creigiau, Llandaff, Pentyrch and St Fagans who will all be affected by this scale of development.

There was a full discussion on the implications of the LDP and brief notes of the meeting can be found here. Inevitably, the key issues raised concerned traffic and the fear that the necessary infrastructure (ideally railways) might not be put in place before the homes are built. Residents were told that it was an uncomfortable truth that developers are not required to fund all the necessary infrastructure in advance of building and that a fully functioning railway could cost up to £1 Billion.

The LDP went out to full public consultation for a six week period from Tuesday, 15^th October 2013 to Tuesday 26^th November. There was a ‘Drop in Exhibition’ at the Old Church Rooms, Park Road, Radyr on Thursday, 31^stOctober when residents talked to Council Officers and expressed their views. Various ‘Consultee Conferences’ (i.e. public meetings including a presentation and round table discussions) were held, including one at Plasmawr High School, Pentrebane Road, Fairwater on Tuesday 12^th November.

It was firmly hoped that as many R&M residents as possible would take advantage of these opportunities to be involved with this critical planning process. About 40 people came to the OCR on October 31st.

Our local MP, Kevin Brennan, gave a wonderful talk at the last Radyr & Morganstown Association meeting on Monday, 16^th September.

He spoke about his role as an MP and the changing role of Parliament, giving insights into the nature of the Parliamentary buildings themselves and the famous people who have worked within their walls. Jennie Lee, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and even Winston Churchill got a mention. The talk covered his views on the increased accessibility to politicians, the power of Parliament, and even the influence of Trade Unions.

If you would like to read the summary of his talk in the minutes of the meeting, which also covered the Local Development Plan, the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on 6^th December and even next year’s May Festival, they can be found here.

The next Association meeting will be on Monday, 18^th November 2013 at 7.30pm in the Old Church Rooms when the speaker will be Martin Chamberlain of Forest Farm.

If you would like any further details about the Association and its meetings, contact the Secretary, Nick Hawkins, on 029 2084 2561 or rma@radyr.org.uk.

The public consultation on the LDP is now closed.

Cardiff’s information and documents are here.

R&MCC’s information and responses are here.

Our last News Item (see here) back in June gave a lot of detail as to the changes being suggested in North West Cardiff by the LDP. The R&M Community Council is working with its partners in the NW Cardiff Group (Pentyrch CC, St Fagans CC and the Llandaff Society) to analyse the Plan and we issued an earlier statement on our findings.

Cardiff’s LDP includes significant changes to R&M and our neighbouring communities. We take this issue very seriously and are actively engaged with the consultation process, Cardiff Council Officers, our County Councillor, MP and AM and neighbouring Community Councils to ensure that we represent the R&M Community effectively. We held a public meeting on 7 October to give everyone an opportunity to be fully briefed and to hear your views directly. 114 people attended. R&MCC’s LDP October 7 meeting leaflet : English Cymraeg

Our position is that we welcome the LDP and accept the need for some development. Our over-riding concern is that the existing bus, rail and road transport in NW Cardiff cannot cope with the proposed development and cannot sufficiently be improved. The Deposit Plan was certainly flawed in this respect.

In an excellent report the school achieved a “Good” marking for both their current performance and for their prospects for improvement. They were also marked as “Good” for each ESTYN key question and sub-section.

The school’s current performance is Good

The school’s prospects for improvement are Good

Current performance The current performance of the school is good because:

· nearly all pupils make good progress from their starting points;

· the overall performance of pupils is consistently high and compares well with family and national averages;

· most teaching is good;

· the curriculum is broad and balanced with literacy and numeracy given a high priority; and most behaviour is good and levels of participation in learning are very high.

Prospects for improvement The school’s prospects for improvement are good because:

· the new head teacher has settled into her new role extremely well and she has a clear vision for the school;

· there is a thorough process for self-evaluation and very good use of data;

· there is a very clear focus on raising standards of teaching and learning;

· school improvement plans focus well on suitable priorities;

· successful partnerships contribute effectively to improving outcomes for pupils; and

· Governors provide good support and direction for the work of the school.

If you wish to read it the full report can be found on http://www.estyn.gov.uk/english/provider/6812153/

Thanks to the efforts of the Radyr & Morganstown Association the hanging baskets in Station Road have at last been restored to their summer glory. Cardiff Council have supplied the baskets for the last two years but budget cuts mean they can no longer afford to do that. Unfortunately, they did not tell us.

When the RMA heard the baskets would not be refreshed they stepped in, fixed the automatic watering system (which had been damaged in the cold last winter), then took down and refilled the baskets.

Well done and many thanks is all we can say.

The Dance Angels, who rehearse every Wednesday evening in the Old Church Rooms, have won the Welsh title in the British Dance Organisation Competition. Congratulations to them all!

The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Derek Morgan, officially opened the new pedestrian/cycle crossing of the River Taff at Radyr Siding on Friday 19th July. Local councillors, friends of Hailey Park and residents of Radyr and Morganstown were there to witness the occasion. Cardiff County Council are reviewing the name of the bridge after some comment at the launch.

“The Orchard” is a new coffee shop and lunch spot in Park Road, offering speciality teas, coffees, smoothies, juices, ciabattas, salads, lunches and a range of cakes and patisseries.

Opening hours, until further notice, will be Monday – Saturday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Dawn Cugno, the owner, told us:

“The Orchard is a welcoming place for people to enjoy friendly company while eating good quality, freshly prepared food. Each lunchtime there will be a dish-of-the-day. We’re offering a wholesome menu, together with a few treats like traditional cakes and French patisseries. I think Radyr is ready for something like this!”

PS “At the time of opening we will not be able to accept card payment (because of a shortage of phone lines!). Please will you bear with us and bring cash for a little while?”

Here is a statement from R&MCC and its partners in the NW Cardiff Group on the draft Deposit Plan. We have serious concerns about element of the LDP and are preparing a thorough response to the next consultation which is expected to start in early October 2013.

Despite the demographic forecasts being reduced, plans for development in our area are still unchanged. This plan will be placed before the County Council in September for approval.

The LDP for Cardiff West (Radyr, and Pentrebane) can be found on the following website – click the link

http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2870,3139,5845,6558&parent directory_id=2865

Click here to read the draft Deposit Plan.

Click here to read the Edge Analysis showing that the population growth is lower than expected and the revised number of dwellings should be reduced from 45,400 to 41,100 over the period 2006 to 2026. It is proposed that 5000 new dwellings be built on the farm land that links Radyr and Fairwater and across to St Fagans.

Transportation is a key to the success of this plan and to date CCC have not been able to demonstrate any new road system,(especially to avoid bottleneck at Llandaff), rail links or new bus routes. This is their proposals –

Extract from the Cardiff County Council’s Transportation Plan for the future !!!

2.9.2 These conclusions have important implications for the LDP and the transport

measures that will be required to support new development. These include:

·Any significant urban expansion must be supported by measures to facilitate and

encourage a shift from the car to sustainable modes of travel;

Developments envisaged within the LDP Preferred Strategy must be fully integrated

with the transport network and supported by attractive and practical sustainable

travel options which make it easy for car trips to be replaced with public transport,

walking and cycling;

To achieve a mode split of 50:50 in 2026 for all trips on Cardiff’s transport network, it

will be necessary to achieve a significant modal shift in movements (all trip purposes)

generated by the existing settlement/population; and The provision of some additional

road capacity will also be required where the scale of development makes this is unavoidable.

In short CCC solution is to open the disused railway line between Fairwater and Creigiau and open an access at Junction 33 on the M4 from Llantrisant Road or walk or cycle or stay at home.

The section of Heol Isaf between Drysgol Road and Maes yr Awel will be closed to all traffic from Monday 1st July to Wednesday 3rd July between 09:30 and 15:30. Traffic is being diverted up Drysgol Road, past the Golf Club along Bryn Derwen past the Guide Hall and down to the main road at the M4 bridge on Heol Isaf. The contractor will maintain residential access at all times.

The section of Park Road between Heol Isaf and Windsor Avenue will also be closed.

Traffic coming from Morganstown will turn right into Bryn Derwen.

Please use this link for bus information:

http://www.cardiffbus.com/english/newsarticle.shtml?articleid=2688

We are delighted to report that Catriona Williams of Radyr has been awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for her services to “Children in Wales”. Here is a copy of the Press Release issued by “Chlidren in Wales”:

Children in Wales’ work recognised in Queen’s Birthday honours

Children in Wales welcomes recognition of the contribution of its Chief Executive Catriona Williams who was awarded an OBE for services to disadvantaged children, young people and their carers in this year’s Queens Birthday Honours list.

Catriona has worked in the children and young people’s field all her professional life as a social worker, lecturer, researcher and manager of children’s services and was a leading member of the campaign to establish the first Children’s Commissioner for Wales. She has been a member of many Welsh Government and UK Government working groups, on the board of several charities. She was President the European Forum for Child Welfare and subsequently, a founding member and President of Eurochild which was set up to combat child poverty across Europe. She was also President of the International Forum for Child Welfare, a Vice President of the European Platform of Social NGO’s and was appointed as a Commissioner to the UK Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission in 2012.

Children in Wales was set up 20 years ago and continues to campaign for the interests of children and young people, for the implementation of the UNCRC to become a reality in Wales, and for fair shares for all children, as well as special care and attention for disabled and disadvantaged children.

Our work covers parenting, early years, disability, and children’s rights, amongst other areas, and recently we have been working to ensure that a focus is kept on children in the new Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill. In the current financial situation, Children in Wales is also working to keep children’s issues on the agenda as services and budgets are further pressured.

Catriona said, ”I am truly humbled by this honour which came totally out of the blue. I want to thank all at Children in Wales who should be sharing it with me.

“ Unfortunately there is still so much work to be done. Only this week we have had major issues such as the disappointing child poverty figures and the challenge to internet service providers to do more to prevent appalling images of child abuse on the internet. Both these issues are of critical importance to our children and we will continue to advocate on their behalf.”

60 people joined Barbara Willis and her volunteers to a lunch at the Old Church Rooms on Friday 31st May to celebrate Good Neighbours 20th birthday party. Marion Drake had been invited as she was the instigator in setting up the club back in 1993, when she was the local councillor. Dr David Silver and his wife represented the Community Council. Presentations were made to the current and past volunteers, who turn up every Friday to prepare the regular weekly lunch. A celebration cake was cut by Barbara Willis to conclude the happy day.

The FestivalPprogramme has been printed and has been distributed with the April edition of Radyr Chain. There are 36 events during the two week Festival and we hope that you will come and join us. The programme is a new format – let us know your views. The theme this year is “Colours of the World”. The Festival Charity is Tenovus. Draw tickets have been included in the Radyr Chain and we hope that you will give your support to this charity by buying them – Wales leading cancer charity.

A web-based version of the Programme can be viewed here, and a Welsh version here.

Cardiff Bus have announced plans for changes to the bus routes serving Radyr and Morganstown. A considerable number of people attended the consultative meeting held in the Old Church Rooms on 25 February, and this feedback will be taken into account by the company. Interest centred principally on the plan for a new route, replacing the 33 services, which links R&M more directly with the city centre, via Danescourt and Cathedral Road.

For more about the proposals, together with details of how to register your views, click here.

No electors called for an election to fill the council vacancy. The advert for applications for co-option is on display. Electors may send letters of application explaining why you would like to join the council to the Clerk. Interviews will then be held. Councillors hope to vote on the co-options at the council meeting of March 28. Please call Helena Fox on 20842213 or email at clerk@radyr.org.uk for further information on joining R&MCC. The deadline for applications is March 22.