News

The Festival Committee has decided, in the interest of public safety, to postpone the 2020 May Festival. Whilst we are disappointed to have to do this, it feels like the only safe decision to make at this time.

If you have already purchased tickets online for any events these will be refunded shortly.

Last weekend, the river Taff rose and rose following storm Dennis, breaking its banks in a number of places as it passes through Radyr & Morganstown. Our nearest monitoring station at Upper Boat recorded a record river height of over 5.4m on Sunday morning compared to the previous record of 3.9m in September 2008 and a typical level of 1.4m for this time of year.

Do you have any pictures of Radyr & Morganstown after storm Dennis? Share them with us by e-mail to web-team@radyr.org.uk and we will add them to our online gallery.

The Web-Team have been made of the following service disruptions as a result of storm Dennis. If you are aware of something we haven’t mentioned please drop us an e-mail (web-team@radyr.org.uk) or a message on Facebook (RadyrAndMorganstownHub)

Royal Mail

Update from Royal Mail on Monday (17/02/2020)

Our Cardiff North West Delivery Office is closed following the flooding over the weekend.

Staff have been relocated to our Cardiff North Delivery Office, where they’ll be prioritising the delivery of all Royal Mail Special Delivery and Royal Mail Tracked items for delivery today.

The Customer Service Point at Cardiff North West Delivery Office is closed. Therefore at present, you won’t be able to collect any item of mail for which we’ve left a ‘Something for you’ card prior to the flooding, as these items will need to be recovered from our North West site. We’ll update this page with further details once we know more.

With regard to any items of mail where delivery is attempted today and a ‘Something for you’ card is left, you’ll notice the card will have details for our Cardiff North Delivery Office. This is correct and will be where any items of mail that we’ve attempted to deliver today (Monday 17 February) will be held for collection, until such time our Cardiff North West site is back in operation.

We’re very sorry for any inconvenience caused, we hope to return services in Cardiff North West to normal as quickly as possible.

We will update this item as further information is sent to us. Royal Mail service updates can be seen directly at https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12556/~/service-update

Transport for Wales (Trains)

We understand that following some initial disruption train services are now able to run in both directions from Radyr and Taffs Well stations.

No services are able to operate between Pontypridd and Treherbert or Aberycynon and Aberdare. Replacement road transport will operate on these routes.

Latest information can be found at: https://www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail/

Advice from Natural Resources Wales

If you have been or feel you might be affected by flooding, advice is available from Natural Resources Wales on What to do before, during and after a flood.

River Taff in Flood

View this gallery on Flickr

This week, Radyr Musical Society take to the stage in Morganstown Village Hall to bring you ‘Step Back in Time’, a musical revue celebrating over 30 years of the society’s past shows. Performed over three evenings, the event showcases popular musicals from the early days of ‘RPMG’, including Oliver, The Mikado, Jesus Christ Superstar and My Fair Lady, through the 1990s to today, with favourites from Kiss Me Kate, Hello Dolly, Pirates of Penzance, Guys and Dolls and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

The Society really needs the support of the local community to be able to continue for the next 30 years… Please come and show your support – you won’t be disappointed!

Tickets for this celebration cost £10 for adults and £8 for concessions, and are available from Sue Thomas on 07544 289 434, or from http://radyrmusical.org.uk/tickets

The shows start at 7.30pm on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 February and again at 6.30pm on Saturday 22 February.
With licensed bar.

It has come to our attention that Cardiff Council are proposing to extend the weight restrictions which currently apply on Heol Isaf and part of Ty Nant Rd to the whole of Ty Nant Road. The specific proposal (Traffic Regulation Order C2508), can be viewed by following this link.

The proposal moves the starting point of the weight restriction to Ynys Bridge, which may well allow vehicles leaving the quarry to turn right legally and drive through Radyr & Morganstown – passing two schools and the health centre.  This will be extremely dangerous for school children and the elderly.  Currently, the quarry entrance is outside the restricted area so their heavy vehicles are not allowed not enter into it. With the new proposal they will be inside it there is nothing to stop them just turning right. This issue is not covered in the proposal.

We would like as many people as possible to object to this proposal by sending objections via email to roadtrafficorderobjections@cardiff.gov.uk .

Please note the closing date for objections is midnight on 21^st February.

For more on this Traffic Proposal view the conversation on the RMHub Facebook page or through our Twitter Account @RMHub

We are delighted to announce that, at the selection interviews on Tuesday, 11^th February, Lili, Sophia, Megan and Bronwen were appointed as our team of Festival Ambassadors for the 2020 Radyr & Morganstown Festival. Many congratulations to them all.

The Inauguration Ceremony will be in Windsor Gardens on Sunday 3^rd May at 2:30pm, when there will be the usual Maypole dancing as well.

The full Festival programme can be seen on the Festival website – http://RMFestival.org.uk

At the election held on 6th January, Allan Cook was elected as the new Community Councillor for the Morganstown Ward of the Radyr & Morganstown Community Council.

Votes cast were:  Allan Cook  250; Michelle Lenton-Johnson 96.  The turnout was 18.41%

Full details of the election can be found at the offfcial website: https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=127&RPID=1119120&LLL=0

We congratulate Allan on his appointment.

A reminder of the election to the vacant post to represent Morganstown Ward on the Radyr & Morganstown Commuity Council which is due to happen on Thursday, 6 February 2020. Polls will be open from 07.00 to 22.00 and all eligible voters should have received a polling card. Official notices relating to this election can be seen on the Cardiff Council website.

The Web Team gave the opportunity to each candidate to present a statement of up to 300 words and a photograph. Those that were returned by the deadline are presented below:

Allan Cook

I have been a resident of the Morganstown Ward for more than thirty years and would be honoured to represent the ward on the Community Council.

Although I have never been a member of the Council I have worked with them on many occasions and am still Deputy Chair of the World War One Committee which organised numerous events to commemorate the war.

I have also been a member of the Executive of the Radyr and Morganstown Association over a number of years, helping to organise the May Festival and the Christmas Tree Lighting event.

I have become increasingly concerned about the lack of democracy in the two villages and the Community Council’s seeming preference for co-opting new members as opposed to holding elections.

I am particularly concerned about three issues;

1. In the light of Cardiff County Council’s recent statement that more than 200 deaths, in Cardiff alone, can be attributed to exhaust fumes, I am concerned about pollution levels along the Main Road through Radyr and Morganstown and would oppose any decisions that might lead to an increase in pollution.
2. At a time when Cardiff County Council are trying to increase the use of public transport within the Cardiff area to 50% it seems short sighted to cut one of our three hourly bus services. This will impact badly on the older Morganstown residents who need the bus to get to the shops, the Health Centre and the pharmacy.
3. I am also concerned by the Community Council’s plan to acquire Morganstown Village Hall, to sell off the land for development and to use the funds to build another facility. More houses, more pollution and more congestion on Heol Syr Lewis.

Auditions for the Ambassador Team for the Radyr and Morganstown May Festival 2020 will be held at the Old Church Rooms on Tuesday 11 February 2020 starting at 19.00

There is no need to book, just turn up prepared to talk briefly about yourself as a potential ambassador, explain why you think the work of Tenovus is important to Radyr and Morganstown and then there will be a short question and answer session with the panel.

This is a new and exciting role for 2020 and will replace the previous “Festival Queen” role. This is an opportunity for a team of ambassadors to undertake a year in office, starting with the May Festival, and representing the RMA and our Charity at Festival events and some charity events throughout the year. The successful team will also have the chance to contribute their ideas to the work of the Festival team. The RMA will offer training and support to the ambassadors to assist them in performing their role and making the most of this opportunity in their year of office.

Auditions are open to ALL young people in Years 5, 6 or 7 who live in the Radyr & Morganstown area, regardless of where they go to school.

Any questions? – e-mail Ambassadors@rmfestival.org.uk

• Download the poster for the 2020 Festival Ambassador Auditions

FAQs

What is an Ambassador?

Our Festival Ambassadors will be representatives of both the RMA/Festival Organising Committee and our chosen charity (Tenovus for 2019/20).

Ambassadors will be expected to speak about the Festival and our chosen charity, encouraging others to get involved and to get stuck in with events. They might be organising games for a Guide group or judging the “Waggiest Tail” at the Dog Show. Don’t worry if this all sounds new, training and support will be given to our Ambassador Team so that they can make the most of their role.

The Festival Committee are actively seeking applications from all young people in years 5&6 regardless of gender, race, religion, disability, language preference or where they go to school.

If you have any concerns about the audition process or have specific needs to support your full participation, please contact Ian Thomas – Ambassadors@rmfestival.org.uk

Will I have to wear special clothing?

The Ambassadors will each be given a sash and pin-badge to signify their official role at the Inauguration Ceremony on Sunday 3 May 2020. It is expected that the Ambassadors will dress appropriately for each occasion they attend simply adding the sash/badge to that outfit. This may mean smart dress for a more formal occasion, wellies and warm clothing another day or simply putting the sash on over their normal school uniform to deliver an Assembly.

What is the commitment?

There are approximately 10 events across the Festival Fortnight (2 to 19 May 2020) where our team of Ambassadors will be expected to attend – but it may not be the full team required for each event. We will also hold 2 training evenings before the Festival for the Ambassadors to get to know each other and start building some of the skills they will need during the year.

We are also looking to work with the Ambassadors to build a programme of other appropriate events through the year where they can represent the RMA/Festival Committee and promote the work of the chosen Charity (Tenovus). This may include preparation and delivery of school assemblies, delivering a message through fun activities at a Guides group or hosting a quiz night. This programme will be created with the appointed team (and their Parents/Carers) to work with their existing interests and commitments.

Where has this new role come from?

Whilst the ambassadors are a new and exciting role for 2020, they will replace the previous role of the Festival Queen and her attendants. This change has come as a direct result of feedback received by the RMA from young people in the community both directly and through our routine consultation and review exercise for the annual May Festival. The views expressed were clear that a change was required that was both respectful to the long tradition of Festival Queens and also updated the role making it more inclusive and more participatory for the young people involved.

In creating the new role, Pupil Voice at both Bryn Deri and Radyr Primary Schools were consulted on the potential responsibilities and naming of our new team. We look forward to the role of Ambassadors being shaped by the unique team’s interests and skills each year and as usual will be seeking feedback on all aspects of the Festival in the summer to ensure it continues to evolve and meet its aim of supporting Radyr & Morganstown as a great place to live and work.

Congratulations to to the Staff, Pupils and Governors of Bryn Deri Primary School who were judged to be Good by Estyn in all five inspection areas during their inspection in November. The report was published this morning and is a great achievement for the school.

The web team are disappointed to hear that Cardiff Bus are reducing the frequency of the 63 which is a vital link between Radyr and Morganstown and the City Centre.

From Monday 27 January 2020 the 63 will only run twice per hour to allow the third bus to become a new 62 which will continue down Llantrisant Road, servicing Rhydlafar rather than turning into Radyr.

Whilst we support additional routes being created to bring public transport options into the new developments, it is disappointing that this is being achieved at the detriment of what is already a limited frequency service for Radyr and Morganstown. These changes will mean that there can be an up to 40 minute gap between services on a weekday – assuming that the buses are running to timetable.

Full details of the new timetable and route changes can be seen on the Cardiff Bus website: https://www.cardiffbus.com/new-62-route-and-changes-service-63

There has already been some active discussion of this issue on the RMHub Facebook Page, why not join the conversation to share your views.

We are sure that most R&M residents will be aware of the recent work being done by local residents to establish a 20mph limit over much of the R&M area.

Cardiff Council have just issued their proposals, which you can look at via this link.  The only significant area not included will be Clos Parc Radur.

The proposals are open for comment and the linked document states how these can be submitted.

The closing date for responses is midnight on Friday, 31^st January.

New phone scam, claiming to be calling from Amazon Prime

A resident had a call today, supposedly from Amazon Prime, stating that his subscription would be automatically renewed unless he pressed 1 on his phone.  Having pressed 1 a foreign female voice asked him to type an address into google, which was not an Amazon page. He realised that she was about taken over control of his computer! Be aware of this scam.

See the Neighbourhood Watch pages of this site for more details of recent alerts and to join their alert mailing list.

A busy polling day yesterday with visible queues reported at each of our polling stations at various points during the day we can well believe the 67.4% turnout figure.

With almost double the votes of the next candidate Labour’s Kevin Brennan secured his return to the common as our representative.

See the full result of the vote and access voting related data for this an every constituency on WhoCanIVoteFor.co.uk

Contact details for Kevin and all of Radyr & Morganstown’s political representatives can be seen in the Local Representatives section of our Directory

Sometimes you have to trust the professionals.  The morning of 6^th December 2019 saw driving rain, but the weather forecasters said it would be dry by 5pm, which is when most of the set-up in Station Road was due to start.  As it was, even the professionals were not quite right, it was dry by 3pm but the organisers got very wet bringing all the gazebos, tables, BBQs, lights, etc on to the site.

Stallholders started arriving about 4.30pm and found the road had largely been cleared of parked cars by helpful members of Cardiff Council Highways Department.  Everything was set up in good time and people started buying burgers, drinking mulled wine and shopping at the stalls around 6pm.  The Christmas Tree lights in Morganstown and Lychgate Gardens were switched on at 5.45pm, accompanied by carols sung by local schools and the focus then shifted to the Christmas Tree in Windsor Gardens.  Primary School children sang carols in the adjacent Methodist church prior to moving across to Windsor Gardens where the tree was lit at 6.45pm to a great cheer.

At 7pm Leona Vaughan, Tenovus Patron and star of the CBBC television series ‘Wolfblood’, switched on the main lights in Station Road.  Santa appeared shortly afterwards to take up position in his glittering sleigh and was quickly surrounded by hoards of children.  One innovation this year was the introduction of a snow machine, which produced squeals of delight.  Sadly, plans to bring in a bouncy castle had to be cancelled due to the gusting wind but, as they say, ‘a great time was had by all’.  However, Mickey Mouse made a surprise appearance and gave great photo opportunities.

The stallholders all did well.  Charities raised money.  The police and St John’s Ambulance had nothing to do but smile.   It was a lovely atmosphere and a great way to start Christmas.

Many thanks to all the people who made this event possible.  The R&M Association for organising everything in Station Road, The R&MCC who provided the three main community trees, organised the carol singing and paid for the main lights in Station Road, Party Wales who provided both the snow machine and Mickey Mouse, the Co-op who provided the satsumas given out by Santa, and to ener-chi, Radyr Eye Care and White’s the Dentists who provided power to all the stalls.

(Pictures by David Hardman)

There will be a UK General Election on Thursday 12 December 2019.

The deadlines for registration and requesting a Postal Vote have now passed but if you are away or otherwise unable to vote in your allocated Polling Station there is still time to request a Proxy vote (until 17.00 on the day).

The web-team are aware that some Radyr residents also volunteer with Democracy Club – a group which aims to provide accurate, non-partisan information on every election and candidate in the UK, unbiased and unfiltered. The following widget uses Democracy Club data to help you understand who you can vote for and where your polling station is.
—

Great news – Radyr library has joined forces with Pentyrch Terracycle to create a drop off point for Radyr and Morganstown residents to recycle their crisp, popcorn, nuts, pretzel and other bagged snack packaging locally to them. They are open every day except Thursday and Sunday. So get saving those snack packets and drop into the library to turn them into something new!

Look at the pile just picked up from them!

Earlier this year the R&M Community Council received a number of complaints from residents who thought that blasting at the Cemex Quarry had caused vibration at their homes. They reported on how the quarry would work, in future, to ensure that disruption would be kept to a minimum.

They met with Cemex this week. They showed the R&MCC where blasting had taken place on the day people complained –  and the direction that the blast had been laid.  They then showed where the next blasting had taken place – and the direction of the blast. They explained that since the R&MCC drew their attention to residents’ concerns about the blasting, they had placed vibrographs in Morganstown to measure vibrations – and the readings were almost zero.  They offered to come and talk with the R&MCC and residents to explain how they are trying to make sure that Morganstown is not affected by their work.

They also have woods that they manage – and they are willing to organise a visit to the woods, with an expert who can explain about tree and nature management on the land owned by the quarry.

​If  you would like to meet with Cemex – or if you would like to visit the woodland that the company manages – please let the R&MCC know by contacting them here, . The meeting – and the woodland visit – would probably take place during the working day.

(Content copied from the R&MCC Website on request)

Have you bought your stamps for the Scout Post yet? Only 30p per card.

In Radyr stamps are available from

• Pugh’s Garden Centre – Morganstown
• Solo Hair & Beauty – 1a Springfield Gardens, Morganstown
• P’zazz, Hair Designers – Castle Court
• Slice – Station Road
• Radyr Library – Park Road
• Litte Flower Den Florist – Rear Of 2 Station Road
• Allan Cook – 54 Pentwyn
• Mary Barnes – 56 Dan-Y-Bryn Avenue
• Hugh Davidson – 86 Heol Isaf
• Julie Davies – 1 Drysgol Road
• John Travers – 8 Chestnut Tree Close
• Any Section Leader – 1st Radyr Hq Heol Isaf

Delivery areas can be checked at http://www.cardiffandvalescouts.org.uk/scoutpost/

Radyr Scouts Group are also looking for volunteers to help sort the Christmas mail. They are meeting from Thursday 28th November at 10am in the Scout hall through to Friday 6th of December.  Can you spare some time to help?

The nextbike station in Station Road is now fully installed and (at the time of drafting) has bikes available for hire.

For full details of how the scheme works and to give it a try visit: https://www.nextbike.co.uk/en/cardiff/ 

(For update, pleae scroll to bottom of item)

Traffic Lights to east of junction of Heol Isaf and Llantrisant Road

Permission to operate temporary traffic lights is, rightly or wrongly, a matter where the local County Councillor has no formal voice. It is determined by a meeting of council officers, the contractor and the developer. I made several suggestions on the need to prevent the roundabout being blocked by queuing traffic coming from the west; I also questioned the hours of work, particularly as they are almost non –existent at weekends when traffic is light. I suggested doing the work in school holidays and asked for consultation with nearby residents to see if 24 hour working could minimise the duration of the work. As the scheme was approved in its current form, I pointed out that little traffic was able to exit from Heol Isaf onto the roundabout; I demanded an arrangement to control the queues from the west as these were blocking access to the roundabout. This was done and traffic movement from Heol Isaf improved.

This week the contractor stopped deploying the man who controlled traffic from the west. I was not either consulted or informed; I have informed council officers of the consequent huge delays in traffic movement and I have sent them a selection of the huge number of justified complaints I have received. I was told, unofficially, that the traffic controller was removed on grounds of safety. Since then, I have requested an alternative system to ensure that traffic coming from the west is constrained to queue west of the roundabout. I was advised that a meeting arranged for today, 14th November, would resolve matters. Failing a workable solution, I will demand that Cardiff Council revokes the permission to operate temporary lights.

I make two supplementary points:

• It is lamentable that the local County Councillor is not formally consulted over such major traffic issues; this means that no voice is permitted to represent the local population who suffer the predictable huge delays.
• Despite wild allegations to the contrary, I opposed the local development plan (LDP) at all stages and in every possible way; in this, support came from many local people and organisations such as R+MCC and RMA. The LDP was forced through by the ruling Labour Party in Cardiff Council, urged on by the ruling Labour Party in the Assembly.

County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 7am on Thursday 14^th November

PS: As I write this, I can see traffic queuing from past the centre of Radyr aiming for the roundabout.

Since writing this message, Plasdwr have issued the follwing statement: https://plasdwr.co.uk/llantrisant-road/ and Paul Carter, Head of Transport for Cardiff Council, has sent Cllr McKerlich the following message:

I met with the Network Management Team  early morning regarding the road works on Llantrisant Road. As you know, the current traffic delays are entirely due to the temporary traffic lights – installed for the necessary drainage works – required on a  24/7 basis in support of your development.

The traffic management is being monitored on a daily basis and particularly during peak times. We too are naturally keen to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum and it is unfortunate that problems were exacerbated earlier today because of a broken down car. That said, and to assist, we are now proposing  a modified plan to include an additional temporary traffic control unit on Llantrisant Road – placed further back on the southbound access leg to the roundabout junction with Heol Isaf. It is considered that this will allow more opportunity for Heol Isaf traffic to the egress onto  Llantrisant Road (a.m. peak),  in a more orderly and equitable way.

We plan to test this alternative modification tomorrow morning and our respective colleagues are, as I type, putting this into action.

Hope this is of some assistance.

Best Wishes,

Paul.