Here's your Friday update, covering: UEFA EURO 2028 host city bid; primary school proposals in parts of central and north Cardiff; and £800m plan for more high quality, low-carbon council homes.

UEFA EURO 2028 host city bid

UEFA EURO 2028 matches being hosted in Cardiff as part of a joint bid by the Football Associations of Wales, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland would deliver ‘significant economic benefits for Cardiff and the Capital Region,' according to a Cardiff Council Cabinet report published ahead of a final bid submission.

Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: "Time and again Cardiff has shown itself capable of hosting world-class sporting events and they don't come much bigger than the UEFA European Football Championship.

"It's not just the significant economic benefits hosting games would deliver for the city and the wider region during the tournament, if successful, the bid would showcase the city, building on its reputation as an international events destination, bringing longer-term benefits for tourism. Importantly, it would also expand opportunities for people in Cardiff to participate in sport and physical activity."

The report recommends approving the submission of the Final Tournament Bid, approving the Host City Agreement, and continuing work to develop the UK & Ireland 2028 bid, as staging matches in Cardiff would:

• Deliver significant economic benefits for Cardiff and the City Region.
• Signal the Capital's post Covid Recovery and provide an anchor event for the development of a new 10-year event strategy.
• Build on Cardiff's reputation as an international events destination.
• Complement Cardiff's sporting event portfolio.
• Provide an international media platform that promotes the reputation of Cardiff and Wales.
• Support the development and sustainability of the cultural, creative event and tourism sectors through the delivery of the UEFA Festival and a cultural and heritage programme.
• Showcase Cardiff's heritage, venues, parkland, and waterfront.
• Support and promote the health and wellbeing agenda by expanding the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity and seeking to significantly increase the number of people wanting to play, coach, or volunteer within Welsh Football including establishing a legacy programme.

The deadline for final bid submissions is April 12th 2023, with UEFA expected to announce the winning bid in autumn 2023.

Read more here

New proposals could see revamp and revitalisation of primary schools in Cathays and parts of Gabalfa, Heath, Llandaff North and Plasnewydd

Plans to reorganise primary school provision to serve Cathays and parts of Gabalfa, Heath, Llandaff North and Plasnewydd could go out for public consultation this Spring, if agreed by Cardiff Council's Cabinet. 

The proposals - aimed at achieving the correct balance of English and Welsh medium primary provision able to meet current and future demand in the area - have been developed for consultation with schools, governors, parents and children.

Three potential options are included in the plans which are designed to improve learning opportunities and to help relieve any financial pressures currently being experienced by schools in the area.

The options are:

Option 1

Allensbank and Gladstone Primary Schools would amalgamate to establish a new 420 place (2FE) English-medium Primary School with nursery on the current shared site at Gladstone Primary School/St Monica's CiW Primary School.

St Monica's CiW Primary School would transfer to the current Ysgol Mynydd Bychan site and establish nursery provision at the school.

Ysgol Mynydd Bychan would transfer to the current Allensbank Primary School site and increase from 192 places to 420 places with the number of nursery places increasing from 64 to 96.

Option 2

Allensbank Primary School would transfer to the current shared Gladstone Primary School/St Monica's CiW Primary School site, and the school would reduce in capacity from 315 places to 210 places, with the age range reducing from 3-11 to 4-11 by discontinuing nursery provision at the school.

The number of nursery places at Gladstone Primary School would increase from 64 to 96.

St Monica's CiW Primary School would transfer to the current Ysgol Mynydd Bychan site and establish nursery provision at the school.

Ysgol Mynydd Bychan would transfer to the current Allensbank Primary School site and increase from 192 places to 420 places with the number of nursery places increasing from 64 to 96.

Option 3

Allensbank Primary School would transfer to the current Ysgol Mynydd Bychan site and reduce in capacity from 315 to 192 places.

Ysgol Mynydd Bychan would transfer to the current Allensbank Primary School site and increase from 192 places to 420 places with the number of nursery places increase from 64 to 96.

Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry said: "At the start of 2021, an interim proposal for Ysgol Mynydd Bychan and Allensbank Primary School was consulted on and having listened to the feedback, it was agreed that a long-term plan to address school places in the area was needed.

"Each of the new options have been carefully devised to ensure that there continues to be the right number of English-medium places provided within improved facilities in the Cathays and Gabalfa wards, and that these are organised in a way that supports the schools in becoming more sustainable whilst addressing demand for Welsh Medium places.

"If progressed, the proposals would help to rebalance the number of Welsh and English medium school places meaning that a greater number of children will gain entry to their local school. In addition, by reusing existing assets more efficiently and through collaborative working, the schools involved would enjoy a number of benefits including improved resources and learning opportunities for pupils and staff. The proposals keep all the existing buildings so the school community can be reassured there will be sufficient places to respond to any future population changes."

Read more here

£800m plan for more high quality, low-carbon council homes

The scale and ambition of Cardiff's council housing development programme has been outlined in the authority's annual Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan.

Representing one of the largest council housing build projects in Wales, the Council's £800m investment in more high-quality, low carbon, affordable homes remains crucial in addressing the significant levels of housing need in the city, and is a key priority in the 2023/24 Business Plan.

With a target of at least 4,000 new homes, 2,800 of which will be council homes and 1,200 homes for sale, more than 1,000 new homes including 822 council homes, have already been built. The overall programme currently includes 60 sites which have the capacity to deliver at least 3,500 new homes in total, while work is underway to identify more sites to achieve the 4,000 homes target.

As part of the programme, more than £150m has been earmarked for 10 new older person community living schemes, providing 600 new apartments to meet older people's aspirations and needs as they age.

Sustainability and innovation are key drivers with developments such as the highly energy efficient, modular-build homes at Crofts Street, Plasnewydd and the net zero ready Aspen Grove site with its use of on-site renewable technologies in Rumney setting the standard and gaining national recognition in prestigious award schemes.

Investment in the new build programme forms part of around £111m that will be ploughed into housing and communities in the city over the next 12 months, on improvements to existing homes, disabled adaptations and regeneration schemes.

The move towards carbon zero homes is a priority not only in new-build developments but in existing stock, in line with the Council's One Planet Cardiff Strategy. Almost £16m will be spent  on existing stock, including £3.1m on energy efficiency schemes to make them more comfortable to live in and more affordable to run for tenants.

Other priorities include continuing to deliver cost of living support, preventing and alleviating homelessness and modernising and improving services for tenants.

Read more here