Here's your Friday update, covering: Castle Street is set to remain open to general traffic; Improving community buildings to boost their use; and Celebrating excellence and dedication in care work recognition night. 

Castle Street is set to remain open to general traffic

Cardiff's Castle Street looks set to remain open to general traffic with the current temporary road set up made permanent - with two lanes for general traffic, a westbound bus lane and a two-way cycleway remaining on the street.

Cardiff Council's Cabinet will discuss two options at its meeting on Thursday April 27th - with a recommendation, subject to Welsh Government funding, to allow general traffic to continue to use Castle Street and to enable a permanent scheme to be put in place.

Option 1. To allow general traffic to continue to use the street;

Option 2. Only to allow buses, taxis, and cyclists to use the street.

Detailed air quality modelling has now taken place for Castle Street and the surrounding network for both options and the results show that keeping the road open to general traffic is preferable both in terms of the benefits to the economy and the environment.

The air quality modelling has resulted in three main conclusions:

1. Both options achieve the legally required air quality on Castle Street.
2. Banning general traffic on Castle Street would create an increase in Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) concentrations on the wider road network.
3. Allowing general traffic to use Castle Street will provide more resilience on Cardiff's highway network as the city continues to develop.

Both options meet the Welsh Government requirements to deliver air quality compliance - measured levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) on Castle Street have been compliant since 2021 following legal direction from Welsh Government to reduce the levels of NO2 on this street.

Cllr Dan De'Ath, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: "The modelled data shows that allowing all traffic to use Castle Street does marginally improve the overall air quality in the city centre and the surrounding road network. When transport planning, we must ensure that there are adequate routes from the east of the city to the west and vice versa, not only for motorists, but for cyclists and pedestrians as well.

"Also, keeping Castle Street open to general traffic will help traffic continue to flow into and out of the city centre in the future when we consider other road calming measures. For instance, we know that we will have to look at restricting the east to west route via Callaghan Square where traffic lanes will need to be removed to allow the new on street tram/train line to be built for the first phase of Cardiff Crossrail. This is an exciting project which will really begin to change the public transport offer across the city. Continuing to allow all traffic to use Castle Street will help traffic to flow better into and out of the city centre while our tram/train options progress.

"Other requirements must also be assessed other than air quality, we need to consider the impact of any change on any road layout on the wider highway network; we must protect residential areas from air pollution; support cycling and walking and install a permanent scheme on Castle Street that befits a capital city. At the end of the day, we must improve the local environment for everyone.

"If Cabinet approves, the temporary scheme that is currently in place will be made permanent with two lanes for general traffic, a bus lane westbound, a two-way segregated cycleway and wider pavements. Subject to Welsh Government funding, and following the necessary tender processes, work could start on-street in early 2024."

Read more here

Improving community buildings to boost their use

Voluntary-sector community organisations in the city are being invited to apply for grants for projects that will improve their community buildings and help secure or increase their use by the local community.

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to fund internal and external improvements to buildings such as community centres or community halls, including improving accessibility and security measures, kitchen refurbishments, and energy efficiency upgrades.

Groups and organisations bidding for grant funding are required to contribute at least 15% of the overall project costs from other sources.

Eligible groups must be constituted or have a statement of aims for their organisation and have a bank account.  Eligible community buildings are for use by the whole community, not just  a single or restricted number of groups.

Applications received for buildings within deprived areas will be scored as a higher priority compared to other applications.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne said: "The aim of this Community Buildings Grants programme is to support groups and organisations to provide local, accessible facilities near where people live. We want to help groups to enhance and upgrade their buildings to make them more sustainable, and better used by the communities they serve."

Further details and an application form are  available here

The deadline to apply for funding is May 9, 2023

Celebrating excellence and dedication in care work recognition night

Care workers from across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan have been recognised for their dedication and exemplary standards of work at Cardiff and the Vale Regional Workforce Partnership's Celebration of Excellence in Care.

In the annual event, held at Barry's Memo Arts Centre and hosted by BBC News presenter, Sian Lloyd, care workers from council teams and partner providers in the region were presented with awards for achieving their Health and Social Care qualification in the past year.

The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Graham Hinchey, Cardiff Council Cabinet Members for Social Services, Cllr Norma Mackie (Adults) and Cllr Ash Lister (Children's) were joined at the event by Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan MS, as well as senior officers from Welsh Government, and Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Councils.

Employees from organisations working within the Cardiff and the Vale Regional Workforce Partnership who have gained their qualification and demonstrated dedication and exemplary standards of work were celebrated and presented with a certificate and goody bag.

Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Graham Hinchey, said: "I want to pay tribute to the dedication, patience, and professionalism of all the care workers we celebrated at the awards presentation evening. Care work is not an easy role for anyone to undertake, but it is an essential one. It is central to the wellbeing of thousands of people in our city, so my personal thanks go to each and every care worker making the difference every day."

Cllr Norma Mackie said: "Our marvellous care workers in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan do an incredible job. They work tirelessly, often in very challenging circumstances so it's so important that celebrations like this happen to let them know how much we all appreciate their efforts and achievements."

Cllr Ash Lister said: "It was an honour to join in celebrating the great work being done across Cardiff and the Vale throughout social care.  Day in, day out the care workers we celebrated are influencing and changing people's lives.

"My mother is a domiciliary care worker so I've seen first-hand the care, passion and dedication which goes into the roles care workers do in supporting the most vulnerable in our communities."