Here's your Friday update, covering:Statue of Rugby Codebreakers to be unveiled; 1.6 tonnes of coffee pods have been recycled in Cardiff since April this year; Pentwyn Leisure Centre Community Consultation; New street-lighting reporting function on Cardiff Gov app.

Statue of Rugby Codebreakers to be unveiled

A statue celebrating three legendary Welsh ‘Rugby Codebreakers' is due to be revealed in Cardiff Bay next week.

The statue celebrating Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan, and Gus Risman will be unveiled during a public ceremony in Landsea Square in Mermaid Quay on Wednesday 19th July at 11am. It will be the first statue in Wales ever to feature non-fictionalised, named black men.

All three players featured on the statue grew up within a three-mile radius of the Cardiff Bay area, and went on to become some of the country's greatest sporting heroes.

Established in 2020, the ‘One Team. One Race: Honouring the Cardiff Bay Rugby Codebreakers' project behind the statue was inspired to begin fundraising for a statue following calls from the Butetown and wider Cardiff Bay community for a fitting tribute to the players who did so much to improve race relations across Britain.

Businessman and philanthropist, Sir Stanley Thomas OBE, took on the role as the chairman of the fundraising committee and kick started the fundraising campaign with a significant personal donation.

Sir Stanley Thomas OBE, said:

"I am delighted that we are now close to the point where the statue will be revealed to the public, and these wonderful sporting heroes will finally receive the recognition they deserve, in the city where they grew up."

The three players featured on the statue were selected by a public vote. All have been honoured in some form in other areas of the UK, but the statue in Cardiff Bay, created by sculptor Steve Winterburn, will be the first formal recognition of the sporting heroes in their hometown.

Cardiff Council Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, said:

"These incredible players brought honour to themselves, their families, the game, and the proud multi-cultural communities where they were brought up. Once in place, the statue will ensure their stories live on as a constant source of inspiration for future generations."

Chair of the Heritage and Cultural Exchange, Gaynor Legall, said:

"The installation of the statue will mean a lot to us, something that looks like us and is about us and our story; that shares the pride that we have in those individuals with the rest of Wales. Having statues that celebrate their achievements is not just for the people of Tiger Bay but for Wales."

Read more here

1.6 tonnes of coffee pods have been recycled in Cardiff since April this year

1.6 tonnes of coffee pods have been recycled from over 2,600 properties in Cardiff since April this year.

The new scheme allows households to sign up to the scheme with Podback, so the council can collect coffee pods from residents' homes at no cost to the taxpayer to continue to increase the city's recycling rate.

Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Climate Change at Cardiff Council, said: "As a council we don't have any power or influence over the types of packaging and waste produced by companies selling products and materials. Our role is to recycle as much of it as possible, while ensuring the safe treatment and disposal of any waste that cannot be reused or recycled. The Podback scheme is an excellent example of ‘producer responsibility', where the manufacturers are taking the initiative to recycle the waste that they generate.

"Any households that use these coffee machines but haven't yet signed up to the scheme are encouraged to do so, as it is quick and easy to do, and the council is keen to expand the scheme as far as possible.

"The council is continuing to work with waste manufacturers to try to recycle even more products through Cardiff's kerbside recycling service, so we can continue to increase the city's recycling and composting rate and reach the challenging targets that have been set by Welsh Government."

The pods collected through the new service will be recycled in the UK, with plastic and aluminium being used to make new products, including packaging and car components with the coffee grounds used to create renewable energy and soil improver.

Read more here

Pentwyn Leisure Centre Community Consultation

Two community ‘drop in' sessions will be held next week, offering local residents the opportunity to view and comment on plans to upgrade Pentwyn Leisure Centre.

The drop-in sessions will take place at Pentwyn Leisure Centre on Wednesday 19th July (10am-7pm) and the Powerhouse Community Centre on Thursday 20th July (10am-6pm).

For those unable to attend a drop-in session, an option to provide comments online will be advertised via Cardiff Council's social media feeds from July 19th. The online feedback will remain open until the end of the month.

The recently revealed plans for the centre include:

• A new 20m x 8m pool, heated by a ground source heat pump.
• A new cafeteria.
• A new fitness gym on the ground floor.
• A new full-sized 3G pitch and mini pitch.
• A refurbished family-changing facility.
• A new hall and external space which could be leased to a third party - potentially to create an area for Padel tennis on site.
• Roof mounted solar panels.

Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: "Local leisure facilities mean a lot to the communities they serve, and these drop-in sessions will give the community the chance to comment on our plans to upgrade the facility, ahead of detailed design being completed.

"Despite the cost pressures being felt across the construction industry and rising energy bills, the Council has always been committed to this project. Our initial plans for have had to be reworked in the light of those increases, but importantly we believe we have found a way forward which will see Pentwyn Leisure Centre benefit from a big refurbishment.  The plans ensure that swimming will remain an option at the centre within a more sustainable and affordable operating model."

On the bright side: New street lighting function on Cardiff Gov app

Residents who have downloaded the Cardiff Gov app on their mobile devices can now report issues with street lighting in the city.

The latest release of the app, available to download on the Google Play Store or Apple's App store, allows residents to quickly and conveniently tell the Council about a street lighting fault, pinpointing its exact location on in-app map.

The new function is the latest to be added to the app, which has now been downloaded almost 77,000 times since its launch, with almost 1,400 downloads last month alone.

The street lighting reporting joins a host of other functions on the app, including checking your waste collection day, telling us about persistent problem parking, reporting dog fouling and even managing your council tax account.

Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance, Cllr Chris Weaver, said: "The council is constantly looking at ways to make it as easy as possible for residents to engage with us, whether that's reporting issues like fly-tipping or finding out opening times for our recycling centres.

"The street light fault reporting on the newest release of the app is latest way we're making it easier for customers to contact us, at a time that suits them. I'd encourage anyone yet to download the app to get it now. It's really useful and we're adding services to the app all the time."

With the Cardiff Gov app, reports are automatically routed to the right team in the Council allowing us to resolve them in the least amount of time. The app is just one of digital ways residents and customers can get in touch with the Council.

Read more here