Here is your Tuesday update, covering:
- Riverside park makeover complete
- Lovell and Cardiff Council celebrate ‘topping out' of first apartment block at community living scheme in St Mellons
- Moorland Primary School marks official opening of new school development
- Cardiff Council to support installation of up to 100 new EV chargers in next two years
Riverside park makeover complete
The makeover of a city park to incorporate new features and create a more pleasant environment has been completed.
Improvement works at Clare Gardens in Riverside began over the summer and following the introduction of a new community garden, exercise area, and social space, alongside meadow planting, and a range of other enhancements, the park was reopened today (October 4) for the local community to enjoy once again.
The works have been carried out as part of the Council's Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme programme which delivers regeneration projects across the city.
The programme delivers small scale regeneration initiatives put forward by local members. Projects are designed and developed in partnership with local residents, community groups and agencies to address an identified need or problem.
The Clare Gardens scheme was funded by Welsh Government's Transforming Towns Programme and the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lee Bridgeman and Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke joined local ward members at the gardens today to check out the improvements which include:
- A new community garden.
- A new table tennis table.
- New picnic tables.
- A new bodyweight/calisthenics exercise area.
- A new social space with seating.
- Re-surfaced paths and walking loop.
- New meadow area and other new planting.
- Two new gate entrances, one on each corner of Clare Street.
- New tree planting and existing mature trees retained.
The improvements are designed to complement the play area and sports facilities in nearby Despenser Gardens.
Lovell and Cardiff Council celebrate ‘topping out' of first apartment block at community living scheme in St Mellons
Leading partnerships developer Lovell and Cardiff Council have hosted a ‘topping out' ceremony, to celebrate the roof being installed on the first apartment block at the St Mellons Community Living Project, which will provide high-quality, independent living accommodation for older people.
Situated on Crickhowell Road, on the site of the former Youth and Community Centre, the £17.2m development will deliver a total of 60 one and two-bedroom, self-contained apartments for social rent, that will be built to high sustainability standards, powered by a communal heating system and benefit from solar panels.
The site will also be home to a wide range of communal facilities, including activity rooms, residents' lounges, a health suite, landscaped gardens, electric scooter charging points and bicycle storage. The scheme will form part of the St Mellons District Centre and be within walking distance of local shopping facilities and the St Mellons Hub.
‘Topping out' is a construction milestone celebrated in the industry when the highest point of a building is installed. The first apartment block has now reached this stage, and work is well underway on the remaining blocks.
Construction work on the whole project, which is being built by Lovell as a design and build scheme, is due to be completed in summer 2025. Over the course of the project 884 apprenticeship weeks will be provided, and Lovell will be injecting circa £350,000 worth of social value into the St Mellons community.
Moorland Primary School marks official opening of new school development
Moorland Primary School in Splott has celebrated the official opening of its new school development worth £7million of investment.
A special event has been held to open the school's new 20 place Specialist Resource Base for pupils with Complex Learning Needs and the replacement of the Early Years Unit which was in essential need of updating.
A new Flying Start provision, Twinkle Star, has been established, increasing the number of places from 36 to 48 per session, allowing more local families to benefit from the provision. This expansion also opens up the potential for childcare spaces for 3 and 4-year-olds in the near future. The move has facilitated the transfer of children from the current Flying Start site at Willows High School, which is scheduled to be relocated and rebuilt on land off Lewis Road by 2026.
The event was attended by Cardiff Council's Leader Cllr Huw Thomas, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Sarah Merry and Cabinet Member for Childrens Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People, Cllr Ash Lister.
They were joined by Headteacher Emma Laing, local councillors and representatives from Knox and Wells, the contractor chosen to carry out the works.
School children provided African drumming and singing performances and guests enjoyed a tour of the new facilities.
The new community campus facility will offer both educational and family support services, benefiting families from pre-birth, right through to primary age children. Additionally, the scheme includes a new Multi-Use Game Area, enhanced outdoor spaces, sustainable drainage features, and a new crèche and community room for parenting and community activities. The former caretaker's house has been demolished, and the Splott Adventure Amateur Boxing Club has been relocated to Ocean Park.
Cardiff Council to support installation of up to 100 new EV chargers in next two years
Up to 100 new electric vehicle charging points could be installed with Cardiff Council support over the next two years.
The plans are part of a newly published ‘Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Roadmap' to help aid the transition to electric vehicles, which also sets out the local authority's plan to focus initially on supporting public EV charging in areas with low levels of off-street parking including Heath, Gabalfa, Cathays, Roath, Penylan, Adamsdown, Riverside, Canton, Grangetown and Butetown.
The roadmap forms part of the council's One Planet Cardiff response to climate change, which aims to reduce the 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions created in the city every year, 41% of which currently come from transport.
The new chargers will be predominantly standard chargers (7kW) and some fast chargers (up to 50kW). They will be delivered, operated and maintained at no net cost to the council, in partnership with the private sector through a competitive tendering process. The intention is to install these ‘on street' or in local car parks.
In tandem with the Councils work it is expected that the number of commercial public sites will continue to grow significantly across the city, leading to in the region of 600-700 charge points in 2025/2026 - up from the current figure of around 200 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points today.