Rhiwbina Living Issue 55

news
Newly-planted
trees damaged
in Rhiwbina parks
Newly-planted trees in a
Rhiwbina park have become
the target of vandals over the
last few months.
Young trees worth several
thousand pounds were
snapped in half by mindless
wastrels during the early part
of the summer. The damage
followed similar destruction
to trees in Heath Park.
Rhiwbina councillor
Jayne Cowan said she was
'absolutely disgusted' by the
damage.
"My colleagues Adrian
Robson, Oliver Owen and I
have been inundated with
reports from local residents
regarding the deliberate
damage to trees in both
Caedelyn Park and Parc
y Pentre," she said. "The
community is very angry
that this is continuing to
happen, and I urge anyone
with information about this to
contact 101.
"The local parks and open
spaces are so well used and
loved by local residents and
visitors alike; we need to
ensure they are preserved
and maintained for the
future."
Cardiff Bus
announces
changes
Cardiff Bus has announced
a change to a number of
its timetables from early
September.
A statement said:
"The new timetables restore
the more typical service
frequency seen before the
school summer holidays. At
the same time many routes
will see new timetables, with
many journeys re-timed to
better reflect the level of
congestion, which is often
unpredictable, that we
continue to face."
The new timetable for the
21 and 23 services include a
later departure from Cardiff
city centre to Whitchurch,
Pantmawr and Rhiwbina
Mondays to Saturdays.
4
Land at Caedelyn Park could be
part of council land swap plans
A large section of Caedelyn Park has
featured in potential plans for a land
swap, as council officials identify two
pieces of land in Cardiff that it could
exchange to allow Maindy Park to be
developed on.
Cardiff Council is the trustee of
Maindy Park, a charity registered with
the Charity Commission. The Council,
acting as Local Education Authority,
has asked the Charity about releasing
part of the land at Maindy Park to
accommodate a proposed expansion
of Cathays High School.
The Council has proposed providing
alternative land in its ownership that is
not currently held in trust or subject to
similar covenants in exchange for the
charity land. The land offered for the
proposed land swap includes an area
of Blackweir and 7.38 acres of land in
Caedelyn Park.
The council approved plans to
expand Cathays High School in
October 2021. The expansion will
see a replacement school built and
the Maindy Velodrome cycle track
moved. The development will allow
for a modern school that can offer
space for more students and sports
pitches - something the school does
not have now.
A Council spokesperson said:
“Two sites near to Maindy, which
might be suitable to the Trust in any
land swap, have been identified at
Blackweir and Caedelyn Park. Both
sites fulfil the required criteria in that
they are green space of a similar scale
and relatively close to the existing
land and do not have existing trust
designation."
Calls for better Blue Plaque system
The leader of the Welsh
Conservatives in the Senedd, Andrew
RT Davies, has called for a ‘proper
blue plaque system for Wales’.
Currently, blue plaques in Wales are
the result of different local schemes.
Davies has said he wants to see a
national scheme for Wales, following
discussions with constituents who
have struggled with the current
system, which would fund and
coordinate the placing of bilingual
plaques across Wales.
Commenting, Mr Davies said:
“Blue plaques are a great way of
fence posting our history. They remind
us of the inspirational people who
lived in our villages, towns and cities,
and they inspire us to try and do great
things.
“The plaque system, as it stands,
is fragmented, and people can find
it hard to interact with. That’s why
I’m calling for a proper blue plaque
system for Wales.
“If Labour ministers do listen to us,
and set up this national body, I’ll be
putting in an application for Derrick
Hassan to receive a blue plaque.
“Derrick was the first black police
officer to serve in South Wales Police,
and I think it would be wonderful
to have that celebrated with a blue
plaque on his house in Rhiwbina.”