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Cardiff Council Update: 12 September 2023
12/09/23
Here is our latest update, covering:
- Update on the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete in Cardiff schools
- National Industrial Action has been extended from September 25thuntil October 16th
- Road closures for the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 1st
- New term fresh start - Cardiff Council launches latest school attendance drive
- Atlantic Wharf Masterplan takes another step forward
Update on the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in Cardiff Schools
Cardiff Council has now completed a detailed review including inspections at 115 schools across the city and is happy that none of the schools containReinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
This makes up the council's entire school estate.
Work on looking for RAAC in the school estate began in May this year.
Cllr Sarah Merry, Cabinet Member for Education said: "The Council has prioritised theinspection of school sites and specialist investigators have been looking for the presence of RAAC since May.
"During the past week, resources have been expanded and teams have been working flat out to complete assessments on the last remaining schools.
"The issues around the use of RAAC have caused a lot of concern and I am pleased that parents, pupils and staff can now be reassured thatno RAAC has been found at any of the city's Local Authority maintained schools.
"I would like to express my thanks for thehuge effort that went into inspecting all our school estate by our teams, who concluded their investigations almost a month ahead of schedule."
A priority list for the wider Council estate has been drafted and these inspections will start next week.
National Industrial Action has been extended from September 25th until October 16th
The Unite Union's industrial action over nationally-negotiated pay awards has now been extended until October 16th.
Unite began UK-wide strike action on September 4 and this was due to end on September 18th. Now the union has advised that it will extend its strike action until October 16 - albeit with a week's break between September 18 and September 25.
Due to the extended strike, other council services may now become impacted by industrial action. We will let residents know as soon as we can what services are affected if this happens. Please check our social media accounts daily for updates.
As you know, some waste streams have already been affected by the strike and we expect these services to continue to be impacted between now and October 16th- but we want you to know that we are doing everything we can to minimise any impact on you.
If any of your waste isn't collected on your scheduled collection day, we ask residents to bring their waste back into the confines of their property and to put it out on the next scheduled collection day.
To ensure the council can continue to collect most of your black bins and black bags, food waste, and recycling, new collection arrangements are being prepared in case they are required during the strike.
It is also possible other changes may have to be announced during the industrial action due to further unforeseen disruption.
Because of this, and because the situation could change on a daily basis, we are asking that you please ignore any collection notifications which you have signed up to until strike action ends.
With the Cardiff Half Marathon taking place on Sunday, October 1st, the city is expected to be exceptionally busy, so residents and visitors are advised to plan and leave plenty of time for their journey.
On Wednesday September 27th, the following road closures will be put in place at the Civic Centre to set up and dismantle the race village for the event.
From 5am on Wednesday, September 27thuntil just before midnight on Monday, October 2ndCollege Road will be closed from the junction with Museum Avenue to the junction with King Edward VII Avenue (Vehicle access to private parking and deliveries will be maintained until 9am on Saturday, September 30th)
From 5am on Thursday September 28thuntil just before midnight on Monday October 2ndEdward VII Avenue will be closed to the junction with Boulevard de Nantes and to the junction with City Hall Road.
From 5am on Friday September 29thuntil just before midnight on Sunday, October 1stthe following roads will be closed:
King Edward VII (Junction with Boulevard de Nantes to the junction with City Hall Road, and from the junction with Corbett Road to the junction with City Hall Road)
Museum Avenue from the closed end with Corbett Road to the junction with Gorsedd Gardens Road
Gorsedd Gardens Road, from the junction with Park Place to the junction with Museum Avenue
City Hall Road from the junction with Museum Avenue to its junction with North Road.
Access will be permitted for private parking and deliveries until 9.00 a.m. Saturday 5thOctober. Access for emergency services will be permitted from North Road when the event takes place.
New term fresh start - Cardiff Council launches latest school attendance drive
Let's get attendance back on track is the message from Cardiff Council, as a new drive is launched which aims to make sure all children and young people have the best chance of achieving, by improving school attendance standards.
In partnership with schools and to coincide with the start of the new school term, the campaign is now in its second academic year and highlights that everyday matters and that lost days of learning all add up. The purpose is to remind families, that with a new term comes a fresh start and that regular school attendance is an important part in helping learners to achieve more and improve attainment during their school lives and beyond.
Priorto schools closing in March 2020 due to COVID-19, a statutory report to Welsh Government showed primary school attendance in Cardiff was at 94.8% and secondary school attendance was at 93.2%.Cardiff's significant progress in improving attendance across schools had been consistently good for a number of years.
However, due to the significant disruption experienced by pupils and their schools during the pandemic, attendance levels dropped and still many learners missing days regularly.
Atlantic Wharf Masterplan takes another step forward
The Atlantic Wharf Masterplan will take another step forward this Wednesday, September 13, when the Council presents the redevelopment opportunity to the market. The regeneration opportunity covers around 30 acres and includes the planned Indoor Arena and the existing County Hall and Red Dragon Centre site.
To accelerate the redevelopment of the site the Council has decided to split the area into 2 parts.
Around 7 acres of land north of Hemmingway Road, containing the current County Hall site, will be taken forward through a procurement process, as the Council wishes to specify some elements of the redevelopment including the delivery of offices and a creative industries production studio. The procurement process will start with a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) providing four weeks for developers to declare their interest. Up to 3 bidders will then be shortlisted and taken through a detailed tender process, which the Council is aiming to complete by spring of next year.
The Council is scheduled to define its core offices requirements by the end of the year ahead of concluding the business case by the Spring before the final redevelopment proposal is chosen.
The remaining 11.3 acres of land south of Hemmingway Road containing the Red Dragon Centre and land immediately adjoining will be marketed as a land transaction, as the Council does not wish to specify any specific requirements. The marketing process will run for eight weeks and will seek to secure a developer to enter into an ‘Option Agreement' to bring forward a phased mixed-use development including the relocation of tenants of the Red Dragon Centre into new purpose-built space.
