Here is your Tuesday update, covering:

• Work begins on new flood defences to protect Cardiff homes
• Cardiff's plan to improve key bus routes revealed
• New design and build partner set to be appointed for Cardiff Crossrail

Construction of new flood defence system to protect Cardiff homes begins

Construction of a new Flood Defence scheme that will protect 2,800 homes from the risk of flooding has begun.

Spanning 1.5 kilometres along the foreshore, from Tidefields Road to the River Rhymney estuary, the £35 million scheme, the majority of which is funded by Welsh Government, will take around three years to complete and is designed to:

• protect properties from rising sea levels for the next 100 years.
• provide defence against a one-in-200-year severe weather event, including allowing for the effects of climate change.

The work will see 150,000 tonnes of rock armour protection installed along the coastline to manage erosion and high tides as well as sheet piling and maintained earth embankments along the river estuary.

As part of the project, improvements to the condition of the stretch of Wales Coast Path located within the boundaries of the scheme will also be made, alongside access improvements to the path.

Read more here

Cardiff's plan to improve key bus routes revealed

A new plan to improve six key bus routes into Cardiff city centre, designed to boost passenger numbers and deliver quicker journey times, has been revealed.

The Bus Infrastructure Plan, which sets out a series of possible on-street interventions aimed at improving key bus corridors into Cardiff, will be discussed by the council's Cabinet at its meeting on Thursday, March 21.

The plan, that has been produced in consultation with Cardiff Bus, Transport for Wales, and other operators, sets out a series of improvements which could make bus travel quicker and more reliable.

If approved by Cabinet, authority will be given to consult with the public on the plans.

An outline of the proposed six key bus routes:

Route 1) Ely to the City Centre - This route will connect Ely, Trelai, Canton and Riverside with onward connections to the city centre.

Route 2) University Hospital for Wales to the International Sports Village - This route has been chosen to ensure a vital bus route to the University Hospital of Wales, and provide a key connection to Grangetown, The International Sports Village and on to the Vale of Glamorgan.

Route 3) City Centre to Newport Road, onto Cardiff Parkway and Newport - This route will run from the City Centre down Newport Road to Cardiff Parkway and onto the Newport boundary. This will provide services to Pentwyn, Pontprennau, Rumney and St Mellons.

Route 4) City Centre to Cardiff Bay - This route would look to future proof current bus routes to support future developments and existing railway routes.

Route 5) City Centre to North Cardiff, RCT and Caerphilly - This route is the most established bus route so far and is made up of several routes that connect with North Cardiff through Gabalfa Roundabout and on to the city centre, with ongoing travel to both RCT and Caerphilly.

Route 6) City Centre to Plasnewydd and Northeast Cardiff - This route will connect the highly-populated areas of Plasnewydd and Penylan, providing access to key educational facilities.

Read more here

New design and build partner set to be appointed for Cardiff Crossrail

The first phase of Cardiff Crossrail has taken a step forward today - with news that a design and build partner is set to be appointed, to deliver the detailed design for the first phase of the scheme from Cardiff Central to Cardiff Bay railway station.

Cardiff Council's Cabinet will receive an update on the scheme at its meeting on Thursday, March 21, with recommendations to procure and appoint a delivery partner to deliver the first phase of the scheme, and to give authority for the council and Transport for Wales (TfW) to start the consultation and engagement process with the public.

In January 2023, Cardiff Council, in partnership with TfW, secured £100m of funding for the Cardiff Crossrail project. £50m was secured from the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund, with Welsh Government match funding a further £50m for the project.

The £50m UK Government funding must be spent by the middle of 2026 and the Welsh Government's funding will be awarded in four annual instalments of £12.5m each from 2026.

Read more here