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The Update: 25 October 2024
Here is your Friday update, covering:
- Construction officially commences on the new Willows High School
- Rare ‘Gabalva' apple trees once grown on the Bute Estate to be reintroduced to Cardiff
- Record-breaking ‘Cemetery of the Year' win for Thornhill Cemetery
- Dock Feeder and City Centre East Scheme wins prestigious award
Construction officially commences on the new Willows High School
A special ground-breaking ceremony has marked the start of construction of the new home for Willows High School.
The £60m project is the latest of Cardiff's education developments delivered under Cardiff Council and Welsh Governments Band B Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme and will see the existing Willows High School relocated and rebuilt to provide capacity for 900 learners aged 11 to 16 years, in addition to a 30 place Special Resource Base for pupils with Complex Learning Needs.
The new school will provide excellent quality education environments to support and enhance teaching and learning, as well as comprehensive sports facilities including sports hall, gym, drama studio and grass pitches which will be available for public use outside of school hours. The scheme will also deliver enhanced pedestrian facilities to support active travel arrangements at the new school site.
The ground was cut at the site by Cardiff Council's Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Sarah Merry and Willows High School headteacher Chris Norman.
They were joined by representatives from Welsh Government, school governors, local councillors and Year 7 pupils from the school.
Rare ‘Gabalva' apple trees once grown on the Bute Estate to be reintroduced to Cardiff
A rare species of apple that once grew in the grounds of the Bute family estate in Cardiff is to be reintroduced to the city for what is thought to be the first time in around 100 years.
Fifty Gabalfa apple trees, recorded historically as ‘Gabalva' apples, will be planted in Gabalfa Park, Maitland Park, as part of the Bute Park Community Orchard, and on school grounds, as part of Cardiff Council's ‘Coed Caerdydd ‘urban forest project. In total, with the help of community volunteers, the project aims to plant at least 30,000 new trees across 185 different sites in Cardiff during the 2024/25 tree planting season.
The last record of Gabalva apples in Cardiff's green spaces dates back to the time of renowned horticulturalist Andrew Pettigrew, who was Head Gardener to the 3rd Marquis of Bute from 1873 to 1901, who described three trees of this variety growing in the grounds "here at Gabalva" as being "about 35 feet high, with trunks thicker than a man's body."
The lost variety of apple was rediscovered in Carmarthenshire in 2004 and has since been included in the National Fruit Collection, part of an international programme to protect plant genetic resources for the future.
According to an issue of the Gardener's Chronicle published in the Pettigrew era, this variety of apple was "sufficiently good for a late dessert apple" and a "very valuable one for culinary purposes in the early months of the year" but even in the Victorian era, they appear to have been rare, with Pettigrew talking of how he had "shown specimens of the fruit to good judges at different times, but none of them knew it."
Record-breaking ‘Cemetery of the Year' win for Thornhill Cemetery
Thornhill Cemetery has been named ‘Cemetery of the Year' for a record fourth time.
The cemetery previously won the ‘Gold Award' in the large cemetery category of this prestigious national competition, run by the Memorial Awareness Board, in 2016, 2020 and 2021.
The awards, which were presented earlier this month at the ‘Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management Learning Convention and Exhibition,' reflect the high standards of maintenance at the site and the quality and choice of services offered to the bereaved.
The Cemetery of the Year Award is supported and endorsed by leading industry Associations, including the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA), the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), and the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM).
Dock Feeder and City Centre East Scheme wins prestigious award
The City Centre East and Churchill Way Canal Scheme has been awarded a major civil engineering award.
Earlier this month, the Council, Atkins Realis and Knights Brown were awarded the Bill Ward Sustainability Award at the Ice Wales Cymru Civil Engineering Awards 2024.
The Civil Engineering Awards recognise individuals and organisations for innovation, smart engineering, and sustainability in the industry in Wales.
The uncovering of the Dock Feeder which has been buried under Churchill Way for the last 70 years is the first phase of a wider regeneration project, with plans to extend the canal along Churchill Way to connect to the canal south of Tyndall Street.
This new development could open the potential to deliver a new urban district including the regeneration of Bridge Street, David Street, Charles Street, Tredegar Street, Guildford Crescent, and Barrack Lane.
The Dock Feeder's primary purpose is to manage surface water, allowing rainwater to pass-through purpose-built rain gardens, so the water can be cleaned before eventually passing into the canal.
The design ensures that 3,500m2 of water can be diverted from the sewer reducing the cost and energy of treating this water through the sewage pumping station at Cardiff Bay
The re-emergence of the Dock Feeder also delivers a new water habitat in the city centre, creating a new public space, outdoor seating, an amphitheatre-style performance area and two foot bridges to cross the water. Floating water habitats have also been installed, with recent sightings of an otter taking a rest on the platform before continuing with their day.
