Cardiff Council has developed proposals to improve the long-established section of the Taff Trail which runs through Hailey Park between Bridge Road and Ty Mawr Road.
The Taff Trail forms part of a network of routes which the Council is seeking to develop and/or improve in order to grow active travel and fulfil the statutory duties conferred on it by the Active Travel (Wales) Act.
The existing path through Hailey Park is formally shared by pedestrians and cyclists as it has been for many years. The proposed scheme involves widening the existing path and realigning part of it. The proposals are to widen the path and realign part of it to let all park users move safely within or through the park. We aim to improve the experience for all path users.
Parts of the proposed scheme would run along an alternative alignment. Other sections of the path follow an alternative alignment. At the northern end the alternative alignment would avoid a narrow section of the existing path which passes close to trees. The existing path would also be retained.
At the southern end an alternative alignment is proposed to avoid a number of constraints, such as:
- the proximity of trees,
- existing infrastructure, and
- ecological features including protect species of fungi.
Appropriate signs will be included within the scheme to advise path users how to use the route safely and to encourage considerate behaviour. This will be supported by a promotional campaign to reinforce key messages to different user groups.
Feedback from the consultation and engagement activities highlighted a number of concerns with the proposals. In particular:
- the loss of green space,
- the width of the path and concerns that this will result in cyclists travelling faster,
- the proximity of the proposed path to the footway adjacent to Mary Street,
- the proximity of the children’s play areas and concerns around the safety of this,
- the visual impact of the scheme, and
- concerns about rainwater run-off and potential flooding impacts.
A number of changes have been made to the original proposals to address these concerns:
- realigning the proposed path further away from Mary Street.
- reducing the width of the proposed path from 5 metres to 4 metres.
- removing the painted mural in the vicinity of the children’s play areas.
- putting ‘Slow’ markings on the path and ‘Share with Care’ markings.
- installing bespoke designed soakaways to reduce surface run-off to address flooding concerns.
The proposals were first formally consulted on before the Covid19 pandemic in March 2020.
Consultation activities
A consultation event was held at 2nd Llandaff Scout Group, Belle Vue Crescent on 14 March 2020 from 10am to 2pm to review and discuss the Hailey Park scheme. This event was very well attended.
The consultation was promoted through the following activities:
- Snap survey included with the consultation documents on the Cardiff Council website
- Letter drop to properties in the vicinity of the scheme
- Site notices in the vicinity of the scheme
- Email to stakeholders and statutory consultees
- Press release
- Information on front page of Council website
- Social media
Due to the Covid19 lockdown restrictions which came into effect at the end of March 2020, it was not possible to carry out any further consultation events, however, the consultation period was extended for a further two weeks.
In light of feedback received from the initial formal consultation, a number of changes have been made to the proposed scheme.
The Council is now carrying out further public and stakeholder engagement on these changes.
A drop in engagement event was held at Llandaff North Scouts Hall on Wednesday 19 April between the hours of 5pm and 8pm.
Prior to the event, invitation letters were posted over 570 residential properties in streets west of Station Road and south of (and including) the section of Ty Mawr Road within Llandaff North Ward. The event was also publicised on social media.
Paper copies of the general arrangement plans and extracts from the 3D visuals of the scheme were displayed on walls and tables. A video of the 3D visuals was screened on a PC and monitor brought to the event by officers.
Following the first phase of consultation, the following changes were made to the scheme design which were presented at the consultation event in April 2023:
- The path has been realigned adjacent to Mary Street to maintain residential and visitors parking on the south side of Mary Street. An additional pedestrian connection to the footpath on Mary Street will provide improved connectivity for pedestrians accessing the park from Mary Street.
- ‘Share With Care’ floor markings will be used throughout scheme to inform all users that they are using a shared space within a parks environment.
- The width of the path has been reduced from 5m to 4m which will reduce the amount of space required to facilitate the new sections of footpath and the area of new hard surfacing within the park.
Consultation report
We formally consulted on these proposals in March 2020. Using the feedback from the consultation, a number of changes have been made to the proposed scheme. We carried out further engagement on the changes between 13 July and 11 August 2023.