Cardiff Liberal Democrats

Cardiff Council have REJECTED calls by the Gabalfa Lib Dem Focus team for action on parking congestion.

Last year, Cllr. Ed Bridges and Ashley Wood compiled a lengthy petition which called for more resident-only parking locally. The Focus Team also explained to the council that residents felt that parking congestion is a major problem and that action was needed to make it easier for residents to park.

Gabalfa's Liberal Democrat Focus Team have announced their plans for holding surgeries in the ward during 2015.

Local councillor, Ed Bridges, will be available at the following dates and times to speak with any resident who needs any advice. Ed will be joined by local Lib Dem campaigner, Ashley Wood.

Cllr. Ed Bridges and Ashley Wood have welcomed the new lane gates starting to appear in Gabalfa ward.

Because of the work of he Gabalfa Liberal Democrat Focus Team, many lanes around 'The Colonies' are now being gated. The scheme had the support of 80% of residents who took part in a consultation earlier this year.

The Gabalfa Liberal Democrat Focus Team want residents to be aware of two local planning applications in the area.

On Whitchurch Road, plans (reference: 14/02214/MNR) have been submitted to extend and convert 188-1

Meanwhile, on Pen-y-Bryn Way, an application (reference: 14/02019/MNR) seeks permission to build a coach house at the rear of 4 Pen-y-Bryn Way, fronting onto Pen-y-Bryn Place. The proposal follows an application earlier in the year to sub-divide and reconstruct the main house to create two two-bedroom flats.94 Whitchurch Road (currently Cardiff Sportsgear) to create nine flats, with the retention and subdivision of the existing retail space.

Residents in Gabalfa are suffering from parking misery - and the blame can be laid squarely at the door of Cardiff's Labour councillors.

Since 2012, the Gabalfa Focus Team have tried to work with Cardiff Council's Labour administration to resolve local parking problems - but progress has been very slow. The inaction has been attributed to Labour's internal politics which has seen three different Cabinet Members dealing with the matter in just two years! The party also recently ousted its Council Leader, further delaying the matter.

Councillor Ed Bridges will be holding the following surgeries between now and the end of 2014:

• Saturday 13th September, 1-2pm, North Star pub, North Road
• Thursday 6th November, 6-7pm, North Star pub, North Road
• Thursday 4th December, 6-7pm, Heath pub, Whitchurch Road

Please note, there will be NO surgery during October.

Cllr. Ed Bridges is encouraging residents in Gabalfa ward to come along and head plans for the new Whitchurch Road doctors' surgery at a drop-in event next month.

There have been long-standing plans to move the existing surgery on the corner of Whitchurch Road and Banastre Avenue to a new site at Flaxland Allotments. The scheme would allow significant improvements to be made to the rest of the allotment site, as well as providing the community with a state-of-the-art doctors' surgery for the 21^st century.

Opposition councillors in Cardiff will make a joint call on Thursday for the city's Labour administration to conduct a public consultation over controversial changes at Gabalfa Interchange.

Since August, a trial road safety scheme has been in place at the roundabout, which sees 50,000 vehicles pass by every day. However, the changes have attracted severe criticism from local residents and commuters - leading to calls for a public consultation before the scheme is made permanent.

Residents in Gabalfa have been told by Cardiff's Labour Council that they must continue to wait for help with local parking congestion.

Ed Bridges, Lib Dem councillor for Gabalfa ward, has consistently argued that more road space in the area should be given over to resident-only parking. Currently, council policy dictates that a maximum of 50% of a street can be allocated as 'resident-only'; yet for historical reasons, houses in Heath ward around UHW benefit from 100% resident-only parking even though most of those properties also have private driveways!

At the request of local councillors in Gabalfa ward, Cardiff Council has agreed to hold a consultation event to gauge the views of residents around The Colonies on the issue of alley gating.

Alley gating aims to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by installing lockable gates to the end of alleyways. This restricts public access to problem lanes and alleyways only to those whose properties have direct access to them. Gated lanes have been tried and tested at various locations around the city, reducing the opportunities for crime and anti-social behaviour.