Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

Greenfield land in Cardiff threatened with housing development. Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

On Monday 31 October Cardiff Council announced that the Local Development Plan (LDP) would be delayed for 12 months.

Land threatened with development, Lisvane. Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

Carlyle Developments have submitted plans to build 40 new “executive-style” houses on a 10-acre site in Lisvane.

More than 44 trees would be felled to make way for the stylish houses, including mature ash, oak, sycamore and cherry trees.

Each red-brick home would have six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a double garage.

The old laundry building on the corner of Blenheim Road and Marlborough Road in Penylan could be knocked down to make way for a retirement home.

Shops in King Street, Pontcanna, Cardiff. Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

Pontcanna landlord, Chris Voyle, has submitted plans to create a 2,600sqm ground floor supermarket at the former Pontcanna Pine warehouse on King’s Road. Mr Voyle said he was talking to a number of retailers, including supermarkets, but that no contract had been signed.

Ballantynes Wine Merchants Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth.

Cardiff Friends of the Earth is concerned about reports that supermarket giant Tesco is planning to open a One Stop convenience store in Cathedral Road, Pontcanna. Waitrose have also denied that they want to open a store in Pontcanna.

Local Shops in Pontcanna Street, Cardiff. Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

Before you head off to the local supermarket, think about taking advantage of what your local shops have to offer.

The Parliamentary All-Party Group on Small Shops investigated the future of small shops in the UK. Its report High Street Britain: 2015, released in January 2006, predicted a bleak future for independent shops. The report predicted that without protection:

Traffic in Cardiff. Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

Cardiff Friends of the Earth believe that Cardiff Civic Society's proposals for an integrated transport system in Cardiff is, like the curate's egg, good in parts.

Environmental design at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Photo: Lyndsay Maiden, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

Cities and their occupants consume huge amounts of:

• food
• energy
• building materials
• water

They produce large amounts of:

Local group members try to cross the River Ely

Better planning

People need a mix of housing, shops, offices, pubs, schools and places of worship within reasonable walking and cycling distance. They should be on public transport routes where this is not possible. For example: offices at public transport interchanges.

Placing low-density housing, shopping and office development on separate sites, then forcing people to drive between them doesn't work.