In this episode Laura visits Cardiff to see what the Welsh capital city is doing for cycling and making the city greener and more resilient in the face of extreme weather. In 2015 Greener Grangetown was completed a city centre project to improve water management and reduce huge volumes of water being transported to water processing plants, and to improve flood resilience. 12 Victorian streets were transformed, and the UK's first cycle street was built, with more than 100 trees planted, safer junctions and improved pavements.

In 2019, the Senedd, the devolved government of Wales, enacted legislation to mandate flood management measures on any construction that impacts an area of 100m2 or more. This means developers have to include natural water management measures, like SuDS - sustainable drainage systems - which are highly technical planted areas, which sit alongside roads, cycle routes and pavements. Since then, it is understood that thousands of housing developments have been impacted. The result in Cardiff is an increasingly green city - but it all takes money and time to implement, and progress on Cardiff's cycle network is not as fast as campaigners would like.

Laura talks to, in order

Simon Dooley, Team Leader - Flood and Coastal Risk Management at Cardiff Council.

Cllr Dan De'Ath, Cardiff Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport,

Daffydd Trystan, newly-elected Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution and Member of the Senedd (MS)

Hamish Belding, of FRideDays Bike Bus project coordinator

Links:

Wales' sustainable drainage legislation, which came into effect in 2019, and how Welsh councils can apply them.

And English standards, which aren't mandatory

About Cardiff's Dock Feeder Canal project

Castle Street in the city centre is Cardiff's latest cycleway with rain gardens.

Greener Grangetown was 108 rain gardens removing 40,000m3 volume of surface water from the combined sewer system.

Wood Street by the Principality Stadium is 16 rain gardens, 15 tree pits - removing 6,800 m2 of impermeable area from the combined sewer.

The Existing and future network of cycle routes in Cardiff is shown in the Active Travel Network Map which can be viewed on DataMapWales by following this link - Active Travel Network Maps | DataMapWales. The ATNM is currently being updated, and a new version will be submitted to Welsh Ministers in December 2026 and will then be republished via the link.

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