Pontprennau

Coordinates: 51°32′11″N 3°08′27″W / 51.5365°N 3.1408°W / 51.5365; -3.1408

Pontprennau
Welsh: Pontprennau Bridge of Trees
Pontprennau  Pontprennau shown within Cardiff
Population	8,564
OS grid reference	ST214824
Principal area	Cardiff
Ceremonial county	South Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CARDIFF
Postcode district	CF23
Dialling code	029
Police	South Wales
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Cardiff North
Welsh Assembly	Cardiff North
List of places: UK • Wales • Cardiff

The A4232 Pentwyn Link Road marks the eastern edge of Pontprennau. View heading north towards Pontprennau roundabout, beyond which is the M4 motorway

Heol Glandulais marks the Western Edge of Pontprennau. The large buildings near the horizon are the Avesta Steelworks; between them is the island of Steep Holm. On the left horizon is Brean Down in Somerset

View over the top of Pontprennau, Christmas 2010

Pontprennau is a district in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales.

History

Pontprennau is the Welsh language for Bridge of Trees (as in wooden bridges or footbridges).

Lying east-west along the foot of the hills of the South Wales valleys, with Caerphilly directly north, the area is defined by a series of hills, intersected by shallow valleys created by streams which feed as tributaries into the Rhymney River.

Once a part of an area made up of several farms in Llanedeyrn, Pontprennau was designated in the 1970s for residential development, with the M4 Motorway Junction 30 developed for the purpose. It has expanded greatly since the early 1990s, driven primarily by private sector housing, and then corporate offices on Cardiff Gate.^[1]

Today

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, there were 8,037 people living in Pontprennau. However, this has expanded greatly since, due to sustained housing development both in West Pontprennau and on further pieces of unused land.

There are now only two sites remaining within the area with potential to be developed. The first is to the east in a plot east of the linkroad between Pontprenau and Old St Mellons. Scheduled to provide an additional 50+ houses, this has now been turned down twice on planning permission. Developments further west would be presently barred, due to the scheduled green land space between Cardiff and Newport, in which Old St Mellons lies.

A proposed major expansion of the area to the west by the Welsh Assembly Government is opposed by Cardiff Council. This would see a development by Redrow plc of a further 4,000 houses in the farmland lying between Pontprennau and Lisvane. However, since the Late-2000s financial crisis, and with apartments presently lying empty in Cardiff Bay and the councils pressing for development of brown field sites within the city first, development is presently delayed with no timescale.^[2]

Community

East Pontprennau, adjacent to the M4 motorway junction 30, is the commercial sector of the development, housing Cardiff Gate Business Park, Cardiff Gate services, and Cardiff Gate Retail Park. The 100 acres (40 ha) business park provides office accommodation to regional representation for many multinational companies and is also home to the Emergency Control Centre for South Wales, as well as the fire training centre. The retail park is home to a large 24/7 Asda supermarket and petrol station,^[3] a B&Q DIY store, a McDonalds restaurant and several home furniture stores.

Central Pontprennau is mainly devoted to housing development. The northern edge and highest point in the community is where the community centre, the church and Pontprennau Medical Centre are located. At the bottom of the hill is the western edge, which has a small commercial area, with a large proportion of the land dedicated to industrial use now being converted to private sector housing. It also houses Pontprennau's only public house, a Waitrose supermarket, Cardiff's BUPA hospital (now owned by Spire Healthcare), and a Jaguar cars retail garage.

West Pontprennau is the newest of the three areas. It consists mainly of residential housing, but it also contains an Aldi supermarket and Cyncoed Medical Centre, which transferred from Cyncoed to Pontprennau in 2005.

School

There is presently no school in Pontprennau. This is due to Cardiff Council continuing its local debate, due to both the need for capital investment in a school in Pontprennau and the need to rationalise other schools in the Cardiff district which are unfilled or require large capital investment. A local primary school had been promised for September 2007 (claimed as a "victory" independently by both Local Councillors),^[4] but again the council may move the date and not fulfill its promise, as the council have failed to reach an agreement on the closure of several schools in the rest of the city.

Transport

Pontprennau has good transportation links, being located next to the M4 motorway junction 30. Public transport is provided by Cardiff Bus, which serves Pontprennau with services 57 and 58, with buses running approximately every 7–8 minutes during peak time, taking around 40 minutes to reach Central Station via Pentwyn, Llanedeyrn, Penylan and Roath.

On the council's bicycle network plan, Pontprennau is linked directly to the city centre via onroad routes via Pentwyn. However, to the south a gravel trail path runs along the flood plain of the Rhymney River on the Llanrumney side of the A48 link road, which is easily accessible via tarmac paths which run north-south within the Pontprennau community. The Rhymney River trail gives both walkers and cyclists easy access to the Newport Road both west and east of Llanrumney, and hence via the eastern entrance through Llanrumney Bowls club to the extensive retail park on Newport Road West.

Pontprennau has never had a railway station, and is equi-distant at around 5 miles (8.0 km) from both Cardiff Central and Newport. The nearest airport is Cardiff, a distance of 16 miles (26 km).

Sport

The field is the home of the "Pontprennau Pumas", the local football team, running two adult teams in the Cardiff Combination Leagues. They currently also have teams at under 12's and under 11's. The club are sponsored by Cardiff Gate Business Park.^[5] Pontprennau Community Centre playing fields (allocated to the school, but open for community use) provides one of many "green-grass-expanse" family activity areas within the community, as well as a standard sized football field.

Local services

Police Station

• Llanedeyrn Police Station, The Maelfa, Llanedeyrn.

Fire Station

• Roath Fire Station, Colchester Avenue.

GP Surgeries

• Cyncoed Medical Practice, Darlington Drive, Pontprennau.
• The Pontprennau Medical Centre, 33 Kenmare Mews.

Dentist

• Elisha Dental Care, 31 Kenmare Mews, Pontprennau.

Pharmacies/Chemists

• Pontprennau Medical Centre, Kenmare Mews, Pontprennau.
• Asda Pharmacy, Derring Road, Pontprennau.

Post Office

• Pontprennau Office @ Asda, Derring Road, Pontprennau.

Community Centre

• Pontprennau Community Education Centre, Heol Pontprennau, Pontprennau.
• The community centre houses a children's playgroup, and it is used by local political representatives for residents' surgeries.

Church

• The church has suite of meeting rooms, a coffee shop, and a lounge. The coffee shop (PCs) is open every week day from 10.00 to 14.00.
• Highfields Church Pontprennau is an evangelical church that meets every Sunday morning at 9.30am for coffee and 10am for the main service. It is located in Corpus Christi High School on Ty Draw Road.

Library

• There is no library at present located in Pontprennau, but a mobile library service visits once a week.^[6]

Leisure Centre

• Pentwyn Leisure Centre, Bryn Celyn Road, Pentwyn.

Supermarket

• Aldi
• Asda at Cardiff Gate Retail Park
• Waitrose

Local Council

Cardiff Council the local authority which covers Pontprennau, the main council offices are at County Hall, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff.

Representation

Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons is an electoral division located in the North East of Cardiff. It is represented by Dianne Rees of the Welsh Conservative Party, and Georgina Phillips of Welsh Labour.^[7]

Government

National Assembly

Pontprennau is in the Cardiff North constituency for the National Assembly for Wales, currently represented by Julie Morgan AM, a member of the Welsh Labour Party.

Westminster

Cardiff North is currently represented by Jonathan Evans MP a member of the Conservative Party.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pontprennau

• Pontprennau Medical Centre
• Pontprennau PACT at OurBobby.com
• Pontprennau Pumas

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