| Pontprennau | |
|---|---|
 Heol Glandulais runs through the centre of Pontprennau. The large buildings near the horizon are theCELSA Group Steelworks; between them is the island ofSteep Holm. On the left horizon isBrean Down inSomerset | |
  Pontprennau Location withinCardiff | |
| Population | 7,353 |
| OS grid reference | ST214824 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARDIFF |
| Postcode district | CF23 |
| Dialling code | 029 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
51°32′11″N3°08′27″W / 51.5365°N 3.1408°W /51.5365; -3.1408  Map of the community | |
Pontprennau (Welsh for 'bridge of trees') is a ward andcommunity in the north of the city ofCardiff,Wales, lying north ofPentwyn andCyncoed, between the village ofOld St Mellons and the farmlands east ofLisvane. The community had a population of 7,353 in 2011.[1]
Pontprennau isWelsh for "Bridge of Trees". Lying east-west along the foot of the hills of theSouth Wales valleys, withCaerphilly directly north, the area is defined by a series of hills, intersected by shallow valleys created by streams which feed as tributaries into theRhymney River.
Once a part of an area made up of several farms inLlanedeyrn, Pontprennau was designated in the 1970s for residential development, with theM4 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 onCardiff Gate.[2] St. Mellons and Pontprennau were suburbs of Cardiff by 1974 and by the 1990s the estates started to spill over the boundaries into Lisvane and Cyncoed.
The Pontprennaucommunity was created from part of the Llanedeyrn ward of the previously existing St Mellons community in 1996. The remaining part of the St Mellons community becameOld St Mellons.[3]
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According to theUnited 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.
East Pontprennau, adjacent to theM4 motorway junction 30, is the commercial sector of the development, housingCardiff 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.
Central Pontprennau is mainly devoted to housing development. The northern edge and highest point in the community is where the community centre, the church, Pontprennau Primary School and Pontprennau Medical Centre, dentist and pharmacy 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 theSpire Healthcare hospital.
West Pontprennau, situated to the west of Butterfield Park and bordering Lisvane, is the newest of the three areas. It consists mainly of residential housing, but it also contains anAldi supermarket and Cyncoed Medical Centre, which transferred fromCyncoed to Pontprennau in 2005. There is also a small children's play area at Peppermint Park.
Pontprennau Primary school opened in September 2015. It is a 2 Form of Entry school with 48 full-time equivalent nursery places.
The school was completed in two phases. The first phase was ready in time for the school year starting September 2015. At this stage the school had two reception classes plus a nursery. The school was then fully open in time for the school year commencing September 2016.
The establishment of a primary school within Pontprennau aims to stop the over subscription of children attending schools in Lisvane and Llanishen. This project forms part of Cardiff Councils 21st Century Schools Programme which is 50% funding by Welsh Government.
There are several 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 or more houses, this has now been turned down twice on planning permission.[citation needed] Developments further east would be 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 theWelsh Government is opposed byCardiff Council. This would see a development byRedrow plc of a further 4,000 houses in the farmland lying between West Pontprennau andLisvane. However, since theGreat Recession, and with apartments lying empty inCardiff Bay and the councils pressing for development ofbrown field sites within the city first, development is delayed with no timescale.[4]
In July 2012, Cardiff Council's preferred newLocal Development Plan was released. The plan proposed 45,000 new homes to be built in Cardiff by 2026, allowing the city's population to rise by a quarter to more than 400,000. The proposal encompasses: 7,500 homes in a new suburb west ofPentrebane; 2,000 homes on land north of junction 33 on the M4; and 6,000 west and 2,000 east of Pontprennau.[5]
The Pontprennau development would extend:
Pontprennau has good transportation links, being located next to theM4 motorway junction 30. Public transport is provided byCardiff Bus,[6] which serves Pontprennau with services 57 and 58, with buses running approximately every 7–8 minutes during peak time, taking around 40 minutes to reachCardiff City Centre viaPentwyn,Llanedeyrn,Penylan andRoath. Services 51 and 53 run through west and central Pontprenau to the city centre via theHeath Hospital, and the 52 service stops near west Pontprenau, running to the city centre approximately every half hour viaCyncoed,Penylan andRoath. AdditionallyAdventure Travel operates the C1 bus, running from Cardiff Gate in East Pontprennau toCulverhouse Cross via the city centre.
On the council's bicycle network plan, Pontprennau is linked directly to the city centre via onroad routes viaPentwyn. However, to the south a gravel trail path runs along the flood plain of theRhymney River on theLlanrumney 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 theNewport Road both west and east of Llanrumney, and hence via the eastern entrance through Llanrumney Bowls club to the extensive retail park onNewport Road West.
The field is the home of the "Pontprennau Pumas", the localfootball team, running two adult teams in the Cardiff Combination Leagues. They also have teams at under 12's and under 11's. The club are sponsored by Cardiff Gate Business Park.[7]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, and a standard sized football field.
Community Centre
Church
Library
Parks & Play Areas
Cardiff Council the local authority which covers Pontprennau, the main council offices are atCounty Hall, Atlantic Wharf,Cardiff.
Pontprennau is acommunity of theCity of Cardiff but there is nocommunity council for the area.
Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons is an electoral division located in the North East of Cardiff. It is represented by Dianne Rees of theWelsh Conservative Party, and Georgina Phillips ofWelsh Labour.[9]
Pontprennau is in theCardiff Northconstituency for theSenedd, represented byJulie Morgan MS, a member of the Welsh Labour Party.
Cardiff North has been represented since 2017 byAnna McMorrinMP, a member of the Labour Party.
