Cardiff Council Update: 31st July

Welcome to the last update of the week from Cardiff Council, covering: the opening of the Castle Quarter Café; pop-up cycle ways coming to Cardiff; another 20 play areas to open; more community Hubs opening up; and, thanks to Llanover Hall, health workers get more scrubs.

Castle Quarter Café opened today

Cardiff's exciting new dining out experience on Castle Street officially opened to the public today (Friday, July 31), welcoming visitors to the Same ‘Diff - just a bit different.

The 240-seater, outdoor, covered, eating area welcomes diners to enjoy food from a wide selection of city restaurants in front of one of Cardiff's most picturesque views - its beautiful castle.

The Castle Quarter Café -which is built directly on Castle Street -is part of a wider range of measures being put in place to increase useable, outdoor space for the hospitality sector which is trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The new hospitality area allows businesses - which could struggle to operate profitably indoors because of the two metre distance regulations in Wales - to trade in a safe, socially-distanced outdoor setting.

Visitors will be able to order food and drinks for delivery from a wide selection of restaurants and cafes using a QR code on site or by typing the URL address Cardiff-castle.yoello.com into their smartphone and following the instructions.

The new outdoor space is open from 10am-10pm seven days a week with last orders at 8.30pm.

Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Sarah Merry said: "We wanted to create an attractive space which residents and visitors will love to use and one which can help local hospitality businesses get up and running again. We want as many people as possible to enjoy the new space which will give customers a stunning view of our iconic castle in the heart of the city centre. We hope it plays a major part in helping businesses in Cardiff survive the fallout from the pandemic."

How it works:

Open: 7 Days a week

Times: 10am to 10pm (last orders 8:30pm)

Dwell time: up to two hours

Capacity: 240 covers, order food from restaurants and cafes across the city centre

Location: Castle Street

There are no advance bookings, so whenever you are ready grab your friends or family and head to Castle Street (maximum seating on a table is six). There are 240 covers arranged in tables for four or six, but if you want to come in on your own or as a couple just grab one of the tables for four.

You will see two separate dining areas, but they operate the same. Just pick which one you like - after all, you can sit there for up to two hours so you might as well get comfy!

At busy times you may need to queue but when it's your turn, the host will direct you and your party to one of the empty tables. The facilities are wheelchair and pushchair friendly. The area is flat and chairs can be removed from tables to accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs. (please note, there are no highchairs available).

Take a seat, and rest assured that the café has been designed with safety and social distancing in mind and our large patio umbrellas will protect you from too much sunshine or the occasional shower. For environmental and energy supply reasons there are no heaters on site. If it's a colder day why not bring a shawl or a blanket to relax with? We are unable to provide them due to risk of contamination.

Hand sanitizer will be provided too and cleaning staff will be permanently based on site to keep the area clean and clear of packaging, used plates etc, although customers will be asked to take their waste to the recycling point on the way out.

Customer toilets are located in the clock tower car park and include a disabled toilet and baby change facilities.

We know you are expected to stay two metres away from friends and family outside of your "bubble", so tables have separate chairs. You are responsible for your own social distancing with friends outside your ‘bubble' in accordance with your group make up.

To start your order, find the QR code sign on your table. Open your smartphone camera and scan the code - alternatively type cardiff-castle.yoello.com into your web browser and you can make your order that way.

Castle Quarter Café will be participating in Track and Trace. A Track and Trace button will appear when you use the URL Cardiff-castle.yoello.com or scan the table QR to access Yoello. Customers will need to click on that and fill out the short form before they make their first order. This will enable us to contact you and your group about any positive COVID-19 results which may affect you.

Here's the fun bit! With plenty of the city's favourite eateries involved, you will be spoilt for choice - so whatever tickles your taste buds, take your time to browse the different venues and menus on your screen.

Once you have chosen what menu you would like to order from, please take note of the wait time, and pay with a credit/debit card once you are happy. Though don't forget, if members of your party order from different businesses the orders will be processed separately and may arrive at different times.

Sit back and relax until your food and drinks are delivered directly to your table. Everything you need will arrive with your order. All boxes, drinkware and cutlery will be compostable, so could be wooden or starch based.

There is no minimum spend unless you want to order alcohol. If you do want alcohol you will need to spend at least £10 on food. So if you just fancy a coffee grab a seat and go ahead, but remember, the area is designed to try and help businesses make enough money to survive the fallout around COVID-19 - so spend a bit more if you can afford to and feel good about helping your favourite restaurant through the pandemic.

Once you have finished, or your two hours is up, simply gather up your rubbish and place it in the recycling bins on your way out.

Top Tips!

As you have a two-hour timeslot, it's recommended that you order all food and drinks at the beginning in case you run out of time later on - and if you would like to order alcoholic drinks your party will need to make a £10 minimum food order and they will be operating a ‘Challenge 25' policy.

The wait time for orders will be displayed by the app and some may have longer times than others, so if you are in a hurry try to choose a restaurant which can serve you in the time that suits you.

Ordering meals from different menus can be great if your party has varied tastes, but if you order and pay separately, they will arrive at different times. So why not order from the same place, and pay in one transaction? That way you can all eat together.

We hope you have a great visit, but if there are any problems with your food please refer complaints back to the restaurant that you ordered from. Restaurant contact details will be provided via the Yoello App so if you wish to discuss anything or make a complaint they should be referred to the responsible restaurant.

These are the restaurants and cafes currently signed up to Yoello but more are being added all the time

Bute & Co Coffee House

Bwyta Bwyd Bombai (3Bs)

Dusty Knuckle

FABurgers Ltd

The Grazing Shed

Heavenly Desserts

Keralan Caravan

Marco Pierre White's Steakhouse Bar & Grill

Mother Nature Cafe

Nata & Co

Wally's Deli & Kaffeehaus

Wok to Walk

Zerodegrees Cardiff

New pop-up cycleways on their way as part of the city's recovery plan

Cardiff - recently voted the UK's best cycling city - is installing new pop-up cycleways.

The new cycleways are planned to be installed by the autumn to provide safer, mostly-segregated routes to enable people to travel by bike on some of Cardiff's busiest roads.

The two routes - the ‘Cross City ‘and ‘Bay Loop' cycleways - are being brought forward as part of the Council's ongoing COVID Recovery plans and are in line with the cycling vision set out in the Council's Transport White Paper.

Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: "Traffic on our roads has reduced dramatically now that a number of businesses and organisations are opting to let their staff remain working from home.

"Current traffic levels are at 66% of pre-lockdown numbers, with the traffic flow in the city centre lower still at 50%. While the traffic levels have reduced, the use of the nextbike scheme has increased significantly during lockdown, with over 14,000 new customers, which clocked up an impressive 114,383 rentals from March to June.

"With public transport providers running at reduced capacity lots of people are now choosing to walk and cycle in Cardiff. This is great news, great for people's health and great for the environment. We want to ensure that anyone who is able to cycle can do so in a safer and more attractive way.

"We know there are people new to cycling, including very young people, and we have to do everything in our power to ensure these people are as safe as possible."

Heath Park among 20 more Cardiff play areas to re-open

A further 20 children's play areas in Cardiff, including Heath Park, are to be re-opened. 50 sites across the city are already open.

Play areas are being opened on phased basis, following a safety first approach and with a view to ensuring that children across the city have some play provision in their local area as quickly as possible.

14 play areas will open from Saturday (1^stAugust). They are:

Hamadryad Park(Butetown);Emerson Close(Caerau);Rhydlarfer(Creigiau and St Fagans);Wilson Road Toddler(Ely);Wilson Road Junior(Ely);Heath Park(Heath);Hailey Park Junior(Llandaff North);Hailey Park Toddler(Llandaff North);Bryn Glas Junior(Llanishen);Bryn Glas Toddler(Llanishen);Rumney Recreation Ground(Llanrumney);Despenser Gardens Junior(Riverside);Despenser Gardens Toddler(Riverside);Greenway Road(Rumney).

6 more play areas will open from Monday (3^rdAugust). They are:

Britannia Park(Butetown);Heol y Barcud(Llanishen);Hammond Way(Penylan);Garth Newydd(Pentyrch);Horwood Close(Splott);Ironbridge Road(Whitchurch & Tongwynlais).

In line with Welsh Government guidance and health and safety legislation all sites have gone through a Covid-19 risk assessment and the equipment and safety surfaces have been inspected by a qualified playground inspector, prior to re-opening.

The 50 play areas which are already open are:

Adamscroft open space(Adamsdown);Adamsdown Square(Adamsdown); Belmont Walk (Butetown); Craiglee Drive(Butetown); Hodges Square(Butetown); Loudon Square(Butetown); Windsor Esplanade(Butetown);Emblem Close(Caerau);Heol Homfrey(Careau); Trelai Park(Caerau);Jubilee Park(Canton); Sanatorium Road - Toddler(Canton); Bute Park Play Trail(Cathays);Cogan Gardens(Cathays); Maindy Park(Cathays);Green Farm Road(Ely); Beechley Road(Fairwater); Chorley Close(Fairwater); Whitland Crescent(Fairwater);Maitland Park(Gabalfa);Maitland Road - agility area(Gabalfa); Sevenoaks Park(Grangetown); The Marl - Toddler(Grangetown); The Marl - Junior(Grangetown); Heol y Delyn(Lisvane);Mill Heath Drive(Lisvane); St Martin's Crescent - Toddler(Llanishen); St Martin's Crescent - Junior(Llanishen); Watkin's Square(Llanishen);Coed y Gores(Pentwyn); Chapelwood(Pentwyn); Parc Coed y Nant(Pentwyn);Waun Fach(Pentwyn);Garth Olwg(Pentyrch); Penuel Road(Pentyrch);Cyncoed Gardens(Penylan); Sovereign Chase(Penylan);Shelley Gardens(Plasnewydd); Butterfield Park(Pontprennau / St Mellons); Cwm Farm Junior(Radyr);Cym Farm Toddler(Radyr);Fisherhill Way(Radyr / Morganstown); Wyndham Street(Riverside); Beaufort Square(Splott); Splott Park(Splott);Tremorfa Park(Splott);Wilkinson Close(Splott); Heol Maes Eirwg(Trowbridge);Heritage Park(Trowbridge);Hollybush(Whitchurch & Tongwynlais)