Regarding the consultation on the Council's Active Travel Network Plan 2026, and the proposed cycle path through the Nant Fawr, please see below the response the Friends of Nant Fawr Community Woodlands will be submitting to the Council.
It may help you in submitting any concerns you may have regarding the cycle path going through the Nant Fawr woods and meadows.
You can complete the Council's survey on the ATNM by visiting this link: http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ActiveTravelConsultation
The proposed cycle path route through the Nant Fawr area is in the Cyncoed Ward. I have attached a map showing the proposed new route for walking and cycling (Dashed blue line). The consultation is only open until 3rd August 2026.
We will be delivering leaflets in nearby roads and putting up posters in the Nant Fawr area about the proposals.
We wrote to Councillor De'Ath, the Cabinet Member whose portfolio is Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport, requesting a meeting with him and relevant officers to discuss the proposals for the Nant Fawr area. He did reply advising that the FONF will be involved in the design stage of the cycle path and that "current priorities for funding active travel routes are focused on other parts of the city, including the Newport Road corridor." We have written to him again asking to meet to discuss the actual proposed route but to date have not received a reply.
If you have any queries in respect of the ATNM Consultation, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our response to the consultation
Friends of Nant Fawr Community Woodlands Response to Cardiff Council’s ATNM
Consultation Survey 2026
Answer to the Question - Do you have any other comments on the Draft Active Travel Network Map for Cardiff?
The Nant Fawr corridor contains two woodlands, Rhydypenau Woods and Woods Covert, and three meadows. The site runs from Cardiff High School to the northern end of Lisvane Reservoir and covers an area of about 100 acres. It is identified as a strategic river corridor for wildlife and as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). It is also being considered by Cardiff Council as a Local Nature Reserve. It has been awarded a Green Flag Community Award for the last 9 years.
The Friends of Nant Fawr Community Woodlands are a volunteer group who have worked with Cardiff Council for over 30 years to help manage and maintain the site. Their Committee expressed strong concerns regarding the proposed cycle path through the Nant Fawr in the 2021 consultation on the previous Council ATNM. These concerns were reiterated by over 380 respondents in respect of the proposals for the Cyncoed Ward in 2021, which were not addressed by the Council then and so remain a concern in 2026.
It should be noted that the concerns expressed by the Friends of Nant Fawr Community Woodlands would be addressed if the proposed cycle path utilized existing roads
Ecological and Biodiversity Concerns
The proposed cycle/walking route, if constructed in compliance with Active Travel standard, will be a fully lit and tarmacked route in excess of 4m wide. It will carve through the woodlands and meadows, seriously impacting upon the sensitive ecology, and directly impacting upon the species that live there. These impacts are amplified by the use of lighting, which has been shown to decimate insect species, with subsequent impacts along the food chain, including protected species, such as bats and birds.
Knowingly impacting upon biodiversity in this way, will directly contravene the following Statutory and Policy requirements:
Section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, which places a statutory duty on Cardiff Council to seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity, and in doing so promote the resilience of ecosystems.
The 2019 Cardiff Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems Duty (BRED) Forward Plan – which sets out the forward plan for how the council will maintain and enhance biodiversity.
Policy KP16 of the existing Cardiff Local Development Plan which states, “Cardiff’s distinctive natural heritage provides a network of green infrastructure which will be protected, enhanced and managed to ensure the integrity and connectivity of this multi-functional green resource is maintained.”
Welsh Government’s Woodlands for Wales Action Plan, Priority Action 5, which sets out to “Deliver increased and safeguard existing tree cover in towns and cities and support sustainable urban tree management”.
The Senedd’s announcement of a nature emergency in June 2021. Wales is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. It was 16 th from the bottom in a survey of 240 countries. The declaration of a Nature Emergency will result in the government being called upon to introduce legally binding requirements to reverse biodiversity loss through statutory targets
A significant letter addressed to planning authorities from Julie James MS (20th December 2022) that reminds authorities of their responsibilities, including that “Planning authorities must seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity in the exercise of their functions. This means development should not cause any significant loss of habitats or populations of species, locally or nationally, and must provide a net benefit for biodiversity. In doing so planning authorities must also take account of, and promote, the resilience of ecosystems. The letter has specific reference to trees and woodlands.
The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Act 2026 requires Ministers to set legally binding biodiversity targets as well as creating an Office of Environmental Governance Wales.
The Nant Fawr area is species rich and the Friends Group have identified nearly 1000 species on the site, which includes 35 birds on the Amber and Red list of the Birds of Conservation list for 2024.
Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs are contiguous to a large part of the Nant Fawr area (particularly the meadows) and support a wide diversity of species, including Pipistrelle, Noctule, Daubenton’s and Long-eared bats, which also feed over the Nant Fawr. A lit cycle path through the site is likely to have a detrimental effect on some of these species, so affecting the biodiversity of both the Nant Fawr and the reservoirs
Safety concerns
The Nant Fawr area is heavily used by pedestrians of all ages, including families with young children, the elderly, dog walkers and schoolchildren, which provides recognised benefits to mental health and wellbeing associated with time spent in green spaces and woodland. This use could be significantly impacted by the addition of a cycle route, with the risk of collision between cyclists and pedestrians / dogs. This could discourage some walkers from using the area.
Both the proposed routes, from Ewenny Road to Rhydypenau Road, and from the old Reservoir Car Park to the iron bridge over the stream, have significant gradients. The route through Rhydypenau Wood also has blind bends. These gradients would allow cyclists using both routes to descend at speed, thus increasing the risk of serious injury in the event of a collision with pedestrians or dogs.
The Nant Fawr corridor is relatively remote, and some areas are not close to housing. Whilst the area is safe in daylight hours, after dark these areas are not used as much and cyclists could be more vulnerable if they have an accident or are assaulted. Even if the area is lit for 24hrs (which would destroy the surrounding biodiversity) the area is still remote and one would question the safety, apparent or perceived, of the route after dark.
Cost implications
The construction, maintenance and lighting of a new highway through woods and meadows, as opposed to merely altering an existing highway to incorporate a cycle route, will come with a cost premium, at a time when the Council has major financial problems.
Climate change impacts
The carbon footprint associated with developing a new route through Nant Fawr will far exceed the footprint from altering the existing highways footprint. In a time when the Welsh Government has declared a ‘Climate Emergency’, this needs to be a fundamental consideration of any scheme.
The consultation process
Overall, we are currently if the view that the consultation process for the proposed cycle path in the Nant Fawr corridor is inadequate, as it does not provide the public with sufficient information to make an informed choice. This is particularly evident with regards to the proposed routes through the Nant Fawr corridor and Rhydypenau Park. To enable residents to clearly understand the impacts of such routes, the following information, as a minimum, needs to be provided as part of the consultation exercise:
1. No information has been provided that explains how these routes through sensitive nature rich environments have been identified. What process has been followed that identifies the Nant Fawr corridor as a suitable route, given the obvious and clear biodiversity concerns?
2. The consultation information does not, at any point, draw attention to the fact that the proposed cycle/walking routes could be in excess of 4 metres wide, tarmacked and LED lit.
3. At no point does the consultation information present the extent of the estimated tree destruction in the woodlands. The identified route itself would require the removal of trees and the construction methods are likely to require the removal of even more.
4. No information has been provided on the expected wider ecological impacts arising from this proposed superhighway. There is no evidence of environmental surveys /impact assessment being undertaken.
5. No information has been provided to communicate that LED lighting has been shown to decimate insect species, with subsequent impacts along the food chain, including protected species, such as bats and birds. (https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/eco-friendly-led-streetlights-moths-b1909067.html)
6. No alternative proposed routes have been clearly presented as part of the consultation process i.e. utilizing existing roads and not using the Nant Fawr corridor
7. No explanation has been provided as to why there is a need for a route through the Nant Fawr corridor, given there is also a proposed parallel route that travels the length of Rhydypenau and Gwern-Rhuddi Roads. This is especially relevant as use of roads would obviously be significantly cheaper and come at far less cost to the local environment.
8. The question of need should be revisited given the change to working practices following the COVID outbreak. Has a cost-benefit analysis been undertaken on this proposed route, given people’s propensity now, and in the future, to work from home for a significant part of the week? There are no figures to indicate how many people cycle from this area into the City Centre and how many more are predicted to do so once the route is established.Without such figures how can the huge cost and environmental disturbance be justified?
9. Given the announcement of a climate crisis, has a carbon footprint study been undertaken, comparing the building, maintaining and lighting of a new highway through the Nant Fawr, as opposed to amending an existing road which is already lit?
10. Has an assessment been undertaken into the safety of cyclists/walkers on what would be a relatively remote route? Would cyclists/walkers choose to use such a route at night?
11. If one of the ATNM objectives is to provide off-road cycling for safet reasons (some people feel unsafe cycling on-road), this off-road route through Nant Fawr only represents a small percentage of the cycleway route. At both ends of the off-road route, the cyclist will be required to continue on-road. Where is the justification therefore, to develop a route through Nant Fawr, given the known impacts to the area’s biodiversity?
12. The Scrutiny Report into the Roath Recreation Ground Active Travel Scheme recommends that “relevant internal departments of the Council are consulted on Active travel scheme proposals prior to these being shared publicly “This does not seem to been done regarding the proposals for the Cyncoed Ward. In 2024 the Friends of Nant Fawr Community Woddlands submitted a lengthy, detailed response to Cardiff Council regarding the use of the WeITAG Study dated December 2018 for justifying the cycle path route in 2022 especially as it states "keep the route away from the Nant Fawr nature reserve". The questions raised by this out-of-date Study have not been answered by the Council. If this Study is used to justify the cycle path route in 2026, the same questions need to be answered regarding its use.
