Wood Street, Cardiff
Wood Street, Cardiff
Cardiff, the capital of the Principality of Wales has been settled by man for thousands of years; long before the Romans came to Britain, men were living in the coastal plan south of the Valleys, utilising the plentiful fresh water from the hills and the Bristol Channel.
Cardiff remained a small settlement right through until the 1800’s, when its’ numbers exploded. Between 1801 and 1851 the population grew almost ten-fold, making it an important hub in South Wales. Its importance as a port grew too, By the beginning of World War I, the docks exported 10.7 million tons of coal, and the population had ballooned by almost ten times again, to include 182,000 people.
This enormous growth put pressure on the city and its infrastructure. Located on the River Taff, the city has a history of flooding, even since the course of the river was altered in 1853 to help reduce these events. Equipped with a combined system, with the waste water treatment at Barry 8 miles away, the city prospered and expanded
In the centre of the city, land owned by Colonel Wood was developed and became known as Temperance Town, as there were no public houses allowed in it. This area in between the High Street and the main railway station offered a home to the many workers in the city, including dockers and railway workers. Wood Street (as the main road through the Town was named) became a main thoroughfare, particularly once the Wood Streetbridge had been constructed over the River Taffin 1873, and a music hall – later a CongregationalChurch – was built on Wood Street in 1864.
Project
Location
Contractor
Landscape Architect
Cardiff, the capital of the Principality of Wales has been settled by man for thousands of years; long before the Romans came to Britain, men were living in the coastal plan south of the Valleys, utilising the plentiful fresh water from the hills and the Bristol Channel.
Cardiff remained a small settlement right through until the 1800’s, when its’ numbers exploded. Between 1801 and 1851 the population grew almost ten-fold, making it an important hub in South Wales. Its importance as a port grew too, By the beginning of World War I, the docks exported 10.7 million tons of coal, and the population had ballooned by almost ten times again, to include 182,000 people.
This enormous growth put pressure on the city and its infrastructure. Located on the River Taff, the city has a history of flooding, even since the course of the river was altered in 1853 to help reduce these events. Equipped with a combined system, with the waste water treatment at Barry 8 miles away, the city prospered and expanded
In the centre of the city, land owned by Colonel Wood was developed and became known as Temperance Town, as there were no public houses allowed in it. This area in between the High Street and the main railway station offered a home to the many workers in the city, including dockers and railway workers. Wood Street (as the main road through the Town was named) became a main thoroughfare, particularly once the Wood Streetbridge had been constructed over the River Taffin 1873, and a music hall – later a CongregationalChurch – was built on Wood Street in 1864.
Project
Location
Contractor
Landscape Architect
Project
Location
Contractor
Landscape Architect
The whole area was badly affected by aerial bombing in the Second World War, and post-war reconstruction was becoming incompatible with the current needs of the city, so in the early part of this century, a new radical plan was agreed upon to open out the station square and make the city a more pedestrian-friendly place. This involved new public buildings, the new BBC Wales HQ, and other high-quality developments, and with the implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act in 2019, included sustainable drainage in the urban realm. It also was designed to allow for easier movement by both pedestrians and cyclists – dedicated cycle lanes separated from vehicles by planted areas.
The Wood Street regeneration and SuDS scheme was a complex and innovative proposal, led by the Highways department of Cardiff City Council. Following on from the highly successful award-winning “Greener Grangetown scheme, it was designed to help with surface water attenuation, removing water from the sewers via tree pits and rain gardens, but also to help reduce summer ”Heat Island” temperatures through shade and evapotranspiration. Over 20 trees were planted in the GreenBlue Urban ArborFlow SuDs solution, with RootSpace soil support cells, RootManagement and Irrigation products, and the specially designed soil, ArborSoil HydroMax.This manufactured soil is designed to be used in tree pits and rain gardens to maximise the pollutant removal, encourage healthy tree and plant growth and deal with large volumes of water in extreme rain events.
The whole area was badly affected by aerial bombing in the Second World War, and post-war reconstruction was becoming incompatible with the current needs of the city, so in the early part of this century, a new radical plan was agreed upon to open out the station square and make the city a more pedestrian-friendly place. This involved new public buildings, the new BBC Wales HQ, and other high-quality developments, and with the implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act in 2019, included sustainable drainage in the urban realm. It also was designed to allow for easier movement by both pedestrians and cyclists – dedicated cycle lanes separated from vehicles by planted areas.
The Wood Street regeneration and SuDS scheme was a complex and innovative proposal, led by the Highways department of Cardiff City Council. Following on from the highly successful award-winning “Greener Grangetown scheme, it was designed to help with surface water attenuation, removing water from the sewers via tree pits and rain gardens, but also to help reduce summer ”Heat Island” temperatures through shade and evapotranspiration. Over 20 trees were planted in the GreenBlue Urban ArborFlow SuDs solution, with RootSpace soil support cells, RootManagement and Irrigation products, and the specially designed soil, ArborSoil HydroMax.This manufactured soil is designed to be used in tree pits and rain gardens to maximise the pollutant removal, encourage healthy tree and plant growth and deal with large volumes of water in extreme rain events.
Working with designers ARUP, Cardiff City Council and installers Knight Brown the installation has been hugely successful. The new public realm is used by thousands of people daily, opening up new areas for hospitality and recreation, and giving residents of and visitors to Cardiff some security against surface water flooding. GreenBlueUrban is proud to have been involved in this truly multi-benefit scheme, creating healthy urban spaces in harmony with nature.
Working with designers ARUP, Cardiff City Council and installers Knight Brown the installation has been hugely successful. The new public realm is used by thousands of people daily, opening up new areas for hospitality and recreation, and giving residents of and visitors to Cardiff some security against surface water flooding. GreenBlueUrban is proud to have been involved in this truly multi-benefit scheme, creating healthy urban spaces in harmony with nature.
