Council hypocrites have caused a traffic nightmare on our roads – the fumes are so bad you can’t hang your washing out

RESIDENTS have blasted their local council for causing a traffic nightmare on their roads as they claim fumes are so bad they can't hang out their washing.

The decision to build a £180m cancer centre in Whitchurch, Cardiff, has left people living nearby frustrated over heavy traffic congestion caused by roadworks.

In 2018 Cardiff City Council granted planning permission for the new centre with main access, emergency access from Hollybush Road and temporary construction access through the old Whitchurch Hospital site.

Resident Chris Stephens, 44, said that the traffic chaos is making his life a misery.

Temporary traffic lights were installed on his road this week to allow workmen to start building an access road to the hospital site.

But the lights have caused gridlock for up to a mile during rush hours and many residents without parking spaces outside their homes.

Government project manager Chris said his journey to drop his two children, aged nine and 11, at school - which normally takes around six minutes each way - has been taking him 35 minutes since the lights were put in.

He said: “There have been lots of lost tempers and horns blowing this week, I can tell you.

“And, to think, we’ve got at least another four weeks of this access road work, then it will be a load of other disruptive work around the site."

Gill Roberts, 70, moved to the area four years ago and said she was “disgusted” by the decision to place the hospital in Whitchurch.

The retired teacher said: “We’ve been warned we may have to live with this road chaos and pollution for another five years.

“It breaks my heart seeing school kids walking along this road with stationary traffic belching out exhaust fumes in both lanes right next to them. Goodness knows what it is doing to their health, the poor things.

“I’ve got two young grandsons too and I don’t want them having to breathe in all this pollution when they come and visit me."

The pensioner added how residents can't even put their washing out to dry thanks to the pollution.

Local convenience store manager Muhammad Akbar, 29, said his takings have plunged 25 per cent since the traffic lights were installed near his premises.

While Kathleen Healan, 70, said she wept when she saw the woodland being reduced to nothing but stumps in the ground.

You can’t even put your washing out to dry any more because it gets covered in filth as soon as you hang it on the line."

Gill Roberts

The grandmother-of-two said: “It was a heart-breaking sight. I’ve lived in Cardiff for more than 50 years and I never thought I’d see this level of destruction happening here.

“The people in power who make these sickening decisions are hypocrites, because they tell us all the time we must plant more trees for the sake of the planet, then they go and do this.”

The decision to build a new hospital at Northern Meadows has angered many locals because they believe not should have been built - or co-located - at the site of an existing cancer hospital, Velindre, or the city’s sprawling University Hospital of Wales (UHW) three miles away.

David, a 39-year-old doctor at UHW and local resident, said: "It is ridiculous.

"Any doctor will tell you that it would be far more beneficial to build the cancer hospital at the UHW site because, aside from the environmental and traffic chaos issues, it is best practise to have the buildings on the same site.

'RIDICULOUS'

“That’s because cancer patients are more likely to have other medical needs that can be treated by doctors at UHW. All the medical expertise is already there."

But others were not so fussed about the building of the cancer hospital on their doorstep.

Kathy Partridge, who works as a receptionist at a mortgage brokers, said: "I lost my nephew to cancer almost a year ago and my mother before him, so I think it’s wonderful that we’re building a cancer hospital.

“I know most people think it’s a nuisance, but they need to keep a sense of perspective. They’re lucky they aren’t dying of cancer, or caught up in war in Ukraine.

"All they have to complain about is a bit of traffic. People need to get a grip of themselves and be grateful for what they have.

“If this hospital saves lives and benefits people that need it, then I for one will be very happy.”

A Cardiff Council spokesman confirmed that Velindre is responsible for the traffic management around the site, following council approval.

They added that reports "show the pollution levels are low" but will be "continually monitored".

A Velindre Matters spokesman said: “The development of the new Velindre Cancer Centre is vital in safeguarding the provision of crucial cancer treatment and care for the 1.5 million people of south east Wales over the coming decades.

"The current cancer centre is 66 years old and does not have the facilities or space necessary to meet the future needs of patients.  The opportunity to co-locate the new Centre on an acute hospital site was considered and it was not feasible. 

"The Trust asked the independent health think tank, The Nuffield Trust, to review its plans, including the location of the new Cancer Centre, in 2020. 

";They concluded that co-location on a nearby acute site would not be possible for some considerable time, and that the development of the new centre, is logical, reasonable and will deliver a wide range of patient benefits.

"We are extremely mindful that construction schemes of this size will cause disruption for our neighbours, and we have worked in partnership with the community and the planning authority to minimise impact where possible. 

"We are particularly mindful of residents’ concerns about the development’s impact on air quality and local traffic. We monitor air quality monthly and have published reports in line with DEFRA targets since March 2022."