'When I was a lad, you didn't have shutters on any of the shops here'

Shoppers and workers on a Cardiff high street say there's one issue above all else they'd like to see fixed as the council prepares to carry out work there, as local democracy reporter Ted Peskett found out...

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Residents in an area of Cardiff are pleased to hear their high street will receive a makeover but there's one issue above everything else that they said is blighting it.

Cardiff council announced recently that it planned to make a number of changes to Countisbury Avenue in Llanrumney, including resurfacing the road and pavement, and upgrading pedestrian crossings.

Few shoppers there would argue that the work needs doing. In front of the shops, some of which are shuttered or empty, many of the paving slabs are loose and the car park is marked by dozens of potholes.

However, when people were asked about what they thought of their high street, nearly all of them said it was badly affected by antisocial behaviour.

"They should by rights close this completely right off for a couple of days and redo it," said Derek Nowell, a regular shopper on Countisbury Avenue.

"If I want shopping, I go down to Newport Road, but I have got to be quite truthful, look at the state of the pavements here.

"It's sad really because I never thought that it would ever get this way.

"I can remember when I was a lad, about eight, you didn’t have any shutters on any of the shops coming along here. Over the years they've needed it because of vandalism.

"You've got lads on here they [ride bikes] on this path here.

"One has got an electric bike. He whizzed past me the other day and if it wasn’t for two or three inches no doubt he might have hit my buggy with me in it."

The work Cardiff council is proposing to do on Countisbury Avenue includes: