Work is underway to transform Cardiff Castle into a hub for al fresco dining to help businesses sell food and drink as the lockdown rules are eased in Wales.
On Thursday the Welsh Government announced that from July 13 bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants could begin to re-open outdoors, if cases of coronavirus continued to fall.
With people still unable to sit inside to eat and drink in the capital's pubs and restaurants, Cardiff Council is planning on transforming large parts of the city.
The council said there were plans to create a public square inside Cardiff Castle and use Castle Street and the Castle moat as a covered area for local restaurants and cafes to deliver food to.
Castle Street is already closed to traffic, and on Thursday work was seen being carried out on the road surface.
On June 19, the council said: "Castle Street will be closed to enable rest areas to be put in place and to begin the build for the covered, outdoor seating area designed to help restaurants and cafes open for business when restrictions lift."
The council added that it was planning more on-street "spill out spaces" for hospitality businesses and setting up zones across the city to entertain people outdoors in socially-distanced settings.
Businesses would be allowed to use the proposed spill out spaces free of charge. The other spaces proposed include the northern end of Churchill Way, the Hayes and Mill Lane.
The council said previously: "The council recognises that several businesses in the hospitality sector (restaurants/cafes/bars) could be seriously affected by the need to follow social distancing rules. With that in mind, the council is proposing to open up spill-out areas on the public realm to businesses to use free of charge.
"It is essential that the key streets, public spaces and new spill-out spaces allow social distancing, are safe, well connected, and present an attractive green and friendly environment appropriate in a capital city. The plan identifies a number of ‘spill-out spaces’ where there can be more managed social activity and safe events."
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The proposals to help businesses are the second part of a larger plan, which has already seen a number of changes to the city centre. A one way system is in place across large parts of the centre and manned welcome points have been set-up.
Other measures brought in include:
- More 20mph zones.
- Widening pavements.
- More cycleways.
- Manned city centre welcome points.
- Demarcated pedestrian footways.
- Queuing space.
- Changes to car parking; and traffic movement (including buses) around the city centre.
International Relations Minister Eluned Morgan told Thursday's press conference in Cathays Park that the first phase of the hospitality industry reopening was likely to start from Monday, July 13, if the rate of coronavirus infections continued to fall. See full details of the announcement here.
She also laid out a revised plan for allowing self-contained holiday accommodation to re-open, bringing forward the proposed date to Saturday, July 11, to enable that weekend's bookings to go ahead.
She said the re-opening of outdoor visitor attractions would be able to go ahead from Monday, July 6, if the five-mile rule is lifted, as planned, by First Minister Mark Drakeford.
However, indoor visitor attractions will have to remain closed. Baroness Morgan said that the re-opening of indoor attractions and options would be considered at the next review of the regulations on Thursday, July 9.
Baroness Morgan said that indoor hospitality would have to remain closed at the moment, however the Welsh Government was aware of the huge pressure on the sector caused by changes to the furlough scheme in August.
