Residents have moved into new homes at the site of the former St Cuthbert’s Church in Butetown, Cardiff.
Not-for-profit housing organisation United Welsh worked with Cardiff Council and M&J Cosgrove Construction to build St Cuthbert’s House, a development of one and two-bedroom apartments for affordable rent which are in high demand in the capital.
One of the new residents at St Cuthbert’s House is Davina Driscoll, who has happy memories of the area. Davina said:
“I used to go to the old St Cuthbert’s church and school, so it’s nice to come back to where I’m from.
“I wanted to downsize and I love it here. I’ve moved from a three-bedroom house into a one-bedroom flat and I’m really happy with the home and location.”
St Cuthbert’s uses renewable energy systems and has been built to high insulation and energy efficiency standards to make the homes draught-free. Ground source heat pumps supply heating and hot water to the apartments rather than gas, and the building’s roof is made with integrated photovoltaic panels supplied by Newport-based manufacturer BiPVco to convert sunlight into electricity.
Teresa Barnes, Development Manager at United Welsh, said:
“Butetown is a popular place to live in Cardiff, and we are delighted to see people move into their new homes here.
“40% of UK carbon emissions come from households, so it is crucial for our new developments like St Cuthbert’s House to embrace low-carbon building technologies to tackle climate change. As these homes require less energy to heat them, it also means they are more affordable for people to live in long-term.
“We are looking forward to providing more high quality, affordable homes in Cardiff in the years ahead.”
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said:
“It’s fantastic to see these new apartments in Butetown, an area with high demand for affordable housing, completed and great to hear residents are enjoying their new sustainable homes.
“At a time when we are facing incredible housing pressures, we’re pleased to have worked with United Welsh to increase the supply of good quality homes in the city and look forward to partnering with them again on a new scheme in Canton which will further help to boost availability of homes for those on the housing waiting list.”
United Welsh recently gained approval to build over 100 new homes in Canton, at Sanitorium Road.
The St Cuthbert’s development was part-funded by Welsh Government Social Housing Grant.
