Plans for a new Canal Quarter in the heart of Cardiff city centre are well underway with enabling works on site for the Churchill Way development now complete.
Since work began in early February, the central reservation on Churchill Way has been removed, the tarmac dug up, with the service and utilities that were underneath the road now diverted. Site hoardings are now in place so work can begin to bring back the dock feeder canal.
The scheme, which is part of a wider masterplan to create a new vibrant Canal Quarter in the east of the city, is scheduled to take twelve months to complete. During this time Churchill Way, north of North Edward Street will be closed to traffic.
The opening up of the canal is the beginning of a wider masterplan that will create new, green, public space, with rain gardens in place to manage surface water drainage, outdoor seating and an amphitheatre-style outdoor performance area.
The masterplan, approved by Cardiff Council’s Cabinet in May last year, will create a new, vibrant district in the east of the city, interlinkingBridge Street, David Street, Charles Street, Tredegar Street, Guildford Crescent and Barrack Lane to develop a high-density, mixed-use development, attracting homes, hotels, hospitality, high-quality offices, leisure and retail units.
With funding from the Cardiff Capital City Deal and Welsh Government, significant improvements will be made to the public realm, with a new cycleway on Station Terrace, wider pavements and improved crossing facilities around Cardiff Queen Street train station, and a new improved junction between Adam Street and Churchill Way. The funding to bring back the dock feeder canal has been provided by Cardiff Council.
Cllr Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Environment and Recycling said: “The opening of the dock feeder canal and the new transport scheme will not only mark the beginning of a new district centre for the city and act as a catalyst for new investment, but it will play an essential role in managing traffic flow and surface water drainage in the city centre.
“A series of rain gardens will be built, with specific soil and planting to treat the surface water to remove pollutants before the water flows into the canal. This will ensure that 3,700 m2of water will be diverted away from the sewage system each year, reducing the cost and energy of treating this water through the sewage pumping station at Cardiff Bay.”
As part of this scheme, Station Terrace can no longer to be used for through traffic. Only taxis and buses will be allowed to use this road in either direction in order to give buses priority to travel in and out of the new bus interchange on the east side of the city when it is open in 2023.
This new development and the wider masterplan will bring much-needed jobs during the construction phase, as well as long-term employment opportunities when the scheme is complete.
Access to businesses on Churchill Way will be unaffected by these works and the taxi rank will be moved to North Edward Street, where new electric charging points will be installed for the trade to use.
