The development of a sustainable mixed-use scheme including new housing, retail and bus interchange on Waun Gron Road was granted by Cardiff Council’s Planning Committee this week, subject to a call in request and legal agreement from the developer on the conditions that have been set.
The scheme, on the site of the former recycling centre in Llandaff, will deliver 44 new council homes, office and commercial spaces as well as a new access road designed to integrate the proposed transport hub with the residential development.
The new properties, part of the Council’s development programme to increase the availability of affordable homes in the city, will be highly energy-efficient, making using of renewable technologies such as ground source heat and solar PVs to achieve significant improvements on current energy performance requirements.
Around half of the one bed and two bedroom apartments will be used to accommodate people on the city’s housing waiting list while the remaining homes will be temporary, supported accommodation for people who have previously experienced homelessness but are ready to move on to more independent living in their own tenancy. Low level support for these tenants will be provided on site.
The integration of the residential development with the transport hub provides benefits for existing residents in the area and the new tenants, enabling more convenient access to other parts of the city, and encouraging active travel choices via improved pedestrian and cycling facilities.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: “Our housing development programme seeks to not only ensure that we increase the amount of affordable housing in the city, but also to provide the right sort of accommodation for the people who need it. We’ve made significant progress in tackling homelessness in the city over recent years and providing people with suitable accommodation, so they can continue getting their lives back on track, with very light touch support from on-site staff, is essential.
“The other properties on site will be allocated to people on our housing waiting list, providing much-needed affordable homes with excellent access to local amenities.”
The new transport interchange will be built at the heart of the new development and will ensure that residents and visitors are able to interchange between train, bus and active travel more easily and allow people to travel across the city by bus without travelling into the city centre.
Sustainable access to the development will be further enhanced by the future delivery of several strategic cycling routes and improved walking links identified on the Council’s draft Active Travel Network Map which connect the site with the wider active travel network.
Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, said: “This development is an excellent example of how best to utilise a brownfield site, with a mix of high-density housing to create much needed social housing in close proximity to new public transport facilities.
“The new bus interchange will not only benefit those living in this new development, but all those that travel by bus from east to west and vice versa, significantly improving the journey time for these bus users.”
