Owners hope for better transport links to Bay
BETTER car parking and improved links between Cardiff Bay and the city centre – they are two of the items on the wishlist for the owners of Cardiff Bay’s flagship leisure and retail site at Mermaid Quay.
Mermaid Quay is 20 years old this year and is now about to be “reinvented” as a leisure destination for the 21st century.
Schroder UK Real Estate Fund, through its UK Real Estate Fund, is the owner of Mermaid Quay.
The fund provided investment for its initial development back in the late 1990s, with Mermaid Quay being one of the key pioneer developments that kick started the transformation of Cardiff Bay.
Schroders, as investment manager of the fund, has managed the centre ever since.
The firm’s head of UK retail and leisure, Harry Pickering, has been involved in Mermaid Quay since the end of 2016.
He has been tasked with developing a strategy for its reinvention as a leisure destination.
Mr Pickering said: “We were delighted to see the [Cardiff] council’s Crossrail proposals and in particular the fact that the tram will link Cardiff Central and Roald Dahl Plass.
“Improving public transport links between the city centre and the Bay is vital to its future success and we would like to see these brought forward as quickly as possible.
“However, we feel that the nature of the leisure and entertainment uses in the Bay mean that more car parking also needs to be a crucial part of the transport strategy.”
Schroders is seeking planning consent for plans to extend the Mermaid Quay car park, including the introduction of more accessible spaces, electric charging points and a 60-space cycle hub.
Mr Pickering explained: “Our car park is used by visitors to all of the waterfront attractions – Techniquest, the Wales Millennium Centre and Roald Dahl Plass as well as Mermaid Quay. It often reaches capacity.
“More parking is needed as part of a joined up transport strategy so that the Bay can meet growing demand, which will come both as a result of improvements at Mermaid Quay, including the arrival of Everyman (cinema), and the council’s ambitious plans for further leisure uses in the area, such as the new arena.
“We believe that one of the sustainable ways to deliver the additional parking that the Bay needs is to use an existing car park site more intensively rather than developing other sites. The extension of the car park was planned for when it was built.
“The foundations and existing two levels can support a larger structure, so the extension can be delivered with the minimum disruption and in an environmentally sustainable way.”
The designs that have been submitted for planning include measures to protect the privacy of local residents and are as sensitive as possible to neighbouring properties including Mount Stuart Primary School.
“We commissioned specialist reports covering traffic, impact on daylight and sunlight, air quality, noise levels and drainage – all of which concluded that the proposed scheme would have minimal effect on the surrounding area,” Mr Pickering added.
“Changes to the internal layout and revised or additional entrance and exit points to the car park should actually ease congestion. And, we are also proposing green wall cladding to two of the staircases – to enhance biodiversity and soften the appearance of the car park.”
Mermaid Quay, with more than 30 restaurants, cafés and bars as well as The Glee comedy club and Everyman cinema opening later this year, is popular with Cardiff residents as well as day-trippers and tourists.
It is home to boutique shops, a Tesco Express and luxury services including celebrity hairdresser Ken Picton’s two-storey salon and spa.
The first phase of the new look for Mermaid Quay was the demolition of the coffee shop building in the middle of Tacoma Square which, it was felt, acted as a barrier between the other restaurants and the waterfront and limited the public space available for events and entertainment.
The demolition was followed by a programme of painting as part of a renewal of the building fabric and the introduction of new branding, to create a bright, clean, colourful dockside feel.
At the same time, Schroders entered into negotiations to secure an Everyman cinema – a deal that required significant investment – for the centre. Construction is underway, redeveloping units previously occupied by Pearl of the Orient and Bayside Brasserie, to create space for the five-screen cinema.
It will be the first Everyman in Wales when it opens later this year and will provide a year-round, weather-independent attraction.
Schroders is also bringing in other new restaurant brands, including the recently opened Cosy Club and Hubbox (which will open in the autumn).