New homes and bridge in £60m development
PLANS for a multi-million-pound scheme of hundreds of new homes and a bridge over the River Taff in Cardiff have taken a step forward.
The £60m scheme will see part of the Channel View estate demolished to make way for more than 350 new properties.
Cardiff council’s cabinet has given the go-ahead to submit a masterplan for the project and for procurement to rebuild the estate in Grangetown.
Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas said the project will be “transformative for the area”, adding he “can’t wait to see this come to life”.
Poor design, “historic issues” with antisocial behaviour and poor connections to the bay and rest of the city are some of the reasons the council said the development is needed.
The proposals include the redevelopment of around 180 existing properties on Channel View Road, including a council-owned 13-storey tower block.
These would be replaced with around 360 new homes for the existing community.
The properties would be split between around 60% council houses and 40% market sale, which represents the current split on the estate.
Cardiff council said the estimated costs for the entire scheme will be around £60m, with the first phase costing around £16m.
The plans also include a pedestrian bridge between the Marl and Hamadryad Park across the River Taff.
The council report says: “The proposed connection between the Marl and Hamadryad Park is an important aspect of the project. However, work is required to determine how this new bridge can be paid for. It is estimated that a footbridge will cost in the region of £9m.”
It adds that a design team for the bridge is currently being appointed and external funding is being looked at.
As part of the plans, the council will be required to buy a number of privately owned homes.
The council have been consulting with residents on the estate since 2016, and said plans put forward after 2018 were met with a “high level of support”.
It added: “There are currently three remaining owner-occupiers within phase one who we are negotiating with to acquire their property, all of whom have indicated that they do want to sell their property back to the council and move elsewhere.”
Once the purchases are complete, phase one can move forward. It will provide around 78 one- and two-bedroom flats for older people spread across two blocks, as a replacement for the existing tower block.
Improvements to the Marl park are also proposed, as well as additional large green spaces within the new development. A small section of the lower Marl would be included in the scheme, with over 30,000 sq m of existing open space improved.
Lynda Thorne, the council’s cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “The Channel View scheme is a fantastic opportunity for us to not only address a number of issues that have arisen on the estate over recent years, but to breathe new life into the wider area by creating the type of good-quality homes and attractive neighbourhoods we want to see in a modern city.
“We have been speaking to existing residents for a number of years and indeed, there is consultation currently ongoing with the Grangetown community to hear their views about our vision and fully involve people who work and live in the area in our plans. There has been a high level of support for the proposals and I’m excited for the scheme to progress to the next stages.
“It’s been one of our key aims to deliver the redevelopment in phases so that the existing residents are able to remain living on the estate, transferring from their existing home into a new property once built.”