‘Chaos’ warning over proposals for newVelindre cancer centre

PLANS for a new cancer centre could cause traffic chaos and damage wildlife in a similar way to when the CocaCola truck visited Cardiff, according to concerned residents.

Plans for a Velindre Cancer Centre in Whitchurch have been met with opposition from residents who are against the choice of location.

Those behind the plans say the existing cancer centre needs to be replaced, while residents are concerned the site planned on Whitchurch Meadow will damage wildlife and cause traffic chaos.

Whitchurch resident Diane Lock, 42, said: “I remember playing in the meadows since I was two years old. And now they want to build all over it, they will destroy it all.”

The site north of Whitchurch Hospital playing fields would include a specialist cancer treatment centre, a centre for learning, research and development facilities, temporary construction access points, parking provision, an energy centre and paths.

If planning permission is granted, the current Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff would be decommissioned following the opening of the new centre, planned for September 2022.

Ms Lock said: “We are already gridlocked. It’s bumper-to-bumper already at rush-hour. Do you remember when the Coca-Cola truck came through? People have been saying it will be like that every day.”

A petition against the plans, which has gained more than 500 signatures, claims that there would be a “substantial” impact to local wildlife by the development, which would have 1,000 staff members.