Work on delayed bus station to start in 2018 with joint venture
WORK to build Cardiff’s longawaited bus station is set to begin early next year, as part of a massive new development that will include new offices and 400 apartments.
The project, in the heart of the city centre, has been beset by delays.
But yesterday it was announced that a new joint venture has been forged by Cardiff council, the Welsh Government and developer Rightacres, to finally deliver the interchange project in the heart of the Welsh capital.
And it could pave the way for the much-needed redevelopment of Cardiff’s ageing central railway station.
The joint venture is specifically being established to deliver projects related to the South Wales Metro transport scheme.
A new bus station at Central Square, linked to neighbouring Cardiff Central Railway Station, is seen as a key Metro-related scheme.
It aims to create closer links between rail, bus and coach services, as well cycle users, in the city and the wider Cardiff Capital Region.
The joint venture will be known as the Metro Delivery Partnership.
It will look to recoup its investment – with a profit margin – by selling the scheme on to an institutional investor.
Some of the proceeds could then be used to help enable the redevelopment of Cardiff Central railway station.
The interchange scheme consists of:
The bus station with retail units on the ground floor; 110,000 sq ft of new office space; 400 private apartments that will be available for rent; and
250 car park spaces above the bus station.
The entire project would take around two years to building.
Cardiff council’s cabinet was expected to give the go-ahead for the joint venture at a meeting yesterday.
Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Transport Ken Skates yesterday confirmed the Welsh Government’s intention to back the venture.
He told the Senedd: “Now is absolutely the right time to enhance the station so it can absorb the growing demand for rail travel, cope with an ever expanding calendar of major events and of course set the tone for the forthcoming South Wales Metro.
“We, along with the council, have a vision for the site around Cardiff Central to become an integrated transport hub, providing seamless integration between trains, buses, coaches and Metro, allowing easy access to pedestrians and storage facilities for cyclists.
“This joint venture can deliver all of these ambitions for the interchange, starting with the redevelopment of the bus station, and for that development to now include high quality space capable of attracting the type of major inward investors who can help us further the ambitions of our brand new economic action plan.”
The leader of Cardiff council, Huw Thomas, and cabinet member for investment and development, Russell Goodway, have played a key role in getting the new venture agreed with Rightacres and the Welsh Government.
Coun Goodway said: The Metro Delivery Partnership, as it will be known, is designed to have a longer life and a greater purpose than the delivery of the bus station alone. Once the bus station building is delivered and sold, it is intended that the money is recycled to deliver a second phase of development, including the modernisation of Cardiff Central.”
The joint venture is effectively a joined-up approach to land ownership to deliver Metro related transport infrastructure projects.
It will also look to deliver other Metro related schemes, including improvements to Cardiff Central Railway Station.
Improvements are needed to ensure it can cope with rising passengers numbers that will be further boosted when the next phase of the Metro, with electrification of the Valley Lines, is realised. But the redevelopment of Cardiff Railway Station will require a significant contribution from the UK Government due to its projected cost of at least £100m.
The Welsh Government and Cardiff council are continuing to press the UK Government to back a project that is not a devolved matter.