Bay welcomes plan for new city railway station
PLANS for a £120m new mainline railway station between Cardiff and Newport, for which a preplanning five-week public consultation exercise is now under way, has been welcomed by the Welsh Government.
The Cardiff Parkway station, proposed for the Great Western Mainline between south Wales and London, would be at the heart of the Cardiff Hendre Lakes 900,000 sq ft business district, which could support up to 6,000 jobs.
The ambitious project, on 200 acres of former farmland, is being driven by Cardiff Parkway Developments Ltd, a joint venture between financial services giant Investec, the Welsh Government and entrepreneurs Nigel and Andrew Roberts.
Subject to consent, construction work will start in 2021 with the Cardiff Parkway station opening to passengers in 2024.
The Welsh Government has a 10% stake in Cardiff Parkway Developments. Investec has a majority interest, with the remaining interest held by the Roberts family.
Following the statutory public consultation, which runs to September 9, an application, covering both the railway station and business district, will be submitted for outline planning consent with reserve matters with Cardiff council and some smaller applications to Newport County Council later this year.
The site has been designated a key strategic employment site in Cardiff council’s local development plan. In an important milestone for Cardiff Parkway it has now secured the Governance for Railway Investment Projects 3 (GRIP 3) certificate from Network Rail, a process which ensures projects go through rigorous quality control.
The station, which is expected to be operated by the Welsh Government’s transport body, Transport for Wales, will be located on the existing South Wales to London Great Western Mainline,
which runs through the site.
It is aiming to secure 12 train services an hour (24 in and out) including London and Temple Meads services, although this would require approval from the Department for Transport.
Its design will allow it to accommodate at least 800,000 passengers annually.
With turn-up-and-go rail services to Cardiff Central and Newport railway stations of just seven minutes, it would be marketed not only as an extension of South Wales’ major business districts, but a major destination in its own right.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We welcome this key milestone in progressing planning for the Cardiff Parkway development in the St Mellons area of Cardiff, which the Welsh Government are very pleased to be a commercial investor in.
“We’re pleased the developers have continued to make good progress on the project despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The development will make a major contribution to improved rail connectivity, and help support our economy post Covid-19 recovery, and develop our public transport for the future.
“The development will also help to manage congestion and reduce air and noise pollution in central Cardiff.”
Cardiff Parkway was identified in the recent interim report of an independent commission set up by the Welsh Government to look at measures to address congestion on the existing M4, particularly at peak times through the Brynglas Tunnels, following the decision of First Minister Mark Drakeford last year not to build an M4 Relief Road.
The South East Wales Transport Commission is chaired by Lord Terry Burns.