High hopes for new city tower block

PLANS for the demolition of the former Porter’s bar in Cardiff and its replacement with a 35-storey skyscraper have taken a step forward.

Draycott Group announced plans for one of Wales’ tallest buildings on the site in 2021 and have now gone to Cardiff Council looking for approval for the current site’s demolition.

Porter’s announced in 2022 that the venue was being “bulldozed” and the bar has since reopened at its new home in Barrack Lane in the city centre.

For three years after the Harlech Court project was announced there were few updates on the planned skyscraper.

Now developers are seeking permission to demolish the main building which was previously Porter’s, the 1970s office block to the rear, the car park podium it sits on, and the ramp leading to it.

Demolition is generally “permitted development” meaning no planning permission is required but sometimes a council will decide its prior approval is required before work can begin.

Draycot applied for prior approval for Harlech Court on February 20, 2020, and issued a demolition notice saying the structures would be demolished on August 1, 2024.

The council confirmed on March 20, 2024, that prior approval is required as the proposal would likely have a “significant impact” on its surroundings.

This means further details about the method of demolition need to be provided before it goes ahead.

Draycott Group bought the site in 2018 and plans for a 35-storey block of flats were announced in 2021, for what would have been the tallest building in Wales, to strong opposition.

These plans are still set to go ahead but Draycott is still in the planning stages and the exact height could change.

A more recently-proposed block in Wood Street would now become Wales’ tallest if built and if Harlech Court is fewer than 35 stories tall.

Plans are on hold for a 42-storey skyscraper in Customhouse Street which has not seen significant progress since 2021.

Citrus Hotel, which shares the podium and access ramp, will not itself be demolished under the current plans.

Early glimpse of the potential skyscraper in a 2021 artist’s impression and, inset, the entrance of the former site of Porter’s bar