Eyesore car park bought for £9m is demolished
DEMOLITION work has started on a car park which was bought for £9m – just to tear it down.
The work forms part of the latest phase of Cardiff’s Central Square development.
Wood Street NCP is the latest building to face demolition after the nearby bus station and Marland House buildings were torn down.
Major work is ongoing outside Cardiff Central Railway Station to build a state-of-the-art headquarters for the BBC and a bus station.
It is believed the demolition work will take around three months to complete.
In September 2014 it was revealed that Cardiff council had spent £9m buying the car park.
The council admitted at the time that they would likely demolish it but said that having it would give them more flexibility.
The authority said the £9m price tag was calculated by assessing its current value as a building and its income.
At the time, a council spokesman said: “The NCP car park was purchased by the council to establish complete ownership and control of the regeneration area.
“Extending the regeneration area to include the car park site provides greater flexibility in terms of the options available for regeneration.
“The cost was based on an independent valuation of the building based on its current use as a car park with the associated income generated.
“Although it is likely that the car park will be demolished to enable regeneration, there remains potential for the car park to be refurbished to generate income long-term.”
He added: “The council remains confident that its full outlay on land assembly in Central Square will be recouped from future land sales to enable development.”
The demolition of the car park has provoked concern from local businesses. A petition set up by the Royal Hotel gathered 672 signatures from people concerned about the impact on the city centre to losing a car park.
In response, Cardiff council said it would look at restoring some of the lost parking spaces.