Gething-backed project ‘would destroy conservation area and see train station built in wrong place’

Martin Shipton

Campaigners are anxiously awaiting a planning decision on a project backed by Vaughan Gething they say would destroy a conservation area and see a train station built in the wrong location.

A company chaired by businessman Nigel Roberts wants to develop Hendre Lakes Business Park and a large new station called Cardiff Parkway at which express trains to London would stop.

The scheme was granted planning permission by Cardiff council in April 2022, but called in by Julie James, who was then the Welsh Government’s Climate Change Minister. “Calling in” means the decision on an application is taken not by the council, but by Planning & Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), the planning inspectorate.

Cardiff Parkway station

In 2021 Mr Gething recorded a video in which he stated: “We’re here on the edge of the St Mellons Business Park, and to my left is the rail line that goes across into Cardiff and that way towards London.

It’s also near here that the Cardiff Parkway station is going to be created. The plans are going into planning already and hopefully with approval we can start work within the next year or so.

“That’s really exciting for me because I’ve been campaigning for passenger rail to have a station here in east Cardiff since I was first elected. I’ve worked with and supported the people who are behind the project to bring not just passenger rail but real employment opportunities as well.

“Lots of job creation potential, but also helping people to have a different way to move round not just Cardiff but the wider area. That’s good for the environment, but it’s also good for the future of the country.”

Supporter

Mr Roberts is a strong supporter of Mr Gething, and praised him and Shadow Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens in a social media post when he was elected Welsh Labour leader in March. The post stated: “You two will make a great team going forward, congratulations to Vaughan he has all the attributes to be a great leader for Wales. For the first time in a while I am very optimistic for what the future holds for our country.”

When the scheme was passed by Cardiff council in April 2022, Mr Roberts said: “We are delighted to have gained a positive outcome at the planning committee for this transformational project. Our proposals are for a sustainable, well-connected business district with public transport and active travel at its heart.

“The project will bring investment to an area of Cardiff that needs it, create new employment opportunities, and better connect people in this region of south east Wales. We are aiming to deliver convenient and quick services, with a high-quality customer experience, particularly for public transport and active travel, to encourage sustainable transport to become the obvious choice. We are looking forward to progressing the scheme.”

Damaging impacts

However Lyn Eynon, the planning lead for Cardiff Civic Society (CCS) said: “Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has identified many damaging impacts from this development. It has not ruled out approving the development and is seeking a Statement of Common Ground to narrow down issues.

“But its submission to the PEDW investigation concluded: ‘NRW does not agree that the applicant has adequately demonstrated that the proposals will appropriately compensate the permanent loss of SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) features as a result of the proposed development. NRW does not agree that the presumption against development as set out in planning policy has been displaced and considers that the grant of planning permission would not satisfy the duty requiring public authorities to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the features which have led to the designation of the SSSI. Accordingly, NRW maintains its objection.’

“The group Save The Gwent Levels is campaigning to protect the levels against developments such as Hendre Lakes and solar farms, and waste disposal such as that by Dauson Environmental [the company run by convicted businessman David Neal that donated £200k to Mr Gething’s Welsh Labour leadership campaign] .

“Their petition to ‘Halt significant new development on the Gwent Levels SSSIs’ gathered 4,567 signatures and is being considered by the Senedd’s Petitions Committee.

“A rail station in the east of the city has wide support, although not on the proposed scale or location, or associated with a large business park. PEDW held hearings in the summer of 2023. Its subsequent recommendation to approve the application was released in error prior to the Minister making her decision.

“On October 11 2023, the Welsh Government issued an Annex to Heads of Planning entitled Addressing the Nature Emergency through the Planning System. This Annex increased protection for SSSIs and other sites of natural importance. Following the issue of this Annex, PEDW was asked to reconsider its recommendation on the Hendre Lakes application, and a further hearing was held in late 2023. A decision was expected in early 2024 but is still outstanding.”

Submission

In a submission to PEDW about the proposal, CCS wrote: “The Vision [a document produced by the Arup consultancy] states that Hendre Lakes will ‘help people experience the region’s exceptional natural environment’. But the development will destroy the Marshfield SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation) and about 8% of the Gwent Levels: Rumney and Peterstone SSSI. Does Western Gateway truly believe that the way to experience nature is to destroy it?”

On Cardiff Parkway station, the submission stated: “CCS recognises the poor provision of public transport in the east of the city.

“A rail station to the east of the A4232 would help improve that, but we are not convinced that the proposed site is the best location to meet the needs of residents, who would be better served by a station to the west of Hendre Lake, closer to where most people live.”

‘No requirement’

Friends of the Gwent Levels made a submission based on the Cardiff Employment Land and Premises study, which stated: “[There] is no requirement for such a large-scale office development in an out-of-town situation.

“This report provides a very clear indication that the 85,000 sq metres office space provision in the Hendre lakes Business Park development is contributing to the over-supply of speculative office space development and should be halted.

“Demand for Large Lease Office Space was already falling Pre-Pandemic

“Demand for long-term large office space leases began falling prior to the pandemic as employees were already turning to technology to support employees working at home. Out of Town (OOT) Rental shows significantly lower demand than the city centre, and developers are not utilising current undeveloped employment land in OOT business parks. Space availability exceeds 50% in some cases in the OOT locations, a trend that is likely to continue into forthcoming years according to office agents, as the requirement for more flexible collaborative working spaces with smaller floor spaces grows.

“Despite there being space for future office development on business parks such as Cardiff Gate, a lack of convertible demand means that there has been little activity from developers seeking [office] planning permissions. In fact, there have been attempts by developers to seek a change of use to undeveloped employment land to residential uses.

“Recent activity has been concentrated in the city centre, with less than 5% of development in the OOT market. The number of lease transactions in the OOT market has been falling as a share of the total consistently over the last five years. The neighbouring St Mellons Business Park had a 58% occupancy at the time of drafting the report.

“There is considerable uncertainty about the requirement for future office space, and patterns of hybrid working persist beyond the Covid pandemic.

“Notwithstanding, the majority of risk factors would put downward pressure on the total requirement and may lead to additional supply being released from the existing stock.

“The Covid pandemic appears to have accelerated a trend towards hybrid working which was already in existence pre-pandemic. The take-up of office space in Cardiff has fallen year on year from the take-up peak in 2016 and 2017 where approximately 700,000 sq ft of space was taken in both these years.

“A broad consensus has emerged that we are unlikely to return fully to the pre pandemic situation with at least some degree of hybrid working across the majority of occupiers.

“However, the balance of probabilities at the present time would suggest lower volumes of new office space being required over the next 15 years than were developed in the past.”