A major council housing development in a Welsh city has reached another milestone

Kieran Molloy, Local democracy reporter

A major council housing development in Cardiff has reached another milestone.

Cardiff Council and Wates Residential recently celebrated the completion of another block of council flats at Channel View in Grangetown.

Those involved in the scheme gathered for a “topping off” ceremony for the 15-storey Block A of the new Channel View development, a new social housing project intended to replace the old Channel View flats nearby.

A topping off ceremony is a construction milestone that celebrates the highest point in a development being installed.

The leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “For me, and Cardiff Council, I think it represents another really important milestone on our journey to massively deliver on council housing in the city.”

He continued: “We’ve been working very closely with residents in terms of their preferences [like] do they want a sea view or a city view or what kind of floor they want to be on?

“We know the pressure on the housing market in Cardiff and for the last eight years as a council we’ve been saying we’re going to get back into building council housing again and that’s exactly what we’ve done”.

Julie James MS, counsel general for Wales and minister for delivery, said: “It’s part of our commitment to build 20,000 new social homes for rent across Wales.”

She continued: “It’s part of a much wider process of creating and preserving communities and placemaking, which Cardiff has been at the centre of.

“It is about making sure that this community stays cohesive and has a great place to live.”

Cllr Thomas spoke of how the suspension of the Right to Buy scheme in Cardiff has been “crucial” for allowing the council to build large amounts of social housing again.

The Right to Buy scheme allows council tenants to buy their homes at a considerable discount.

The scheme was abolished by Cardiff Council, supported by Welsh Government legislation, in 2019.

The Labour leader said: “We know that stock is going to be there for decades and decades and isn’t at risk of being sold at a discount, so that’s then allowed us to invest.”

Although, the council leader made clear that the development was being supported by the social housing grant and money has been borrowed for the project.

Because of the scheme’s suspension, the leader said that some councils in England look “very enviously” at the ability of Cardiff Council to deliver large scale housing projects.

The Channel View redevelopment’s Block A is made up of 102 community living apartments over 15 storeys designed to support older residents.

Communal facilities, a rooftop terrace and a community café will also feature in the housing block.

Block A forms part one of the wider regeneration, which is being supported by the Welsh Government’s social housing grant.

The apartments have been designed to focus on open plan space, natural light, outdoor areas (including balconies on all flats), adaptable layouts for future care needs and community-focused spaces.

Cllr Lynda Thorne, cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “This is actually about replacing homes that are not fit, in a sense, for the 21st century and replacing them with homes that are.”

She continued: “What this represents is being able to actually do regeneration and make sure that we provide good quality accommodation in the same area where people are living so that they keep their connections but actually have homes that will just be amazing.”

While Block A consists of community living apartments, Block B is made of 24 independent living apartments.

Block B is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, Block A is expected to be ready by the end of 2027.