Controversial plans to transform church into shops and café stalled

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

Controversial plans to transform an old church in Cardiff into shops, a cafe and workspaces have stalled.

In a close vote between members of Cardiff’s planning committee (six for and four against), councillors voted to “defer for reasons for refusal” with the overbearing nature of the extension being the key sticking point.

A local campaigner against the development, Tom Satchell, said that the extension would present a “clear view” into his living room and that this was “enough of a reason to deny this application”.

Kevin Sutton, who spoke on behalf of the architects, Davies Sutton Architects, emphasised the economic benefits of the development and the potential to revitalise the building.

He called the church “fundamentally at risk” and that “without more economic income driven by this building, there’s no future for it”.

Currently, the former Roath Park Methodist church is home to Rainbow Bargains, a discount store.

Cllr Peter Wong, who spoke as a ward councillor, said that any economic benefit to the area “should not come at the expense of a negative impact on the amenity of neighbours”.

He continued that the new extension would obscure the “heritage windows” from the street level.

Cllr Michael Michael supported the application and said “the main building really does need to be brought up to date.”

Cllrs Garry Hunt and Jon Shimmin both acknowledged the economic gains provided by the mixed-use development but felt that the impact on neighbours outweighed it, with Cllr Hunt saying he couldn’t see a “way around that”.

The two-storey extension would have sat on the north side of the building.

Previously, a petition was set up to stop the extension – it gathered 47 signatures.

The proposal would have resulted in a mixed-use development with a combination of retail uses, cafe/bars and workspaces as well as restore public access to all the major parts of the building.

The building is described as being similar to a traditional Welsh Chapel and is a mixture of 19th century decorated and Gothic styles.

Planning documents read: “The Church is currently showing visible signs of decline, the roof in particular at the end of its life.

“Years of neglect and lack of investment have left the structure at risk, its decorative features increasingly deteriorating.

“Continuing deterioration to this listed building and local landmark would represent a significant loss to the cultural and architectural history of Cardiff, as well as negatively impacting on surrounding commercial activity.”

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