Developers behind pub flats scheme scale down plans

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Developers behind plans to turn a Cardiff pub into flats argued that keeping the building as a community facility would be too expensive.

LA Railway Ltd put in a planning application to Cardiff Council in July 2023 to turn The Railway Inn in Fairwater into 16 flats.

The applicants recently proposed to scale down their plans so that, if it’s approved, the pub would instead be turned into 11 flats.

Viable

A planning report made on behalf of LA Railway shows the council’s policy team asked the developers for evidence to show the building’s continued use as a community facility was no longer viable.

The report, produced by Lichfields, states: “The above analysis demonstrates that within the wider area there would be ample provision of public houses or similar social venues within and around the Railway Inn ensuring that the needs of local residents are well met should the Railway Inn no longer be available.

“The existing building and associated facilities are in a poor state of repair with significant refurbishment and investment required to meet modern standards.”

It goes on to add: “Any effort to modernise the facility would necessitate extensive upgrades to comply with current building regulations and energy performance requirements.

“The applicant has provided a detailed cost assessment to demonstrate that refurbishing the Railway Inn to a modern standard would cost approximately £700,000.”

Scale

There has been opposition to the plans by members of the public, who mainly raised concerns about the scale of the development, potential overlooking, and traffic issues.

However the owners’ purchase of the pub and the perceived lack of work that’s been done to maintain it has also been criticised.

One resident’s comments were posted on Cardiff Council’s planning page. They noted that the scheme will still be three storeys high if it goes ahead and won’t be in “keeping with the neighbourhood”.

The resident, whose name was not published, added: “Windows will still overlook surrounding properties. I would also request that a full PRA is completed.

“The rationale that 16 bike stands are in place and the reason for no car parking allocation is because of strong public transport is ludicrous.

“To expect every person will use public transport and a bike that may purchase the flat is just not viable. There will be cars and they will need to park in the area.”

The developers have reconfigured the proposed scheme to reduce the potential for overlooking and overbearing

LA Railway’s planning statement adds that the internal re-configuration of the building’s design means the majority of windows facing existing homes are either hallways or bathrooms and that both will include obscured glazing.

The building is “sustainably located”, according to the developers, and they said it benefits from “excellent transport links”.

Waun-gron Park Railway Station is about 300m north of the site and there is a bus shelter about 50m away.

However traffic levels are still perceived to be at a “significantly high level”.

The resident who commented on the planning application added: “Why is the option of building a small number of houses with adequate parking, while also improving the safety of the pavement from Ely Road to St Fagans Road, not being considered?”