Environmental groups urge Minister to reject ‘station in wrong place’ scheme
Martin Shipton
Four environmental groups have sent an open letter to a Cabinet Minister urging her to reject plans that would see a controversial business park promoted by former First Minister Vaughan Gething built in the east of Cardiff.
Cardiff Civic Society, Friends of the Earth Cardiff, Friends of Gwent Levels and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales have written to Rebecca Evans, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, asking her to turn down the Hendre Lakes business park planning application, which would also entail building a train station called Cardiff Parkway in what the groups consider to be the wrong location.
Those backing the scheme, including Mr Gething, have made questionable claims that it would create 6,000 jobs.
Nature
In their letter to Ms Evans, the groups state: “We wish to reiterate why, as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, you should reject the called-in Hendre Lakes business park planning application.
“Human life depends on nature. The State of Nature Wales 2023 report estimates Welsh wildlife has decreased by 20% since 1994, while one in six Welsh species is threatened with extinction. The Environment Act (Wales) 2016 places a duty on public authorities to seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity. The Senedd declared a nature emergency in 2021.
“Habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity. Future Wales [the Welsh Government’s document that sets out planning policy and priorities until 2040] identifies the Gwent Levels as a National Natural Resource. It is an ancient landscape, rich in culture and important for biodiversity, recreation, flood alleviation, carbon storage and food production. Planning Policy Wales 12 recognises the value of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, such as that on which this business park is proposed. It sets a principled presumption against development on a SSSI that is not necessary for its management. This principle must be upheld.
Office demand
The letter continues: “Cardiff’s Local Development Plan (LDP) allocates this land for employment, but there have been many changes since 2016 in the economy, laws and policy. Office demand has declined since 2019, and changed work patterns make it unlikely to return in full. The Employment Land Study for the new LDP concluded Cardiff’s existing supply of office and R&D floorspace more than sufficed for core requirements. The promise of 6,000 new jobs is not credible.
“The plans show most office space would not be in campus style buildings, as implied by the LDP, but in towers that would compete with city centres, which Future Wales Town Centre First policy seeks to protect.
“Cardiff and Newport centres both have empty office blocks, including high-grade spaces. Planning applications have been submitted to convert some of these to residential use. A large out-of-town business park would displace jobs and damage the health and vibrancy of both cities. Towers are inappropriate in semi-rural settings.
“Cardiff needs an eastern Metro station, but this location is far from where most local people live and is poorly served by cycle or bus routes. The commercial case for an expensive four-platform mainline station handling direct trains to and from London is weak. GWR has said it would not use this. Unsurprisingly, the developer now wants a public subsidy.
“Close to the M4, most travel to or from Hendre Lakes would be by car, as the developer’s own analysis shows, compared with only half of commuter travel into central Cardiff. This site would discourage a modal shift and add congestion to local roads. Park-and-Train could be provided through additional parking spaces at the new Newport West station.
“The world has changed since this business park was first proposed over a decade ago. It no longer delivers the Welsh Government’s policies or goals and should be rejected.”
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A civic society is supposed to improve and protect the urban built environment, not stand in the way of a development that could transform one of the most deprived areas in Wales.
Cardiff parkway will not improve our lives in st mellons. The train station is too far away from the residential area to be a convenient and quick way to travel to Cardiff or Newport. The current business park does not provide much employment to the residents at present and the new business park is unlikely to provide much longterm employment. The business park is too massive that specialists builders will be required. And it is such a massive business park being built on a higher level than the rest of us and over so much green fields that when it… Read more »
It depends where you live. Some streets will be a minute or two away.
I disagree. The mainline train station is being built for the benefit of the business parkway and commuters to Bristol, London and the Midlands. So the entrance to the train station with very long platforms is closer to the business park and the massive multistorey car park being built. Not the residents. A commuter station may have been a shorter walk. We are NOT getting a commuter station in st mellons.
If you assume the Hendre Lake car park is at the station entrace, as the published maps suggest, everything from there up to Tesco is within an easy twenty minute walk. Beyond that buses will likely route this way which will be more reliable than taking it all the way into the centre. Metro ticketing should mean the cost is the same. And of course there’s the cycling option. Wherever you put a station will be inconvenient for some. Not having any station is inconvenient for all.
Not sure what maps you’re referring to, in the proposal the station is shown over towards Heol Las, well away from the main residential area
There’s a route from the lake in public engagement booklet.
Having this station with the massive business park would be inconvenient for all residents. We would all get flooded after we get hit by a 1 in 1000 storm like the one that hit south England 2 weeks ago. This is not a huge risk right now as the gwent levels soak up these flood waters really quickly. I know because I cycle through the gwent levels 3 days a week to work in newport. I have cycled in all weather conditions for the past 4 years. My feet and legs get wet on heol Las and ty Mawr lane,… Read more »
Which residential roads are only ‘a minutr ir two away’, or are yiu assuming we will all drive? The council is assuming St Mellons residents will use ‘active travek’ (i thnk this used) to be called cycling and walking ) to access the parkway
Anywhere walkable to the lake will be walkable to the station.
Which streets? Your claim is plain wrong Amos.
Have you even looked at the plans? There’s a huge estate bordering Cypress Drive. The closest properties are opposite the lake car park.
That particular estate bordering the lake is a very affluent part of St mellons. I do not understand how empty office buildings and a train station at the far edge of St mellons is going to transform the most deprived areas around Tesco and to the south of the supermarket. They will probably have to take a boat to the station. And they certainly couldn’t walk to the station in less than 30 minutes. There are plenty of empty office spaces in the existing business park to the north of St mellons.
According to Google it’s a 21 minute walk to Tesco (or a 6 minute cycle). Spar is more like 30 minutes (7 minutes) but that’s closer to where a Rumney metro station should be. You’re not suggesting that this hidden secret posh corner of New St Mellons is worried about the hoi polloi and the riff raff coming past on their way to access more jobs and opportunity? Because it’s more likely they’ll be rubbing their hands at the massive hike in the value of their asset with a direct connection to London a short walk away. And obviously the… Read more »
I live near the beacon centre and have done so for 21 years now. I cannot speak for the residents living near the lake. I have walked, ran, and cycled around the area and I have cleaned up litter on my own and with the st mellons clean up group. I am aware of the actual journey times in my area. I am not sure how the new business park will suddenly provide new jobs to st mellons when the existing one cannot. The only company to register an interest in the new business park is a highly specialist company.… Read more »
The access to more jobs and opportunities I mentioned weren’t from the business park, they were from the station. If someone can walk or cycle to CP and reach Cardiff or Newport in under ten minutes they can realistically commute much further than if they has a long and unreliable bus journey first. The further you can reasonably commute the more jobs and opportunities you can access.
A commuter station would be just fine without the business park. I have already mentioned the need for a commuter station in my posts. A commuter station would link to Cardiff and Newport and a quick platform change for cities beyond.
A commuter station isn’t on the table. Newport West and Newport Road will happen first and that’s even if they go ahead with Labour’s not-austerity plan. It’s also not clear which services would even call at such a station. The advantage of CP is not only the London connections but the proposal to terminate Crossrail there. This in turn would likely attract GWR to stop their regional services from Taunton and Portsmouth to connect with Crossrail. A metro-only station won’t benefit from any of this. The most likely pattern is adding it to the TfW hourly Gloucester to Maesteg service… Read more »
It is most likely that most travellers on this train station then would be those that use cardiff and newport train stations and will drive into St mellons clogging up the roads here and parking in residential streets as there few parking restrictions here. So only advantage to the area is a train station, but increased risk of home flooding, loss of a large part of the gwent levels, large tall buildings that overlook our houses and will most likely become flats later bringing more residents to the area with less provisions than 20 years ago. Sounds like a rubbish… Read more »
That’s why residential parking permits exist. There are professional engineers who worry about flood risk and mitigations. Don’t forget any negative impact puts the entire South Wales mainline at risk. Network Rail would be on the case if your concerns were genuinely concerning. I’m baffled you’re not more positive about the potential for local people to access more jobs and opportunities. If the GWR regional services stopped as I proposed that would mean Bristol was just 40 minutes away which, for now, is the wealthiest part of western UK. The ability to access more jobs and better paid jobs without… Read more »
Regional services do not need 4 long platforms at 3-4 times the cost of a commuter station, for which a different location could be chosen. CPD now wants public subsidy for this hubris.
You need four platforms to terminate Crossrail services without blocking regional and intercity trains.
You would need 4 platforms only if Crossrail terminates there rather than closer to where more people live.
Even if Crossrail did terminate there, dropping the ambition for London trains to stop there would reduce platform length and hence cost. The commercial case for stopping London trains there to save minutes changing at Newport a few times a day even if an operator is licenced to do so (while delaying journeys for everyone else) is very weak, which is why CPD now wants public subsidy.
Why shouldn’t St Mellons have acesss to Crossrail? And regional trains can be as long as intercity. The class 387 Electrostars are commuter trains that GWR sometimes runs from London for events and can be formed of 12 carriages. Having the option for these to stop at CP after a stadium concert or match makes sense.
Of course St. Mellons should have access to rail services, but a shorter station could be built nearer to where more people live. The promised 7 minutes to the city centre (which could only be achieved via a direct route rather than Crossrail) does not look so good if it needs a 30-40 minute walk to get to or from the station. CPD’s plans make no provision for the improved bus and active routes that the Burns report recommends. It is not a question of ‘wouldn’t it be nice if …’ but of comparing costs and benefits. The added cost… Read more »
“could be built” That’s not on the table. As already noted, Newport West and Newport Road will come first assuming budget cuts even allow those to go ahead. It’s this or nothing for St Mellons from where we are today. In the event that a new commuter station for the area was funded in future years, it would make more sense to have this in Rumney, midway between CP and Newport Road, served by Crossrail that will only come this far if CP is available to terminate the service. Much of St Mellons will be under 20 minutes walk or… Read more »
Alternative locations are not on the agenda because the mirage of a business park with 6,000 jobs plus a free station has blinded decision-makers. In truth, the prospect of so many jobs there is remote (and many would be diverted from city centres) and we now know the station will not be free. Once Welsh Government applies its own planning policy (adopted following its declaration of a nature emergency) and rejects the submitted application, then the mirage will dissolve and other options can be investigated. If public money is required, then costs will have to be strictly justified against benefits.… Read more »
So your counter proposal is to build it on the empty land south of Eastern High school and north of the railway line? Does that have the backing of residents who’ll lose their only green space and have cars weaving through residential streets to park and ride?
I don’t have a firm proposal. That needs a conversation between TfW, Cardiff Council and local residents.
But in line with PPW12, it should not go on an SSSI, and offices that could go elsewhere certainly must not go there.
So why are solar farms happening?
Under PPW12 they should not be approved for the Gwent Levels or other SSSIs. Environmental monitoring of a solar farm approved under PPW11 at Llanwern shows that mitigation has not worked as promised, one reason people are sceptical of the promises made by CPD. A couple of solar farms on the Levels were rejected by Welsh Government prior to PPW12, but the developers have challenged it in court. The verdict has not yet been delivered. There are more solar farms in the pipeline. If the CPD application is approved, then it will show PPW12 to be ineffective in protecting biodiversity,… Read more »
But the projects aren’t comparable. There’s no intrinsic reason to put solar farms on the Levels. They can go anywhere with no detrimental effect on their viability. More importantly they do nothing for local people. In the benefit vs harm analysis it’s all harm when not far away there are huge warehouses, data centres, distribution centres and car parks with massive empty roofs. But CP is only viable in this location precisely because it’s adjacent to a deprived area, adjacent to an SSSI, adjacent to an existing business park, the South Wales Mainline, the M4 and M48. Take one of… Read more »
I of course agree solar farms do not need to be on the Levels. A train station for the people of east Cardiff does indeed have to be on the railway line, but it does not need to be on the Levels and would be more useful nearer where people live. I don’t buy the unique location argument. Most of the offices proposed are towers that could go into any city centre. Under the LDP, they were supposed to be campus style development. Jobs risk being displaced from Cardiff and Newport contrary to Future Wales Town Centres First policy. Nor… Read more »
The main benefits for a deprived area are not the offices but the connectivity because this means it’s possible to access more jobs and better paid jobs without moving away. The potential for intercity, regional and metro services is a massive benefit over a tiny halt with one service an hour. This cannot be overstated. The damage to the western end of the Levels is already done. You’ve got very low quality modern concrete estates plus filthy industry and even landfill. The only thing worse than losing nature is losing it for the worst cheapest reasons humans can dream up.… Read more »
I have always supported a rail station in east Cardiff, but the case for another full intercity station just a few miles from Cardiff Central, on the same mainline, for just 5 London trains a day even if licenced, is very weak, especially if public money is needed. Most regional trains could be accommodated on a smaller station. Who has ever said just one commuter train an hour? The Metro target is 4, and an east Cardiff station could support services both directly to Central or via Cardiff Bay. Perhaps that would need more than 2 platforms but not of… Read more »
Any station in east Cardiff needs at least two platforms which can accommodate 12 carriages so it can be used by GWR class 387 trains for event park and ride services that shuttle between Cardiff Central and Bristol Parkway with stops at Cardiff East, Newport and Severn Tunnel Junction. But as for regular services, taking away intercity, regional and Crossrail options it’s not clear what metro services could serve a small halt you propose. It could really only be the Ebbw Vale service which are hourly to Cardiff. The turn up and go metro service is only promised on the… Read more »
So it’s not about the travel needs of local people after all. Why would long trains going through to events need to stop before Cardiff Central when the Principality Stadium is a few minutes walk from that station and there will be a tram-train link to the Bay/Arena? That makes no sense. You’re thrashing around for justifications here. There is nothing about events in the planning statement for the application called in by Welsh Government. The laziness around environment is putting landowner hopes for increased monetary land value above nature. Nobody has ever claimed that only landscapes untouched by human… Read more »
The primary purpose of CP is not to improve local transport. No-one has ever suggested that. But it is a huge secondary benefit of the proposal. Any alternative development or no development at all will result in worse transport options for local people for the reasons I’ve set out, which means less access to jobs and opportunity. I’m baffled you can’t even acknowledge that a station with intercity, regional and Crossrail services is better for local people than a halt with an hourly service, even if you don’t think it is enough to justify the project. The comment about events… Read more »
I wish you would stick to a consistent argument. But at least we have now agreed that the proposed CP is not primarily for local people. Why are you still claiming that the alternative is a ‘local halt’ with an hourly service. Who is advocating that? The Metro target is four trains per hour, to which could be added regional trains up to 3-4 carriages, which already stop at several sub-intercity stations between Cardiff and Bristol or Gloucester. This could be very valuable without the hubris of a direct London service. I entirely agree that improving public transport, including Park-and-Train,… Read more »
You can’t run regular stopping services and intercity services on the two passenger lines between Cardiff and STJ without big investment from Network Rail to reconfigure all four lines for passenger use. A small metro station won’t get that investment so a turn up and go service won’t be possible and any park and ride won’t be attractive because no-one wants to wait an hour or even half an hour. I assume the public funds you mention for CP cover this investment otherwise four platforms at CP wouldn’t be possible.
I do not know what public funds have been required but from the press reports this will not be the free gift it was promoted as until recently.
You are making lots of claims about this station and the services it will provide. Welsh Government will have to make its decision on the basis of the planning application. Please tell me which documents for that application support your claims. Thanks.
The two paragraphs below from the Transport Commission Emerging Conclusions document confirms how the current railway configuration is a barrier to introducing stopping services between Cardiff and Newport. https://www.gov.wales/south-east-wales-transport-commission-emerging-conclusions 177 We have considered in detail the ways to generate additional capacity on the South Wales Main Line, which runs from Cardiff to Severn Tunnel Junction. In particular, we note there are four tracks between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction, essentially operating as two pairs of railway lines – a pair of main lines and a pair of relief lines. 178 In usual operation, one pair is for passenger services and… Read more »
I’ve seen that. But it doesn’t say anything about needing a four platform station able to support 12-carriage trains.
If there are two lines for intercity services and two for stopping services it’s self evident that four platforms are needed for all services to be able stop.
And here’s an article from GWR about using their 12 carriage 387s for events:
https://news.gwr.com/news/great-western-railway-runs-first-electric-only-train-to-and-from-south-wales
The requirement for intercity lines between Newport and Cardiff does not imply the need for an intercity station between those stops.
No objection to 12-carriage trains for events. But they don’t need CP for that. For Cardiff events, Park-and-Train from east of Newport would reduce congestion around the Brynglas tunnels, which CP would not.
The problem is getting funding from Whitehall for the upgrade. If there’s no intercity stop between Cardiff and Newport the argument for the reconfiguration is much weaker. You may not be impressed with the artists impressions and claims of 5000 jobs but that’s far more likely to impress the DfT cheque writers than improving service frequency for deprived areas. You only have to look at their paring back of Network North and using the money to fill potholes in London to understand how they operate.
3 intercity stops on the same line within 12 miles will be a hard sell, particularly with no guaranteed service. Give me another example on the network. The DfT will look sceptically at the claim of 5,000 jobs. The Treasury will probably roll its eyes if asked for money. Demand for office space has fallen. For the UK Government it makes little difference where new jobs are. Why would ecologically sensitive land between Cardiff and Newport be a priority to build over? ‘Build it and they will come’ has had its day. The most successful business parks are those that… Read more »
Maybe you don’t believe in “build it and they will come”. But one thing is for sure. Don’t build it and they won’t come.
I strongly support net zero, and regret Cardiff Council’s retreat from its goal of a carbon neutral city by 2030.
Climate change is indeed a major threat to biodiversity but habitat loss is an even bigger one. This is why the Gwent Levels should not be used for solar farms, which as you have agreed can go elsewhere.
I do not understand your claim that blocking CP would pave the way for solar farms. As I have said, it would be the precedent set by not enforcing PPW12 that would worsen that danger.
Blocking CP doesn’t help stop solar farms which many campaigners seem to believe because the arguments are different. Solar farms will be permitted for the same reasons new pylons will be permitted across Wales.
Preserving the integrity of PPW12 will help.
Two recent headlines indicate the direction of travel: “Voters will have to accept pylons or higher taxes, says Starmer” “New Net Zero Minister Overturns Planning Tests To Approve Solar Farm” Of course Welsh Labour might choose to ignore pressure to do the same from London Labour. But will they really want to be seen dragging their feet on net zero when they’ve declared a climate emergency and Labour in England is showing them up? They’ll be under huge pressure to deliver and they’ll look at the quick win applications sitting on their desk and nothing else in the pipeline and… Read more »
I agree there will be pressure on WG to approve more solar farms. One of those proposed for the Gwent Levels is so large that determination rests with the UK Government. Approving a grandiose business park will not ease that pressure. The question is where those solar farms should go. WG has declared a nature emergency as well as a climate one, so sites with high biodiversity value (such as SSSIs) should be protected, as PPW12 implies. There is enough land outside these. Brownfield sites should indeed be the priority. That need not require public subsidy as it could be… Read more »
If the Welsh Gov were to suddenly put onerous and unforeseen costs onto businesses that wasn’t happening in England they will be hauled over the coals politically. Such a heavy handed mandate could only be delivered by central government. If the Welsh Gov wants to get ahead of the game it must be incentivised. But it could be trialled at low cost, with a dozen large businesses signing their car parks, warehouses or supermarkets up. Once a few people start parking for their weekly shop under solar panels and sharing the experience on social media, the idea will catch on… Read more »
Businesses would no doubt complain. I’m certainly conscious of constraints on how far Wales can diverge from England. I have made that point many times to those who think independence would mean a free hand to do what we like. But on this I think we have a good margin for action. Car parking spaces cannot be exported if they are to be any use. If some businesses react by reducing spaces, that would be a move in the direction of a modal shift away from the private car. Cardiff Council is considering levies on workplace and retail park parking… Read more »
This seems like an odd time to make an ideological point about subsidy. An all stick no carrot option needs to allow reasonable time for businesses to adapt. It can also expect to be challenged by business groups perhaps even in court as well as playing into an anti-business narrative of the anti net zero zealots. In reality it could take five years or more before they start to appear in the roofs and car parks scenario. By then it’ll be too late because the low hanging fruit of solar farms on greenbelt will be approved. If you want to… Read more »
Not if the species are already lost due to the development itself!
What species only exist in this tiny proportion of the Levels? The development after all is 176 acres and the Levels cover 14,000 acres.
They’re still a significant walk to the station, much more than the 1-2 minutes you stated!
On the artists impressions the nearest property is a platform length away from the platform.
It’s very annoying that they insisted on including an unnecessary business park.
There needs to be a train station, but it would make much more sense environmentally and from a local convenience perspective to have it further west, the other side of Hendre lakes.
There is no need for another business park in either location. We already have enough empty offices.
With all the empty properties/offices in Cardiff to date we do not need another business park. How the Senedd love to waste money, we need social housing, a decent bus service, a working NHS, more dentists etc etc etc not yet more empty offices etc.