Metro station set to be built in Cardiff on land previously earmarked for student flats

Alex Seabrook, local democracy reporter

A new station is set to be built in Cardiff on land previously earmarked for student flats as part of the South Wales Metro.

The metro station will likely be built on the old coal yard, a derelict strip of land off Mynachdy Road, Gabalfa, next to the railway.

That land had previously been earmarked for student flats. Developers wanted to build 361 flats there, but then went into administration.

Now the Welsh Government has bought the site to bring better public transport connections to the nearby housing estate and save the land from becoming even more derelict.

Julie Morgan, Labour MS for Cardiff North, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to announce that the Welsh Labour Government has bought the land at the old coal yard in Mynachdy in order to develop a metro station.

“This is fantastically good news for Mynachdy because it will bring much needed transport into the area, but it also means that it is much less likely that there will be student housing on that patch.”

The station would lie between the existing Cathays and Llandaff stations.

It is unclear exactly when the station will be built. But by 2028 Transport for Wales is planning to build several new stations elsewhere in Cardiff including Crwys Road and Newport Road, as part of the South Wales Metro scheme.

‘Upgrading’ 

The metro scheme will see Transport for Wales upgrading the public transport network across south-east Wales, with new tram-trains, stations, bus routes and electrified lines. One target for the metro is to let passengers board both buses and trains with the same ticket.

Weeds have been overgrowing in the old coal yard for decades, while fly-tippers often dump rubbish there. The yard was previously used as a depot to store coal.

Rhys Taylor, Liberal Democrat councillor for Gabalfa, said: “Mynachdy had a direct bus stop until 2014, and in 2015 the Liberal Democrats started talking to residents about what we could do. The coal yard was identified as an opportunity for the metro.

“The team started petitioning residents door-to-door, and put a petition to Cardiff council in 2015 and to the Welsh Government in 2016. So it’s been an ongoing campaign since 2015 and residents have backed this for a long time.

“Very few buses stop here and people feel quite cut off. We have an elderly population here, for who not having a bus stop outside their home is really isolating. The new station will be amazing: a regular railway service taking you into the city centre or out of Cardiff.”

The old coal yard site is within walking distance to the University Hospital of Wales, one of the largest employers in Cardiff.

Joel Williams, Conservative Senedd candidate for Cardiff North, said: “Credit where credit is due: Cllrs Rhys Taylor and Ashley Wood have been calling for this for many years.

“Well done both for running a positive campaign. This project will be great for the community.”