New college building to be constructed next to Cardiff Airport

Ted Peskett, local democracy report

A new college building specialising in advanced technology will be built next to Cardiff Airport.

The new Cardiff and Vale College development in Rhoose will be part of wider plans to replace the institution’s Colcot Road site in Barry. This will also see a new college campus built on land south of Hood Road.

Once built, the site in Rhoose will accommodate 1,896 pupils and 215 members of staff.

State of the art

Facilities proposed for the building have been described as state of the art and will include 3D printers, autonomous drones, robotics labs and a ‘green skills house’ to give students experience in fitting air pumps, solar panels and other renewable technologies.

Cardiff and Vale College Vale campus project director, Mark Roberts, said: “Advanced technology means that the engineering workshops will not look like those that I did O-Level metal work in during the last century… instead they will look more like a university research lab or a high tech industrial site.”

Mr Roberts said students will also use virtual reality and artificial intelligence to develop their skills.

The site, proposed by the Welsh Education Partnership and Cardiff and Vale College, will also offer part time courses and higher education courses in partnership with local universities.

Public transport

One of the main concerns raised about the plans was access to public transport.

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s planning committee members discussed this at a meeting on Thursday, October 17, with one councillor calling the matter of adequate public transport to and from the site “crucial”.

Cllr Ian Johnson said he hopes the site is not overly reliant on travel by car and noted that its location is not a major population centre.

He said: “We need to face the fact that if we want to build on this site, people need to travel to it and the fact that the college is committing to some sort of rider… between the different sites that they operate in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, of course that would be the best way for students to reach the site especially those who do not own a car.

“There are so many parking spots on the site. It is so large and therefore we are not avoiding the fact that people will get to the site via cars, but we do need to make sure that public transport, bus or train, is effective.”

Car parking

There will be about 290 car parking spaces at the college site, with 10% of these being electrical vehicle charging spaces.

There will also be 284 long stay cycle parking spaces and 20 short stay spaces.

There are two bus services that run past the site – the 304 First Bus service between Cardiff and Llantwit Major and the 905 Adventure Travel service between Cardiff Airport and Rhoose Railway Station.

Another member of the planning committee, Cllr Anthny Ernest, said there have been complaints before about access to public transport in the area and added that he was “extremely disappointed” the application made no provision for additional services.

Cllr Ian Perry said there are “very few buses in the whole of Wales beyond 6pm” and questioned whether the proposed development was in the right location.

A senior planner at the council, Rob Lankshear, said the 304 and 905 services both run until 11.30pm and said the allocation of more public transport for the site a “little bit chicken and egg.”

He added: “Clearly [if] there is demand, a private company, Cardiff Bus or First… would seek to service the site and obviously it is also acknowledged that this is a largely publicly funded exercise and the college actually have said in one of the submissions that they are liaising with Cardiff Bus with a view to… furnishing the site with sufficient services by the time it opens.”

Cardiff and Vale College Group chief executive, Mike James, said: “We are delighted that the Vale of Glamorgan has approved of the next stage of our investment in education and training in the region.

“It is with real pleasure that I can say that we are delivering on our commitment to provide first-class teaching and learning environments for learners and the community in the Vale of Glamorgan.

“This Advanced Technology Centre will also cater to the current and future
needs of employers across the Vale and the wider Capital Region.

“We will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government, Vale of Glamorgan Council and Welsh Education Partnership Company to ensure this project will be the success that I know it will.”