New seven-storey car park approved for Cardiff Bay
Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter
A new multi-storey car park, with space for more than 900 cars, will be built in Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff Council’s planning committee approved plans for the seven storey high development, which will be located on the Red Dragon Centre car park opposite County Hall, at a meeting on Thursday, January 16.
The car park is part of the wider masterplan to redevelop Atlantic Wharf which will include the construction of a new 15,000 capacity indoor arena, a hotel and new public square.
Plans for a hard surfaced car parking area made up of 73 spaces was also approved by the councils planning committee.
Loss of trees
Two of the main concerns raised about the plans were the impact on traffic and the loss of trees.
Cardiff Council ward member for Butetown, Cllr Helen Gunter, said she was not happy about the potential impact that the development could have on traffic, especially for local residents who live on Galleon Way.
Cllr Gunter argued that under the proposed arrangements, residents living on the road would struggle to access their homes whilst the car park is in use.
Galleon Way is accessed by the roundabout that’s located in between County Hall and the application site.
Drivers accessing the multi-storey car park will also need to use this.
However, Cllr Gunter also stressed that she was not totally opposed to the development and suggested that further solutions should be looked at to address the issue, like sensor triggered traffic lights.
Coach drop off point
There are also concerns from residents about a proposed coach drop off point that was initially proposed as part of the development.
However, one planning officer told committee members this was being reviewed with the the developer and that it likely won’t be going ahead.
Martin Smith said: “Even if it does… I don’t think the impact will be quite as significant as feared by the residents.”
Mr Smith added that the council has got management options that can be utilised, like providing spaces for egressing vehicles of residents on Galleon Way.
Planning committee member, Cllr Peter Wong, raised concerns about the loss of trees that would result from the car park developments.
Planners at the council said 27 trees will be removed. However, 50 new trees are proposed to be replanted in mitigation of the loss.
One change to the development will be its colour scheme, which will go from silver to bronze in order to align with the design of the indoor arena.
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
A really good way to encourage the uptake of a lot of public transport investment in the bay area is to , um, add a massive car park?
What about active travel, walk, bus, cycle, train, tram, horse and cart, hope its built strong enough to take 900 electric cars, or what’s the point in building it?
Plenty of regrets have followed the 20th-century rush to build infrastructure for cars, and some of the monstrosities that have resulted. Planners on every continent now look hard at the ways in which people can be put back at the centre of our cities.
The Guardian 17 January 2025, re: Cheonggyecheon stream, Seoul, South Korea
Excessive parking provision merely undermines the economics of public transport, increases pollution and reduces road safety.
Now, shall we compound this by widening Lloyd George Avenue, the romantically named Central Link, maybe Dumbbells Road? Adding a heliport?
Why? Cardiff has a turn up and go metro system!
So much for the need to reduce car use, more traffic through city, any new arena, not sure this is needed should be in outskirts close to main arterial routes for rail.
Classic Cardiff Council planning. Proposing to introduce a road charge for cars, spent millions introducing active travel routes over the city and then agreeing to a 900 capacity car park. This is also the same Cardiff Council that’s had £100m in funding to build the new Cardiff Crossrail scheme – to improve links to the Bay.
The over concentration of developments into parts of Cardiff is just plain daft. This car park is obviously a recognition that people from within the city and further afield will choose to travel to the Bay by car rather than rely on various forms of public transport. Thinning out the space for parking would be a far more effective way of encouraging use of public transport networks. Dispersing some of the major developments to other parts of S.E.Wales or into other regions of Wales would also spread some of the job opportunities into those areas. Or is there a hidden… Read more »
Is this the council racking up more debt to fund these monoliths.