Plans approved for apartments in office building

Kieran Molloy

An office building will see a new life as “high-quality” apartments after development plans were given the go-ahead.

Cardiff Council has approved plans for the construction of five floors of flats to the rear of an office block at 14 Windsor Place in Cathays.

The plans also include a conversion of the office block’s first, second and third floors to residential use.

However, the ground floor and lower ground floor will be retained as office space.

The application reads: “Our client’s [Jardine Norton Estates Ltd] vision is to bring this former residential property back into beneficial use by promoting a mixed-use scheme.”

It continues: “The brief has been to create a luxury development with high quality finishes and take advantage of the central location.

“It is considered that there is strong market demand for this type of development, particularly in this location.

“The aspiration for this development is to provide a development that respects the host Listed Building and wider Conservation Area whilst providing a viable development scheme, ensuring continued maintenance and occupation of the building.”

In total, the scheme will result in the creation of six apartments as well as one “duplex apartment” and the retention of some existing office space.

According to planning documents, the applicant bought the property to use as office space, however it was “quickly realised” that the building was “no longer fit for purpose as a modern office” due to heating and cooling issues and a “historically compromised layout”.

After four years of trying to “make do” the applicant relocated to Cardiff Bay.

The application reads: “Their own experience of the premises, together with advice from local agents, is that there is little to no demand for older office stock.

“As such, the applicant is assessing the potential for other viable opportunities.”

No parking

No car parking is provided on site as part of the development because of the “highly sustainable location within the central area”.

However, 14 cycle parking spaces will be provided at the ground floor level.

A number of benefits of the development are outlined within planning documents, they include that it will “provide new high-quality accommodation in a sustainable location”, “enable the regeneration of an accessible urban brownfield site”, “provide significant improvements to the appearance of the site and local area” and “create valuable local employment opportunities during the construction phase”.