Plans for redevelopment of historic city centre site show it could include an 11-storey tower block
Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter
The latest plans for a scheme to redevelop a historic part of Cardiff city centre show that it could include a large red-bricked 11-storey tower block.
Plans to redevelop the former Howells department store in St Mary Street into apartments, offices, restaurants, and bars were revealed in 2023.
Chapel
Parts of the project, including the restoration of the 200-year old Bethany Chapel, have already been approved.
However the final phases are yet to be given the go-ahead.
A new document on the design of the project recently published on Cardiff Council’s website shows what the 11-storey building proposed for the middle of the site could look like.
Cardiff Civic Society objected to the plans early in 2025, saying the proposed new building would “dwarf the adjacent listed buildings”.
Howells has a history in Cardiff’s high street stretching back to the 1860s. That history as a working department store came to an end in March 2023.
The developers are proposing to retain the Grade II*-listed store and other historic buildings that make up the footprint of the site.
Demolished
However other structures in the middle that developers deem to “make no or limited contribution to the special character” of the site are proposed to be demolished.
This would make way for a new public square and the new 11-storey building housing 105 apartments.
Cardiff Civic Society’s objection letter to the council added: “This is a damaging, inappropriate, and insensitive proposal that will severely impair the historic fabric of one of the city’s focal points – one tourists and other visitors view and admire.
“The tower will be an eyesore when viewed from numerous points, including Cardiff Castle, St Mary Street, and the medieval St John’s Church.
“Statutory protections exist to protect important historic areas of the city from such a scheme.
“This proposal should be turned down, as extremely important listed buildings and their settings will be irrevocably harmed.”
The applicants, TE Cardiff 7 Ltd, have developed a retention strategy for historic buildings that they said has been “firmed up in collaboration with officers from Cardiff Council and Cadw”.
A design and access statement from the developers states the proposed new buildings and public realm seek to perpetuate and re-assert the heritage and character of the area.
The report adds the masterplan seeks to retain “the most significant built forms in their entirety” including the St Mary Street building, the Percy Thomas corner building, and the old chapel and Sunday school.
The Trinity Street frontage, much of which is being retained, will house 89 new apartments.
Plans for the redeveloped site also show that it will include more than 4,000sqm of commercial space and a new hotel with 114 rooms.
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This shape will allow them to cash in.
Restoring the chapel won’t be cheap.
If these developer were to propose any changes in London, they would probably demolish Buckingham Palace.
Cardiff Civic Society appear to be against everything – the new Arena; the latest Coal Exchange developments; St Davids Hall being sold to a private company promising more gigs; concerts at Blackweir, etc, etc.
We are going from a concrete jungle with some history and beauty to just becoming concrete.
There is an argument to demolish and create a green space. London has amazing parks in central locations – so attracts international businesses. In 1990 Europe launched transport policies and advised governments to link train and bus networks and develop at integrated transport hubs I.e. Port Talbot Parkway and Newport Train Station – Wales and UK not followed. Personally before any development in Cardiff, the Welsh Government should look to convert the empty Debenhams in Newport to offices, the half-empty NPT County Hall in Aberafan and close University of South Wales (massive drop in University admissions across all Welsh Universities… Read more »
Agreed.
No green space with the shadow of an 11 storey building. Street will be a wind tunnel. Where is the parking.
Perhaps they are Bristol Civic Society in disguise.
Will the new central block even be visible from the surrounding streets? It seems to be hidden by the existing six storey façades due to perspective. The view from above is only for seagulls.
More rent-only flats for pension funds? Cardiff Council you are a disgrace. There is no green space in that part of Cardiff. How about some open green space. Urban design? You haven’t clue, especially after what you did (or didn’t) do to ‘Central Square’.
There’s a shortage so what’s the problem with more homes to rent? Not everyone can or wants to buy, and someone has to be the landlord so why not pension funds.
Haven’t we got enough eyesores and monstrosities already built, in construction or planned in Cardiff, many literally a stone’s throw from this? – How many palms were greased to allow the building of some of the dire, characterless tower blocks that are rising faster than Prince Andrew’s blood pressure! Haven’t planners learnt from the mistakes of the late 1960s and 70s that high-density, vertical living is and always will be grim, without having to even consider the safety aspects. Whilst the world moves on inexorably and alternative uses for land and buildings are obviously important, what about the crazy idea… Read more »
If vertical living is always dire why do the superwealthy queue up to pay tens of millions for 100 storey condos overlooking Central Park in New York?
It’s badly designed and constructed buildings that are dire, whatever their height.
Cardiff has the option of growing tall, sprawling outwards absorbing surrounding villages, towns and green belt, or not growing at all stuck with an economy smaller than Swindon forcing the next generation of kids overseas for work.
As you asked, most of those NY apartments are empty & have never had tenants nor any occupants: they were only purchased as investments by super-wealthy. You also made quite a big jump there, conflating sustainable development with no development – I think that you will find that Cardiff and it’s dormitory towns are already pretty much joined up – there are plenty of brownfield sites that can be developed. There is no need, apart from lining the pockets of bankers and the super-rich, to build tower blocks. How about rebuilding some sort of community & not focusing on shoe-box… Read more »
Not everyone will agree that expanding outwards indefinitely is the way to grow a sustainable city. Those that want a traditional community can choose to live in surrounding towns and villages without absorbing them into a single large urban area. No-one is forced to live centrally just because there are more central developments.