Plans lodged for skyscraper in Cardiff City Centre

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

A project to build a new skyscraper on top of where a popular Cardiff bar once stood has taken another step forward.

Developers behind plans for the tower block at Harlech Court in the city centre lodged a planning application in December 2024.

Plans to build on top of Harlech Court were first announced in 2021 with reports stating at the time that the structure would be 35 storeys high and Wales’ tallest building.

The plans submitted by Draycott Group show that their proposal is now for a building up to 30 storeys in height.

A design and access statement produced by CWA Architects on behalf of the developers states that the building will contribute “to the city centre’s housing supply targets in a very sustainable location”.

It also states that the initial vision was to “deliver a proposal within the established tall building group” but also that “it needed to be fiscally deliverable”.

Demolition

Cardiff Council gave the go-ahead to the demolition of Harlech Court in July.

The new building, replacing the 1970s office block and the former home of popular bar Porter’s, will consist of 340 apartments and units of mixed use on the lower floors.

In the design and access statement it says there could be a gym, cafe, lounges, and a shop.

On the type of apartments it adds: “The mix is predicted towards one-bed units with less two-bed units. Studios are not preferred especially with the emergence of the co-living market in Cardiff.”

A number of developments proposed for Cardiff city centre over the years have been seen as successors to the tallest building in Wales – currently The Tower in Swansea (107m).

Cardiff Council granted planning permission for a 42-storey building in Custom House Street in 2016 but work on the development is still not complete.

Developers Watkin Jones said in June 2023 it was considering the future development potential of the site and work was on hold due to “challenging wider market circumstances”.

Environmental assessment

More recently an application for a screening opinion in relation to the site was made on behalf of the developers.

A screening opinion is a request made to a council to determine whether a proposed development requires an environmental impact assessment.

The application states that it is in respect of the proposed development of a co-living building with flexible ground- and first-floor uses.

However there isn’t any further detail on the building such as how tall it is proposed to be.

The most likely candidate to become the next tallest building in Wales is the 35-storey tower earmarked for land in Wood Street.

Planning permission was granted for the building, which will be 113m tall, in June 2023.