Approval for flats and transport hub development

The development of a mixed-use scheme including new housing, retail and bus interchange on Waun Gron Road has been approved, subject to a call in request and legal agreement from the developer on the conditions that have been set.The scheme, on the site of the former recycling centre in Llandaff, will bring forward 44 new council homes, office and commercial spaces, as well as a new access road designed to integrate the proposed transport hub with the residential development.The new properties, part of the council’s development programme to increase the availability of affordable homes in the city, will be energy-efficient, making using of renewable technologies such as ground source heat and solar PVs to achieve significant improvements on current energy performance requirements.About half of the one bed and two bedroom apartments will be used to accommodate people on the city’s housing waiting list while the remaining homes will be temporary, supported accommodation for people who have previously experienced homelessness but are ready to move on to more independent living in their own tenancy. Low level support for these tenants will be provided on site.The integration of the residential development with the transport hub provides benefits for existing residents in the area and the new tenants, enabling more convenient access to other parts of the city, and encouraging active travel choices via improved pedestrian and cycling facilities.The new transport interchange will be built at the heart of the new development and will ensure that residents and visitors are able to interchange between train, bus and active travel more easily and allow people to travel across the city by bus without travelling into the city centre.Sustainable access to the development will be further enhanced by the future delivery of several strategic cycling routes and improved walking links identified on the council’s draft Active Travel Network Map which connect the site with the wider active travel network.The application is subject to a “call in request” to Welsh Government, which was recognised in both the officer recommendation and the discussion at the committee meeting. A call in request requires the local planning authority to not determine the application until Welsh Government have confirmed whether they wish to call in the application for consideration by Welsh Ministers. Government guidance suggests that a decision whether to call in the application will be made within 21 days, unless an extension is requested.