A proposed student accommodation development on one of the busiest roads in Cardiff has been turned down after local councillors and residents opposed the plans. Under the proposals, a building on City Road was set to be demolished and replaced with an apartment block.
The plans, which were submitted to Cardiff council by C2J Architects in February last year, would have seen a former carpet and furniture shop on the road knocked down, with a six-storey development built in its place. As well as providing accommodation for students, the ground floor of the apartment block would have also been used as a retail unit.
However, the proposed development has been refused by the council's planning committee after the plans received backlash from local residents who argued that there was already too much dedicated student accommodation in the area. Get the latest Cardiff news sent straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletter.
Read more: Giant 18-storey student accommodation block planned for Cardiff Bay
The block of flats would have comprised of five apartments set over six floors with five bedrooms in each, as well as communal kitchen, dining and living spaces. Space for cycle and refuse storage was also included in the proposal, which put forward a vision for an "attractive and vibrant sustainable development".
The design access statement submitted to the council last year acknowledged the growing amount of student accommodation in the city but claimed that the proposed development would "provide an alternative" and help "free up" family homes around the city. It added that the site's proximity to university buildings would help to reduce travel demand as well as providing increased trade for local businesses.
"Over the past 10-15 years there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of students studying in Cardiff," it read. "Purpose built student accommodation in the city over the past 10 years has provided almost 9,000 additional bed spaces, providing an alternative to students living in general housing and making an important contribution to the housing stock.
"The application proposal would further assist in the freeing up of family houses within the city as a result of students being more likely to be accommodated with managed student accommodation is therefore a favourable material consideration to this application."
However, the plans proved unpopular among local residents, with Plasnewydd councillors Dan De'Ath, Mary McGarry and Sue Lent submitting a letter to the planning team on their behalf to object to the proposals and warning that housing even more students in the local area could lead to a deepening imbalance in the local community, with local facilities potentially becoming more suited to students than any other residents.
"While students are always a welcome part of the community, the sheer volume creates an imbalance," they wrote. "As counciIIors we are aware of the impact to our area brought about by great number of students and their need for accommodation.
"While we have no objection to students and welcome them each year, it is recognised that one of the impacts is an imbalance in our community and this has been recognised by the Supplementary Planning Guidance adopted by Cardiff CounciI in recent years to address this. These policies have begun to work but any further introduction of accommodation specifically used for students would be a backward step in this process."
The councillors argued that the proposals went against the council's Student Accommodation Supplementary Planning Guidance, which looks to ensure that "balanced" student accommodation developments "positively contribute to the communities in which they are sited."
They added: "This development would add to at least 7 major purpose built student accommodation in or near City Road, which have provided almost 1,000 rooms between them. We therefore consider this proposal for an additional student rooms to be an unsustainable overdevelopment in this already saturated market, contrary to Cardiff CounciI's Student Accommodation Supplementary Planning Guidance.
"An additional 25 student rooms on City Road is not a balanced development contributing to the community, and instead will aggravate this imbalance of students in this area. There is a danger that local retail, commercial, and social facilities will end up being more suited to students rather than the whole of Roath residents, and this proposal wiII do nothing for the well-being of local people, businesses and the community."
The decision to refuse planning permission for the City Road development comes just weeks after plans were approved for a huge 18-storey student accommodation tower block to be built in Cardiff Bay. Around 400 pupils from Cardiff Sixth Form College will board at the huge building, which also comprises communal rooms, lounges as well as sports facilities and a large commercial unit. You can read more about that here.
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