Plans to transform a landmark Cardiff Bay building into new apartments have been approved.
Developers want to turn the 120-year-old building on James Street into 20 new apartments.
It would involve extending the Boston Buildings and converting its vacant office premises, which were last used in 2020, into a mixed-use building.
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Planning documents say commercial use will be retained to the front of the original building on the ground floor, with residential accommodation on the rear and upper floors.
Originally, the extension was four storeys, but this has since been amended to five storeys. The extension will incorporate car and cycle parking and refuse storage facilities to the ground floor undercroft, with four floors of residential accommodation above.
Altogether, there are set to be 10 one-bed apartments, one studio apartment and nine two-bed apartments, seven of which will be big enough for four people.
Cardiff council had asked for section 106 financial contributions of £28,948 in lieu of on-site open space provision. In addition, a further sum of £3,000 was requested to "enable the council to source and plant three compensatory trees in canal park".
A contribution of £294,350 was also requested in lieu of on-site affordable housing.
But after the applicant submitted a viability report it was determined that the scheme "cannot support" any section 106 payment, and the applicant confirmed they will provide £23,000. The sum will be split as £13,0000 to public open space improvements and £10,000 to housing.
The current building in the docks dates from 1900 and is designated as a "landmark" building in the Mount Stuart Square conservation area. You can read more about the fascinating history behind the protected areas of Cardiff you never knew about here.
The original plans promised a total of eight parking spaces for the 20 apartments, but this has been reduced to six spaces in the undercroft facilities. Meanwhile, there will be space for 32 cycles.
The plans have been considered by Cardiff Council's planning department and permission for the development was granted on February 25.
One of the main objections outlined in the delegated report was concerns that the development would not offer sufficient parking. However, the delegated report noted that "transportation officers have raised no objection" and that "the site is located within a sustainable location with adequate access to public transport".
Another concern was that"the proposed extension is not in keeping with the area". However, the report noted that "amendments have been made from the original submission to address initial concerns regarding the scale and pattern of fenestration", adding that the "extensive initial fenestration has been scaled down significantly" since the original plans.
Furthermore, though permission for the development was granted, it was subject to compliance with an extensive list of conditions, including a consideration of its architectural details.
The decision notice states that "no above ground works shall take place until a scheme showing the architectural detailing of the building(s) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority", and that this is "to ensure a satisfactory finished appearance to the development".
The proprietor of the building when it was built, Joseph Rose, near Boston, Lincolnshire, which is thought to be behind the name Boston Buildings, still appears in wrought ironwork above the roofline. The arms of the pre-1974 Borough of Boston are carved into the stonework at one corner.
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