Controversial plans for a small bus station and seven-storey apartment block in west Cardiff are set to go ahead after a call-in request was removed by Welsh Government.
In December 2021, Cardiff Council secured planning permission to build 44 apartments and transport interchange on Waun Gron Road, with a shop and cafe on the ground floor.
However, the decision-making process was frozen after the plans were subjected to a call-in request to Welsh Government due to concerns about the development, including increased traffic congestion, increased pollution, and the height of the building.
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This meant the council's planning committee could not yet grant the final permission for the scheme, and Welsh Government had the option to call in the application for ministers to review the concerns and make the final decision.
But a letter from Welsh Government's Climate Change Energy and Planning Group (CCEPG) to Cardiff Council on January 25 said that the local planning authority had already given due consideration to the concerns expressed in the call-in request.
"In view of this, I do not consider this application should be called in for determination by the Welsh Ministers and it is now for your LPA [local planning authority] to determine this application as it sees fit," the Group said.
The scheme will be built on the site of a former recycling centre, which closed in 2014.
Around half of the one-bedroom and two-bedroom council flats will be used to accommodate people on the city's housing waiting list.
The remaining homes will be move-on accommodation for homeless people, with "low level support" provided for these tenants on site.
There will be a new access road designed to integrate the proposed transport hub, known as the Western Transport Interchange, with the residential development.
The new transport interchange - which will see a bus station next to a train station - at the heart of the development forms a key part of the future public transport network in Cardiff.
Developers envision that residents and visitors will be able to switch between train, bus and active travel more easily and allow people to travel across the city by bus without travelling into the city centre.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: "Our housing development programme seeks to not only ensure that we increase the amount of affordable housing in the city, but also to provide the right sort of accommodation for the people who need it.
"We've made significant progress in tackling homelessness in the city over recent years and providing people with suitable accommodation, so they can continue getting their lives back on track, with very light touch support from on-site staff, is essential.
"The other properties on site will be allocated to people on our housing waiting list, providing much-needed affordable homes with excellent access to local amenities."
Cardiff Council's cabinet member for transport Caro Wild said: "This development is an excellent example of how best to utilise a brownfield site, with a mix of high-density housing to create much needed social housing in close proximity to new public transport facilities.
"The new bus interchange will not only benefit those living in this new development, but all those that travel by bus from east to west and vice versa, significantly improving the journey time for these bus users."
The council’s planning committee voted to grant permission on Wednesday, December 15, after hearing concerns from local residents.
Councillor Philippa Hill-John, representing Llandaff, said the council failed to properly consult elderly people, schoolchildren and bus users about the development.
Three issues in particular were highlighted by the call-in request: that the proposed development would not be in keeping with the surrounding area; that there would be an increase in congestion and pollution from transport and noise; and that there was the potential for land contamination due to the site's former use as a waste transfer station.
Addressing each concern in turn, the CCEPG concluded the local planning authority had carried out a "thorough assessment of" and "comes to a reasonable conclusion" for each issue.
"The Local Planning Authority has given due regard to national and local planning policy," it continued.
It added: "The application is unlikely to have wide effects beyond the immediate locality and, whilst there has been some opposition to the application, it is local in nature and unlikely to cause substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality."
On the decision by Welsh Government not to intervene, Llandaff Councillors Sean Driscoll and Philippa Hilli-John said: “On behalf of local residents, we made representations to Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas, First Minister Mark Drakeford and Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan, asking that they listen to residents' concerns and help halt plans for the development. All these legitimate concerns have been ignored and people are understandably very upset and angry.
"We will continue to support the local residents to argue that the proposed building is too high, overbearing and that Cardiff council housing and highways departments review their plans. Residents are to be congratulated for their best efforts and determination opposing these unwelcome plans. We are extremely grateful for their continued support."
The new bus station has long been an ambition, but has been delayed for several years.
The council initially received planning permission for a different design of the transport interchange in 2016, but developers faced problems with the site and eventually pulled out.
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