Wistful residents have spoken of their memories of a former pub-turned-café as it's reduced to rubble to make way for a block of flats. The controversial plans to demolish the historic Paddle Steamer in Butetown, Cardiff, were given the go-ahead in January last year.
The well-established institution stood for decades first as a thriving pub and later as a Somali community café in Loudoun Square. It was shut down about two years ago after a private developer decided to demolish it and build 28 one and two-bed apartments in its place.
Cardiff Council has agreed to buy the development once it is complete to manage as council flats. Demolition started this week and is expected to be complete by the end of next week, while the block of flats is due to be finished by mid-2024.
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Thomas Erskine recalled going to the pub as a child with his father who used to live down the road from it. His father was renowned Welsh professional heavyweight boxer Joe Erksine.
"He used to take me there all the time when we were kids. I used to love it there. That was his favourite pub," said the 54-year-old street cleaner. "We used to come down to Butetown Carnival and then we'd go in the pub."
Another resident, who has lived in Butetown since the 1980s and did not want to be named, recalled that in those days the Paddle Steamer pub was "booming", bringing in droves of people from all over Cardiff.
She said: "Everyone went there. On Saturday night you'd have to get there early to get a seat. It was really good and there was a lovely atmosphere there. And back in those days when we used to have Butetown Carnival the pub was the hub – the main bit of the carnival – and the carnival used to be on all the grass around it."
She said she found it a "shock" when she saw the building being knocked down. "I drove around and I saw the men there – knocking, banging things down. I was so shocked. I knew it was going but it was a shock to see it go." She's also concerned about parking provision for the flats. "That's another problem. You're just encroached on and encroached on."
The Paddle Steamer pub was transformed into a Somali café in 2004 which not only served up food but also functioned as a social hub for the local Somali community with a snooker table and a barbershop upstairs. Kader Mohamed, a waiter at Togayo Café in Loudoun Square, used to play a lot of pool at the former café and said he and other locals missed the social element of the space.
"There used to be a lot of competition and excitement so it's a bit sad because we haven't had anything to replace that. There are no other options around here," said the 35-year-old, who is originally from Somalia and has lived in Butetown for 20 years.
"Our community [are] not people who go to pubs for religious reasons so for us to have that was good. It kept people out of boredom, it kept people out of the streets, so since it's been shut down there are a lot of people just sitting around and not doing much."
But Kader added that he thinks the construction of flats will be a "positive" step for the area. "We have a lot of old flats here so if they can put all the people inside the flats into the new flats that will be good."
Shaun Mohammed, who works at Ahmed Saleh Mohammed & Sons Butchers, a family business which has stood in Loudoun Square for more than 50 years, also used to visit the café once or twice a week. The 52-year-old said: "The community will miss it and there's no alternative. If they're going to knock it down they should really provide something similar to that."
"The people need flats to live in – that's one good thing. But I think they should have kept the ground floor [of the new block of flats] as a restaurant or cafeteria – a place where people can socialise."
Abdi Hashi, 70, who works at Dhas, lived in Butetown for 52 years and remembers when the Paddle Steamer was a pub when he first came here in 1970. "I don't regret that it will be demolished because it's a very old building. I think the new block of flats will be good for the community and renew the area. A lot of people are homeless, so that will help, even though a lot of people will miss the café."
The demolition of the Paddle Steamer comes after strong pushback from the community, which today comprises a large ethnic minority Muslim population. Local blog Butetown Matters described the café as as “unique and essential” to Tiger Bay residents while Daoud Salaman, chairman of South Wales Islamic Centre, said the space had a “strong connection” to locals.
Meanwhile hundreds objected to the proposals with more than 160 signing a petition to “save the Paddle Steamer” and many writing to the council urging them to rethink the move. They said the café was an “important meeting place” for local Somali and Yemeni communities, serving halal food, and used by solicitors to support vulnerable residents with asylum guidance.
The council was also criticised for turning down requests to relocate the café on the ground floor of the planned block of flats. But the redevelopment was supported by Butetown councillor Saeed Ebrahim who said he was “not concerned” about the loss of the café because of the nearby community centre, youth centre, and two other cafés. He said previously: “While I fully appreciate some residents of Butetown view the Paddle Steamer as an institution in the local community the proposed development will provide a range of homes and will support the regeneration of a deprived community.”
Butetown has a high need for social housing, with hundreds of people in the area on the waiting list. The council’s plans to provide new social housing on the site of the Paddle Steamer will go towards reducing the number on that list.
Planners also said previously that the new housing "would increase pressure on local open space provision". In June last year it was revealed that the council is set to receive £39,450 from the developers knocking down the building for "public open space contribution".
It's not the first time Loudoun Square, which is at the heart of Butetown, has been transformed. It saw a £13m redevelopment in 2013 as the council demolished rundown shops and houses and built new affordable homes, a shopping centre, and a health centre.
A council spokesperson said: “After acquiring the site of the former Paddle Steamer, Willowmead Holdings, a private developer, made an application to demolish the building and develop new affordable homes on the site which was approved last year.
“The development will deliver 28 one and two-bed apartments which are due to be completed mid-2024. The council has agreed a package deal with Willowmead Holdings, whereby once the development is complete, the council buys the apartments to manage as council flats in an area of high demand for good quality, affordable homes.
“Demolition started this week and is expected to complete by the end of next week. Once demolished, a number of planning conditions need to be satisfied by the developer around ground conditions before the building work can begin.”
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