Businesses along Churchill Way have claimed that ongoing construction work to create Cardiff's new Canal Quarter along it has resulted in lower footfall, disruption on pedestrian paths and an increase in crime. The huge construction project, which is due to complete by the end of summer, will feature a series of rain gardens, bridges and viewing platforms alongside the newly exposed canal which promises to create a "new district centre for the city and act as a catalyst for new investment".
The Dock Feeder Canal on Churchill Way, which starts at Queen Street at the Capitol Shopping Centre, once formed an integral part of the city's canal network and had been covered for 70 years until it was revealed again in September last year. The re-development of the canal, which began in February 2022, is part of the council’s plan to develop a “green public realm” with “rain gardens”, outdoor seating with canal views and an amphitheatre-style “outdoor performance area”. You can see how the transformation looks so far here.
The rain gardens will be built with specific soil and planting to treat the surface water to remove pollutants before the water flows into the canal. This means a total of 3,700m2 of water will be diverted away from the sewage system each year, reducing the cost and energy of treating this water through the sewage pumping station at Cardiff Bay, according to a Cardiff council spokesperson.
But those who have been trading in the area for years claim the ongoing work until the project is finished is taking a heavy toll on businesses already faced with huge challenges since the Covid pandemic and now the cost of living crisis.
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'It’s a mess'
“I’ve worked here for about nine years and now we don’t get half as many people walking past as we used to,” said Kathryn, 40, who works at Hair by Jo. “I’ve been lucky because I’ve kept the clients from the salon, but we aren’t getting any new clients.”
Panicos Lazarou, 69, who has owned barbershop Bentley & Co at Churchill Way for 23 years, said that though footfall mainly fell due to Covid, the construction has had an impact as well. He said: “It's a mess for one, constant lorries and stuff like that going out there. So people who do bring their vehicles or [take] the bus that comes back, don't see us within a basement, which is making it harder for people to recognise us and to inquire.
“We have lost footfall due to which we lost a member of our team, which is quite sad,” Panicos added. Mark, who has worked as a barber at Lazarou Brothers for 10 years, believes there’s only been a slight reduction in footfall since the construction started but it has caused inconveniences like noise and dirt.
“Some people are avoiding coming down here, so there's probably a slightly reduced footfall in that sense,” he said. “Because people can't see down here and they're not walking down here, they might not necessarily know what businesses are down here.”
Pornphimon Nida, who owns Praya Thai restaurant on Churchill Way, claims that her three-year-old business was doing well in its first year but has lost a lot of customers since the construction started. " I am only a small businesswoman, I sent an email to them [Cardiff Council], but they said they can’t do anything about it or give me compensation,” said the 53-year-old restaurant owner.
She added: “They say that even if I don’t make much money at the moment, I will get the benefit once it is completed. But I don’t know, no-one knows what will happen in the future. I hope I get the benefit but no-one can guarantee it 100%.”
Leon, who owns the Toni and Guy salon on the street, claims that his business has suffered greatly due to the construction. He said: “I think it has blocked us off quite a bit actually. People get off the bus on the other side of the street and walk up making us completely blocked off from half of the people walking up the street.”
“I don’t know how much it has affected our footfall actually, but I did have a phone call from the head office and they said post-Covid, a lot of other salons have bounced back but we have not bounced back as much as some of the other salons in the company,” he added. "They definitely think it's because of the construction.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “As with any development, there will always be an element of disruption which the council has tried to manage and there has been ongoing engagement with businesses.
“Through this engagement, the hoarding line has been moved to give more space for pedestrians and additional signage is in place to notify visitors that the businesses are open as usual,” they added.
'If we’re on our own, we tend to lock the doors'
Kathryn, at Hair by Jo, also feels the work has changed the feel of the area. She said: “I think we’re getting a lot of the wrong type of people at this end now. Because of a lot of the businesses being closed, there are a lot more empty spaces and, there’s a lot more crime at this end. And I think that’s why this end is less busy now.”
She added: “It gets a bit unsafe at night. So if we’re on our own, we tend to lock the doors. It's not the nicest of areas, I’ve noticed a big difference in nine years.”
Leon claims his salon has been broken into three times since the construction started. “The street lights were down, the CCTV cameras had been taken down, and the temporary lights here weren’t working, but they are on now,” said Leon. “I was asking for these barriers to be made a little bit more visible. Initially, they [Cardiff Council and the construction site] said they couldn't but we did have three break-ins.”
“I asked if they could just make us a little bit more visible due to the break-ins. So now they have changed the barriers and the council did eventually end up paying for shutters for us.”
“There are also people urinating, and defecating in the little corners as well in places. It's not very pleasant,” Leon added.
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “In terms of reported crime in the area, a hair salon was broken into, and we worked with them to improve their security, and additional lighting and CCTV have also been installed. The council isn’t aware of any further incidents taking place and doesn’t believe that the area has become more unsafe.” South Wales Police have been approached for comment.
'It will be nice to get the atmosphere back'
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Interestingly, many of the businesses in the area are looking forward to the completion of the scheme and it will be opened to the public in September. The council has received several applications to change the use of commercial buildings in the area, as businesses look to adapt and benefit from the new district centre.”
The development is set to be completed in late summer 2023. Current work taking place on site includes the building of concrete structures which will form the public realm area, bridges and a viewing platform.
Paving works have also started and the council added that they are expecting the area to be open to the public from September 2023. Mark, from Lazarou Brothers, is looking forward to the completion of the project and hopes that it will be of benefit to the entire area, not just Churchill Way.
“Just the fact that after this amount of time… it's hopefully going to look nice. It's going to bring more people to the street as well so that'll be a big plus for the business as well and this end of the town,” he said.
Mark added: “I think a lot of businesses at this end of the town have suffered because where modernisation within the city has occurred on the other side, this has been kind of left behind a bit. I think that's why they’re doing this now, just to draw more people to this side again.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson added: “The unveiling of the dock feeder canal not only will create a new district centre for the city and act as a catalyst for new investment, but it will play an essential role in managing traffic flow and surface water drainage in the city centre.”
Kathryn is looking forward to having a nice view back. “The atmosphere changed, there’s been zero atmosphere at this end of town. It would be nice to get more people to have a bit more of a busy atmosphere,” she said. “It was very busy before the construction started. You had a lot of bars, all the offices, obviously with Covid a lot of things changed. There were lots of people back and forth, popping in but now you don’t see anything.”
“I think there will just be a nicer atmosphere around once it re-opens. I think it will be busier, the bars will be busier once again and I think it will just bring a lot of people back into this end of the town,” Kathryn added.
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