The future of a listed Penarth building that has been derelict for almost 40 years remains uncertain, although there are still ambitions to turn it into something huge. The Marine building overlooks the car park at Penarth Marina and adjoins The Old Custom House restaurant.
The eatery was acquired in 2001 by late Cardiff restaurateur Martin Martinez and opened in June that year. In 2015, the family submitted restoration plans worth £6 million to the Vale of Glamorgan Council in a bid to transform the Grade II listed structure next door. The aim was to create a boutique hotel complete with 55 four star rooms and a 100 seater cafeteria-wine bar overlooking the Marina.
It was hoped the development would be complete in 2018 and would employ 50 staff members. However, planning permission expired in 2017 due to a lack of funding, which was sought from the council. Now speaking in January 2023 Tanny Martinez, a director of JMD Restaurants, said "nothing has progressed" since. However, he is still optimistic that he can work with the council to secure funding to develop the building in the future.
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He said: "At the moment, we're in the same situation we were in five years ago. We are still in discussion with the council and the council is great, it's just that everything is so slow at the moment and drawn out.
"With Covid and everything that has happened, I think they're under-resourced so the dialogue is slow. We may wait two months for [a response to] a back and forth conversation. We've had discussions with them about how we can develop and progress the building but it's been painful since Covid because of the struggles the council is facing."
Mr Martinez said one of the main issues the project encountered was maintaining the listed facade of the building - which dates back to 1865. "There is no way you can take down the front facade," he said. "Without funding...developers want to steer clear. It's a huge job for our front facade to be held in retention and repaired as it is. You're probably looking at the best part of £2 million to be able to do that. To get that from a small property scheme or hotel development [is unlikely], nobody will look at it."
Mr Martinez said he believes there is still potential for the former plans to go ahead, however that the cost-of-living crisis might pose a challenge. He said: "The current UK economy is a struggle for anybody. Is anybody going to invest in a listed building on the outskirts of Cardiff? Probably not. A property developer may look at it for a different scheme like town housing or luxury flats, but it all comes down to the discussion with the council along with some [financial] help.
"The plan is going to be the next challenge over the next 12 to 18 months. I would love to see it developed and said locals had been very supportive. I hope things will settle back down and that something will happen. Hopefully within the next few months the council will be able to get back to us with some more definitive news and answers."
Mr Martinez said the development of the building would be a fantastic addition to the area, where plans may also be submitted to build a path between Penarth Esplanade and Cardiff Bay Barrage.
"The path would bring passing trade across which would be fantastic. To see [the Marine building] developed would compliment the Custom House and would really finish the site off, which I think everyone wants to see. It's whether or not that's feasible with the current state of that building and whether the council can assist us in what we want to do - and I'm sure they will."
A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said: “The council is keen to get this building back into use and officers have been working with the planning agent towards that aim. We are hopefully it can be preserved and efforts to achieve that continue.”
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