Cardiff residents have criticised the decision to build a new estate on a floodplain and are concerned about a potential increase in traffic. Work will soon begin to construct 98 new energy efficient homes in Llanrumney on the site of the former Llanrumney High School, with enabling works due to start on July 18.
The Maple Fields development will comprise a mix of private houses and council houses and work is expected to be complete by 2025. It forms part of Cardiff council's ten-year Cardiff Living development partnership with Wates Residential to deliver 1,500 new homes across 40 sites in the city, which includes 600 council homes and 900 private houses.
The partnership is in turn part of the council's wider goal to deliver 4,000 new homes for the city by 2030. This includes 2,700 council homes in what will be the largest council housing build programme in Wales. The total investment in the new homes will eventually total more than £800m.
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The council said the site is protected by flood defences, with the last serious flooding occurring in 2008, and added that the developers are installing new sustainable drainage systems and raising the level of the site. The authority also said the new homes would have a "minimal traffic effect on the local highway network".
Permission for the Maple Fields development was granted in 2019. The homes that will be built on the 4.52-hectare site include 28 affordable homes, including 12 apartments, and 70 properties for private sale.
Local resident Rachael Emma thought the development was a "good thing". She said: "Without more houses being built first time buyers will continue to struggle to get into the market and will be trapped in the rent cycle."
However other locals have raised concerns about the fact the site, which is right next to Rhymney River, claiming it is susceptible to flooding and gets waterlogged in the winter. Josie Ward, who lived in the area until she was 21, said: "Hope there are measures in place to stop that area flooding. Growing up in that area, it was always flooded when the river broke its banks."
Similarly David Prichard, an old pupil of Llanrumney High School, called the decision "pure folly". He said: "I lived above that site for years and watched it flood regularly. When the river defences were improved in the late 70s I recall my geography teacher at Llanrumney High School bragging that LHS would never flood again.
"A few weeks later it was three feet deep in there and a brand new floor in the gym was ruined. The water tidemarks were visible on the walls for years afterwards. No lessons learnt here it seems!"
Another local, Griff Morgan, who lives right next to the site, said: "The way houses are built today, one flood and insurance will skyrocket. The initial impact may be to increase the value of houses in the area but one flood and it devalues everything."
Other concerns included the potential increase in traffic and extra provisions for new families moving into the estate. Vicky Probert said: "When are you going to bring more schools, doctors, dentists etc! How can you keep throwing houses up when there clearly aren’t the resources here to support them? It’s ridiculous."
Residents also pointed out that a proposed new link road crossing the Rhymney River and connecting Llanrumney with the A48 Pentwyn, which could potentially ease traffic in Newport Road and provide an extra route into and out of Llanrumney, has still not been built. The plans for this have yet to be formally submitted to the local planning authority.
Local resident Philip Thomas said: "They need to sort out the infrastructure i.e. open up the link road from A48 before they start building these new developments. I am all for new developments and housing but they need to sort out the traffic, it's going to be nightmare on Ball Road/ Newport road."
Llanrumney High School closed in 2013 after 56 years of teaching, and all pupils were transferred to Rumney High. The new £26m Eastern High, a replacement for the Llanrumney and Rumney high schools, opened in 2018.
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “A detailed professional study of the site was carried out in 2018 prior to the start of building work. The site is protected by flood defences and detailed flood modelling has been carried out to establish the level of risk. The report states that the last serious flooding of the site occurred in 2008, after the drains were stretched to capacity but the developers are installing new sustainable drainage systems and raising the level of the site. In addition, there has been no flooding from the River Rhymney since the flood defences were built.
“There has also been an in-depth study of the existing transport infrastructure which concluded that the site is well located and highly accessible to a wide range of local amenities and public transport options. Given the scale of what is being proposed it will have a minimal traffic effect on the local highway network.
“This development, in partnership with Wates, is a key part of our commitment to addressing the shortage of good quality, energy-efficient, affordable homes and is part of our plan to deliver 4,000 council dwellings right across the city for the people of Cardiff.”
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