Works begin next week to reveal the Churchill Way waterway as a focal point for more hospitality and leisure facilities
A CANAL will run through Churchill Way again as part of a wider plan to create a new vibrant district in the east of the city.
Work on the dock feeder canal is set to start on Monday, February 7, and is scheduled to run for 12 months.
The project includes extending the canal further down to the dock feeder south on Tyndall Street.
Churchill Way and the north of North Edward Street will be closed during that time.
The development was approved by Cardiff Council’s cabinet last May and will be funded by the City Deal and the Welsh Government.
The aim is to create a new and vibrant Canal Quarter that would attract homes, hotels, hospitality, and leisure facilities and create new employment opportunities.
The canal would be at the centre of a new green public space with outdoor seating and an outdoor performance area. Rain gardens, with special soil and plants, will help prevent reduce pollution getting into the canal.
The plan includes a new cycleway on Station Terrace, wider pavements, and improved crossing facilities around Cardiff Queen Street train station.
Cardiff Bay resident Steve O’Donoghue said: “Cities need to keep evolving and modernising in order to give locals and visitors a great experience. Cardiff’s uncovering of the old dock feeder is an excellent example of modernisation whilst respecting the city’s history.
“When I think of other great cities, they all make the most of their waterways, yet Cardiff city centre is sadly lacking for this. What a way to attract people back to a part of town that’s lost its way.”
Only taxis and buses will be able to access Station Terrace in either direction.
Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Environment and Recycling, Councillor Michael Michael said: “This will not only mark the beginning of 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.
“A series of rain gardens will be built. This will ensure that 3,700 m2 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.”
