Adamsdown is an average-sized Cardiff ward but it houses 9% of Cardiff’s 2,293 empty buildings
A CHINESE restaurant that residents say has been shuttered and empty for more than a decade offers a key takeaway about Adamsdown.
Adamsdown is the sixteenth smallest of Cardiff’s 27 wards in population size, but it has the fifth-highest number of unoccupied commercial buildings in the city, according to a Freedom of Information request.
The FOI data shows there are 214 unoccupied commercial buildings in Adamsdown. That means Adamsdown has 9% of Cardiff’s 2,293 unoccupied commercial buildings.
‘It feels like a waste to let the buildings go derelict’
Residents say that the empty buildings can attract multiple problems, including drug use and fly-tipping.
“There’s plenty of vacant shop fronts where I live,” said Philip Dore, 48, of Pearl Street, a nurse who has lived in Adamsdown for 10 years.
“On the corner of Cecil Street and Pearl Street, there’s a Chinese takeaway that’s been closed for over a decade. That one is definitely an eyesore. It just feels like a waste to let it go derelict.”
Google Maps photos of the Tasty House building from June, 2008, shows it was shuttered almost 17 years ago, and remains so today.
‘There used to be groceries and butchers, they’ve all gone’
“Adamsdown has changed for the worse,” said John Sennett, 77, whose family has lived in Adamsdown since 1934.
“Eclipse Street where I live is quiet but with all these unoccupied buildings, it’s a mess.
“Clifton Street used to be the main shopping area. It used to be part of my family’s routine to go there, but it’s changed.
“There used to be groceries and butchers. There was even one opposite my house. But most have gone now.”
‘Some of the unoccupied buildings are dangerous’
“On Constellation Street where I live, one building was left abandoned for seven months last year,” said life-long Adamsdown resident Tony, who didn’t want to give his surname.
“During that time, people tried to break into it. It also attracted people with tents to squat outside.
“Vacant buildings attract drug paraphernalia. One day when I was taking the rubbish out, a heroin needle went through my big toe.”
He also picked out a former bank on Clifton Street as worse than an eye-sore, saying: “Sometimes glass has fallen off the roof. It’s dangerous.”
Why is this happening?
- A Freedom of Information request by The Cardiffian shows that there are more than 2,000 empty commercial businesses in Cardiff. There are different reasons for this.
- When the owner of a property dies without leaving a will, the property can become caught up in legal issues, making it difficult to determine who, if anyone, inherits or owns the property next.
- Some businesses have been forced to shut for breaching trading standards law. In November 2024, two vape shops on Clifton Street shut for three months after it was discovered they were selling illegal tobacco.
- If businesses like these opened despite being ordered to close, the owners could be jailed, fined, or both.
- Sometimes it also makes financial sense for landlords to keep their businesses shut due to potential high costs for repairs with little incentive to make sometimes run-down properties profitable again.
In a separate Freedom of Information request, Cardiff Council said it owns 80 out of the 2,293 vacant commercial buildings in Cardiff.
Cardiff Council said: “Over the past decade, the council has had to save more than £210m with financial pressures mounting each year. We have launched a bold new five-year property strategy aimed at creating ‘Efficient Spaces, Sustainable Futures’ property portfolio by 2030.”
Have you been affected by unoccupied buildings in Adamsdown? Contact thompsonba1@cardiff.ac.uk
