Councillor Russell Goodway has addressed concerns over the redevelopment
PLANS for the building of 235 new homes in Ely are set to be given the green light by Cardiff Council on Thursday.
Despite concerns raised by residents over the past year, the proposal to redevelop the site at the old Michaelston College will go in front of the council’s Planning Committee on November 7.
The development covers the site near Western Cemetery to the South of Drope Road and West of Michaelston Road.
The plan is for 235 new homes, which includes 128 private houses and an assisted living complex with care facilities, a community centre, cafe and GP surgery.
Ahead of the meeting, Councillor Russell Goodway addressed the concerns raised by the residents living near the project.
Coun Goodway said there was always likely to be some kind of housing development on the land but that the council’s involvement with the site meant there was more control of the the plans.
The project falls under the Cardiff Living Project, a partnership between Cardiff Council and the developer Wates, which gives the council some control over what will be built there – an option which wouldn’t have been available if the site was given to a private developer.
“I know a lot of people would have preferred there not to be a development at all,” said Coun Goodway.
“The council could have just sold off the land to someone like Persimmon and then we would have had no control.”
When the plans were originally put forward the main problem residents raised was the potential increase in traffic it would cause on Michaelston Road through to the Culverhouse Cross roundabout.
The current road layout has the traffic coming from Plasdwr and along Michaelston Road to get onto the A4232 and the M4, which is overwhelming the routes through Ely. As it stands the new development would likely make this worse.
“There really needs to be an additional junction on the A4232,” said Coun Goodway, adding that due to another development in Plasdwr, the Welsh Government needs to look at a way of redirecting traffic away from Michaelston Road.
Concerns over active travel routes have also been raised by residents after a number of existing routes in Ely were closed due to anti-social behaviour.
The redrafted proposal has eliminated plans for new active travel routes on the same ground, but this will likely create difficulties for planners because it goes against Welsh Government guidelines. .
Parking issues have also been highlighted as a hazard due to the site being in a busy school drop-off area with concerns it would cause unsafe pavement parking in nearby areas at busy times.
Coun Goodway recognised the fact that the parking could become an issue as it is hard to stop parents bringing their children to school by car but the council is looking to build a pick-up/drop-off zone in the development which will mean parking spaces won’t be taken up in school times.
“It won’t eliminate all of the problems that residents have identified but it will go a long way to alleviate those issues,” he said.
“We will keep on working to make sure that those mitigations are honoured.”
Coun Goodway said the building of 128 one and two bed homes will allow residents in Ely who wish to downsize their property to do so, will help release some of the housing pressures on the Ely estates.
