Residents are concerned over parking, community spaces and lack of social housing
PLANS to convert the long-derelict Tredegar pub into flats in Adamsdown has stirred a mixed reaction within the community.
The pub, a landmark at the junction of Clifton Street and Pearl Street, has been derelict for 17 years.
Cardiff Council approved plans to convert it into 15 flats in July 2024.
Planning documents said the scheme at 57-58 Clifton Street aims to provide “affordable”, “high standard” and “good-sized rooms”.
The documents also state the pub will undergo “conversion” rather than demolition, and that works must be carried out within the next two years.
Full planning permission was subject to a Section 106 agreement which means the developer, Spiridion Micallef, 60, of Penarth, must pay £21,477 to reduce any impact on the community.
There are mixed reactions among residents , however, over whether the development is the right option for Adamsdown.
‘What about parking?’
“Parking is a serious issue. With 15 new people coming into the area, it will clog up all the parking spaces which are already restricted,” said Catherine Razzell, 36, of Clifton Street, who lives with her husband and 10-month-old son.
The young family, who have lived next to the pub for seven years, continued: “People need houses. We have no objection to that. There is a need for affordable housing but so much housing in Cardiff is cheaply made, including luxury flats.”
‘It looks grim… what message does it send?’
“It is a massive eyesore that needs sorting out. The development of the building could only improve the area,” full-time mum-of-five Boudicca Stretton-Brown, 38, who lives nearby in Splott, said. She has lived near the pub for ten years.
“The current building is also dangerous. I used to walk my little ones past it every day to and from nursery. It looks like the old sign will fall down any minute and that old cellar hatch is literally rusting away.
“I don’t have much of an opinion on private flats if someone is willing to pay the amount needed to renovate it.
“The community is amazing but buildings like this are letting us down.
“What message does it send to younger people about respecting the area when it looks grim.
Image Credit: Boudicca Stretton-Brown.
Image Credit: Boudicca Stretton-Brown.
‘Community space for the community would have been good’
Adam Johannes is an office worker who has lived in Adamsdown for eight years. He lives about a minute away from the pub.
He was part of Red and Black Umbrella, a community group which used the derelict pub to host gigs, talks and film screenings.
“The memory of those nights, the chords played, the meals shared, the words spoken in the quiet – those lingered. The Tredegar held them like an old friend,” he said.
“It would have been great for the building to have been used for a community space.
“Even if private flats are built, I hope they will be affordable to working class residents as Adamsdown is a deprived area. It’s important people are not priced out of their own communities.”
‘So many community pubs have disappeared’
“It is a great shame that so many community buildings in the area are just turning into identical flats, while former pubs such as the Bertram and the Canadian have been disappearing from the neighbourhood,” said Philip Dore, 48, of Pearl Street, a nurse who has lived in Adamsdown for 10 years.
He continued: “There has been a shift where people are spending more time on social media and less in pubs, but there’s still a need for that physical connection.
“Ironically when the pub was being used as a squat there were times when people ran community events out of it.
“I recall there were live music and poetry nights in there. Some sort of community centre has its merits. A cafe or a bar would be nice in there though.”
‘Clifton Street needs community connectivity’
Stuart Lee Jenkins, 38, of Splott Road, is a support worker who has lived near the Tredegar pub for four years. He is also a part-time occupational therapy student which is why he is interested in community spirit and the pub’s development.
“I’m not opposed to a block of flats, but it would have been better if the bottom floor was converted into a corporation business like the one in Canton with flats on top,” said Mr Jenkins.
The Corporation Yard on the site of the old Corporation pub in Canton combines independent businesses such as an indie market, coffee shop and bar.
He continued: “Turning a run-down pub into a corporation allows a business to share the overhead costs. A bar and food venues would also bring customers in. You could shop and eat there, it’s like a mini community mall.
“Clifton Street can do with more community connectivity.”
The flats are a private development.
Adamsdown Councillor Owen Jones said: “The flats in question will be private so there is no power to enforce what the rental price would be set at.”
Do you have an opinion on the Tredegar pub development? Email thompsonba1@cardiff.ac.uk.
