Planning

A resolution to grant planning permission was made by the planning committee of Cardiff Council on 18 December 2007. We are in the final states of concluding the Section 106 agreement with Cardiff Council, after which the planning consent itself will be issued and construction can start. A S.106 is basically a binding agreement which, in this case of the Havannah Quay development, is a schedule of the construction works and contributions that will take place as the development progresses.
We have had a very productive working relationship with the planning department who have coordinated the S.106 schedule with other departments. The list includes affordable housing; a contribution to the river bus service; a new road bus service linking the mainline station with the Bay via Dumballs Road and Havannah Quay; a new foot and cycle bridge across the river, plus improvements to Dumballs Road including new traffic lights at the James Street junction and plenty of new trees and plantings all of which we agree with.

Affordable Housing

The S.106 agreement will provide a host of facilities for the City including much needed affordable housing both for rent and for shared ownership. The shared ownership will allow those who want to own their own home to purchase part of their property and build up their equity over time.

Dumballs Road improvements

There will be new traffic lights at the Dumballs Road junction with James Street adjacent to the new police station. This is going to greatly improve safety and will be especially beneficial to pedestrians. At the north end of Dumballs Road at its junction with Penarth Road an additional lane will be built which will improve the traffic flow at peak times. In addition, we have agreed to install/replace a number of street lights along Dumballs Road and these will be lit by LEDs, so the existing orange lights will be a thing of the past and the new brighter clear white lights will give the area a much improved look and increased light for pedestrians. LEDs are very low power, thereby saving electricity, and this is explained in more detail along with the other environmental benefits on the Environment page.

River Bus

We fully support the river bus service, and as the construction works progress we will be installing an additional river bus stop which will give easy access to and from the site. We hope that with Cardiff Council’s continued support and our contribution there will be good use made of the service.

Road Bus

A historic problem of Dumballs Road has been the lack of suitable bus services and their frequency. Our agreement with the Council will enable a frequent bus service linking Cardiff Central mainline station and Cardiff Bay via Dumballs Road with a stop at the Havannah Quay development. We hope that this will encourage people to leave their cars at home and travel on public transport. Later this year we will be making a proposal to Cardiff Council and Cardiff Bus to ensure that the buses used on this route will be powered by hydrogen.