Read this quote from the WalesOnline article:

"The £3.5m investment will created 65 jobs in Cardiff, as well as a similar number of satellite offices in Manchester, Edinburgh, London and Newcastle which will have broadcast trucks to coverage a wide range of amateur sporting events."

Did you spot the grammatical and semantic mistakes? 3 in one sentence!

Great spot
Created
Similar Office
Coverage
Oi oi

Anyone know what is planned for the current Windsor House site once it's demolished ?

I saw this in last week's planning apps :

13/02678/DCI Application for Demolition Expected Decision DEL
Received: 20/12/2013 Ward: CATHAYS
Case Officer: Lawrence Dowdall
Applicant: Mr Clark The Nottinghamshire County Council (c/o Aberdeen Asset Managers), , ,
Agents: Savills, 12 Windsor Place, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, , CF10 3BY
Proposal: DEMOLISH THE FULL EXTENT OF WINDSOR HOUSE TO ENABLE THE REDEVELOPMENT OF
THE SITE
At: EC HARRIS, WINDSOR HOUSE, WINDSOR LANE, CITY CENTRE, CARDIFF, CF10 3DE

If I've got the right building it's not the prettiest (grey and has a part of it on Dumfries Place)

Also noticed this :

13/02646/DCO Full Planning Permission Expected Decision DEL
Received: 17/12/2013 Ward: PONTPRENNAU/ST MELLONS
Case Officer: Andrew Bates
Applicant: Mr D Jones Persimmon Homes East Wales, Llantrisant Business Park, Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taff
Agents: , , , , ,
Proposal: WORKS TO THE JUNCTION OF CHURCH ROAD AND THE ACCESS ROAD OFF PONTPRENNAU
ROUNDABOUT (A4232) TO ENABLE A NEW ROAD ACCESS INTO LAND TO THE SOUTH OF
CHURCH ROAD. IN ADDITION THE STOPPING UP OF CHURCH ROAD AT ITS JUNCTION WITH
BRIDGE ROAD AND THE TRANSLOCATION OF A HEDGE ALONG CHURCH ROAD
At: LAND AT, CHURCH ROAD, PONTPRENNAU

A tiny thing on its own but a start to the proposed St Edeyrn 1,000 homes east of Pontprennau ? How far has that scheme got planning approval wise ?

The last thing I remember reading about it was last Spring here

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardiff-housing-estate-plan-unveiled-2582892

How is the applicant for the Windsor House planning 'Nottinghamshire County Council'? Have I missed something?

Hodge House has been acquired in a £18.8m deal by Legal & General Property.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/commercial-property/hodge-house-acquired-188m-deal-6505930

The framework of the atrium students union is on the way up.

Didn't know where else to put this -

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/commercial-property/welsh-government-considering-key-sites-6528493

It seems that the WG are looking at purchasing 2 sites in central Cardiff. The first is the corner plot at the north eastern part of CS. A red brick warehouse was demolished here a few months back. I always thought that with a bit of tlc that could have been converted into an attractive building which would have provided a nice counterpoint to the newer buildings and a reminder of the area's former industrial heritage, but what do I know?

This is a key site I think and could possibly link CS with Capital Quarter with access over the dock feeder that runs through it.

The second site is currently owned by two engineering firms which must mean it's situated on Dumballs Rd. Bellepheron are currently purchasing land between Dumballs Rd and the river for residential development (inc. 50% affordable housing) in what appears to be a joint venture with the Council. I wonder if this site being looked at by the WG will be earmarked for more residential or commercial.

Also WG still own part of CS south side which they are thinking of selling on to the Council who may or may not be looking at building a convention centre there.

I think on balance this is good news and points to an intention by the WG to get the enterprise zone going (in the absence of private developers this seems to be the only option) but with Capital Quarter, both sides of Central Station, CS, Dumballs Rd and Capital Waterside all in various stages of development I wonder if there is a risk that focus will be dissipated and we will end up with a large number of unfinished developments?

Looks like work on the old Habitat unit is imminent. Lots of building materials have arrived and hoardings are being erected outside the Hayes Island frontage. We know Miller and Carter Steakhouse will be an occupier of one of the three proposed units - does anyone know the identity of the other two or can hazard an educated guess?

Pieminister confirmed to be opening in St Mary Street in mid March. This on top of Brewdog's announcement that they are opening in Westgate Street seems to suggest that Cardiff is on the radar of the more 'trendy' chains.

I'm glad Brew Dog are coming to the city but I wish they hadn't chosen such a terrible unit. It means that the ground floor commercial in that building will be fully let (as well as the office space) which makes it possibly one of the most successful office schemes in the city despite being disgustingly ugly. Is there a moral somewhere?

I wish Brewdog - or someone - would take the plunge and open up in one of the very old buildings in Womamby Street (between Dempseys and Revs) that have had the exteriors renovated but are empty shells inside. Such a shame that they seem destined to remain empty.

Proposed swimming pool, leisure centre, gym and library for Splott, to replace the Star centre (planned to become housing). £9.2m. Built on site of existing pool in Splott park.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/campaigners-react-proposal-new-community-6557397

There is also tremorfa park and moorland park. The star centre was actually built on the site of a park and it is well past it's prime. That part of the city gets shat on from a great height regularly so despite the architectural merits of the building it's refreshing to see something other than an industrial unit being built.

I'm confused. It's going on the site of Splott Pool, and in terms of green space will involve the loss of exactly one bowling green. This is hardly making a dent in Splott park, surely?

The industrial unit comment was just a general observation that the usual development we see in splott/tremorfa is stuff like viridor or the shit that cardiff community housing assoc throw up. Splott swimming pool plus the car park and the changing rooms already take up a fair bit of splott park. It seems that this development will take up an additional bowling green. That's a shame but not disastrous. As for returning the star site to parkland (which only became parkland when the old splott council school was demolished in the 1970s) - its a nice idea but where does the money come from to build the community hub? Splott park is actually quite big and tremorfa park about 500m up the road is even bigger.

The only time I've been to the STAR Centre a junkie tried to score drugs off me in the car park. The place is also as ugly as sin, so it's not exactly a great loss.

The speed at which things move in Wales really is glacial (the rest of the UK isn't much better, mind).

Take for instance the "Circuit of Wales". The latest news is pretty worrying and I'm left feeling that the developers have been quite dishonest in their dealings with the local, Welsh and UK governments: implying the development could be undertaken for minimal public outlay, and after receiving approval and political support, then saying "oh we need £50 million by the way". I'm much less inclined to support the development now - it doesn't seem to be very commercially viable and has no firm commitments from the industry. But, another piece of news is that it might take up to a year to sort out issues around redesignating a replacement piece of land as "common land". Thats right, a bit of unsightly heather and scrub next to an industrial estate thats used by virtually noone was "common land" and therefore a whole lot of paperwork needs shuffling to designate some other nearby land as "common land".

When I watched Week In Week Out yesterday, any good faith I had to the Circuit of Wales had vanished. We should quit giving handouts to this white elephant and cut our losses. I always thought it was being built in the wrong place and for it to have a chance of being remotely successful it would have to be on the M4 corridor and ideally within 30 minutes of Cardiff.

Anyone know what is happening to the unit that until recently housed Graham Griffiths Estate Agents at the top of Cowbridge Road East, near Victoria Park.

The estate agents moved out last month and it appears they are changing it into something else.

I have just bought a house around the corner so am interested to find out what is going there.

£210 million being spent on redeveloping Velindre, which basically must mean building an entirely new hospital:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/1bn-package-wales-rubber-stamps-7078793

The government is going to use a modified PFI, suspiciously similar to the one Plaid Cymru proposed last year, which they rubbished at the time.

Not more PFI, when will our politicians learn this is not a good use of taxpayers money. If you're going to invest, then borrow using gilts @ 2-3% rather than having to pay a private sector WACC of 10-12%. Whoever recommended this type of finance first (I think Lyndon suggested plaid) need a radical rethink and basic lessons in financial appraisal, whoever followed this example are equally inept. Who is the fool, the fool or the fool that follows him?

"In 1992 PFI was implemented for the first time in the UK by the Conservative government of John Major ... PFI expanded considerably in 1996 and then expanded much further under Labour, resulting in criticism from many trade unions, elements of the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), and the Green Party ..."

You're in excellent company

Simplistically it's all an accounting ruse to keep the liabilities 'off balance sheet' and, er, have erm, fixed indexed linked payments from the Government for decades to come to pay off the relevant infrastructure project undertaken.

If it sounds like a loan and looks like a loan and walks along the very edge of the definition of being a loan then just remember that it is NOT a loan - it's off balance sheet - so don't call it a loan.

I have not been checking frequently, so I could be behind the times, but it looks like the council have a new planning portal under Beta testing. I seem to remember someone saying their website hadn't been updated recently? Maybe that's because they have a new one? I could be wrong...

Usefully, it has a section on decisions as well as applications, but I've not looked into it in detail.

https://new.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/resident/Planning/Recent-decisions-and-applications/Pages/default.aspx

This isn't really about General Developments - but this is the nearest we have to an open thread.

I'm getting really fed up of the piecemeal, incoherent traffic planning on James Street and Clarence Rd.

Following the instilation of a new crossing to serve Mount Stuart School there are now no fewer than six seperate pedestrian crossings in the space of a couple of hundred yards between Clarence Road bridge and Bute Street. That would be bad enough but instead of a series of co-ordinated controlled crossings - it's a random mix of contolled and uncontrolled (zebra) crossings that's causing confusuion, traffic snarl-ups and aggresive driving from frustrated motorists.

I agree with you Ash. James St is a particularly hostile road to either cycle or drive down.

On a typical day the cycle lanes ALWAYS have cars or delivery vans parked in them (especially by the bookies). There are invariably swivel eyed aggressive pedestrians walking out onto the road without looking and shouting at passing traffic.

In addition, I find that there often seems to be a serious waft of cannabis drifting around from behind the former Spar store.

Maybe all these things are interlinked!

While you may well be right about the number, and poor coordination, of the crossings around there, the new raised crossing linking the south of canal park to the path west of the primary school is a great addition from a cycling perspective. Previously it was the worst section of the route from the ISV to the city centre (via canal park), now the route is largely continuous with no awkward bits to deal with, although the Loudoun Sq section is still less than ideal.

To follow this up, the problem is now that the cycling provision is patchy at either end of the route, in both the ISV and the city centre. I look forward to improvements!

No sooner do I criticise James St as a bad road to cycle down, that I see it has been entirely re-tarmaced and the cycle lanes have been widened to an almost obscenely generous size. Full marks to the Council!

If someone is reading this forum and acting on improvements tout-suite, might I next launch into a tirade about Cardiff Airport, the Coal Exchange, the lack of an Arena and the surface of the Oval Basin....

PS Is it just me or does anyone else have trouble with the security codes to post a message. It's like a bad day on Ticketmaster.

may have missed a few topics somewhere so please tell me if there is a post elsewhere

two queries
what is going up just up from the zurich offices on dumballs road, looks impressive, modern design.

also, where the old warehouse on the corner of Callaghan square was a new tent type structure has gone up, any ideas?

cheers