Cardiff’s 113-acre (46ha) Dumballs Road area should be the subject of a 15-year mixed-use redevelopment, according to DTZ Pieda Consulting.
In a land-use study for Cardiff council and the Welsh Development Agency, DTZ Pieda called the current uses of the industrial site, alongside the River Taff, “totally inappropriate”.
The Dumballs Road site is part of the 618-acre (250ha) Cardiff Bay site – one of Europe’s largest waterfront schemes.
DTZ Pieda director Keith Thomas said that while Dumballs Road is regarded as an industrial location, only 20% of its occupiers are manufacturers.
He said: “With only 1,500 jobs being provided across the whole site, occupancy density is very low, even by industrial standards.
“The urban fabric of the site appears totally inappropriate today, as the site turns its back upon the primary assets provided by the river frontage to the west and Canal Park open space to the east.
“The area has significant potential to accommodate high-quality, mixed-use development in step with the evolving needs of the city centre, Bay and local communities.
“New housing, offices, small business and training and small-scale industry are identified as development possibilities.
“A new central area could retain an employment focus for some considerable time, but also evolve into a more mixed-use environment with a focus on more appropriate city centre support services together with some residential.”
Thomas argued that Dumballs Road should be developed to meet increasing demand for high-density offices to the north and luxury housing to the south.
DTZ Pieda led a team comprising Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects, Veryards Consulting Engineers and consulting engineer Alan Baxter Associates, which has completed a development framework aimed at meeting demand for more space in the Bay area.
The framework calls for the east bank of the River Taff to be opened to development, to improve access from the riverbank to the city centre and the Millennium Stadium.
EGi News 15/07/02
