Years After Promises Work Halts on Cathays Student Flats Leaving Community in Limbo

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Plans to transform a former laundrette site on Minny Street, Cathays, Cardiff into student flats show little sign of progress years after work began. Demolition of the old laundrette started in January 2022, nearly five years after planning permission was granted, but the project remains stalled amid ongoing concerns and regulatory issues. The development, approved on appeal in 2017, faced opposition from local residents worried about noise, congestion, and strain on community services.

A Cardiff Council report from 2024 revealed that the developers breached planning rules by demolishing the building’s old enclosure without permission, prompting approval for an application to rebuild it. Local residents have voiced strong objections since the plans were first proposed in 2015.

James McCallum, a resident of Dalton Street, highlighted that several gardens back onto the laundrette site and warned demolition would cause “great disruption,” while also fearing that housing dozens of students would “inevitably put a strain on the already tight parking situation.”

Beryl Lewis, another Dalton Street resident, expressed concern that the proposal could disrupt the “delicate balance in supporting Cathays as a family area.”

James Clemence from Cathays Terrace, living just 30 meters from the site, feared “constant noise disturbance” during demolition and warned of a “new kind of noise pollution” once the student flats are occupied. The original plan includes 20 two-bedroom flats and one four-bedroom flat designed to replace what was described as a “large dilapidated commercial premises.”

The applicant’s design and access statement emphasized a vision to create a housing development with its own identity that fits “sympathetically with the existing urban layout of the adjacent housing.” Over the years, several amendments have been made, with the latest approved in November 2024 to allow rebuilding of the site’s enclosure.

Cardiff Council planners noted the “unauthorised demolition of the previous enclosures” and stressed that the boundary works must be completed within six months, with the developer estimating 12 to 16 weeks for the rebuild.

The original proposal included a management plan to control car parking and highlighted the site’s accessibility by various transport modes, including public transport.

The location was described as an “excellent sustainable location” within walking distance of university facilities. Plans also incorporated three parking spaces and cycle storage to support the development’s residents.