The former Arjo Wiggins Paper Mill site is finally to be redeveloped to provide a residential led ‘Urban Village’. Situated off Cowbridge Road East, in the established and vibrant residential suburb of Canton, to the west of Cardiff City Centre, the redevelopment will provide the largest urban regeneration scheme of its kind within Wales.
The paper mill dates back to the early 1870’s and it continued operations until its closure in 1999 when it was purchased by the Welsh Development Agency. The property has remained empty and undeveloped for over a decade despite being offered for sale in March 2011.
In spring 2012, Ely Bridge Development Company (EBDC), a joint venture partnership between the Welsh Government and Principality Building Society was formed and the Company entered into a conditional land sale contract to purchase the property.
EBDC is a not for profit making organisation. Their vision is to see the 53 acre site redeveloped to provide much needed good quality, well managed, affordable housing within the City and to deliver quality homes and a vibrant community where people can afford and choose to live.
Since its inception, EBDC has worked tirelessly to bring this development forward and was rewarded earlier this year when Cardiff Council resolved to grant outline planning permission for a mixed use development comprising approximately 750 homes along with commercial, community and recreational uses.
EBDC will be responsible for the construction of the Affordable Housing units that will make up approximately 55% of the total number of houses along with the primary infrastructure and recreational areas. They will also be responsible for meeting all Section 106 obligations and contributions. 10% of the houses will be built for full market rent and the remaining 35% of the houses will be constructed by private developers and offered for open market sale.
The open market sale units will be constructed upon approximately 14.05 acres made up of three sites within the estate. Property adviser DTZ has been appointed to market the three development sites identified for private sale. The first site extending to approximately 7.33 acres has now been released to the market and the sale is to be concluded by Informal Tender with Best and Final Offers being invited by 16 May 2014.
Jonathan Smart, DTZ’s Associate Director who heads up the Residential Agency department in the Cardiff office said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Ely Bridge Development Company to act on their behalf. EBDC have worked extremely hard and undertaken a considerable amount of work in order to bring this development opportunity to the market. Their vision and commitment has resulted in one of the largest brownfield sites in Cardiff finally coming to the market. The first land parcel for private sale benefits from outline planning permission for residential development. It has been cleared and fully remediated and it will have the primary infrastructure and all mains services provided to the boundary. The site is unique in that it is being offered for sale with no affordable housing or Section 106 obligations. Given the limited availability of residential development sites in Cardiff and the unique nature of the site, we expect there to be serious interest from the national and regional house builders.”