Cardiff is surpassing similar size UK cities with its appetite for tall buildings, says Owain Griffiths at GVA.
The 42-storey student development by Watkins Jones – at 132m – is one of four tall buildings in the city granted planning permission since July 2016 that will be higher than Cardiff’s existing tallest building, Capital Tower, at 80m. It will also be taller than Wales’ current highest building, Meridian Tower in Swansea, at 107m.
The Watkin Jones development in Bute Street will rank Cardiff 4th in the UK in terms of height, behind only London (The Shard – 310m), Manchester (Beetham Tower – 169m) and Liverpool (West Tower – 140m). It will leapfrog Birmingham whose tallest building is 10 Holloway Circus (130m).
“There has been a clear political appetite for tall buildings in Cardiff,” observes Owain. “The Council’s newly elected members of the Planning Committee appear to have the same appetite having just granted planning permission for a 32-storey (97m high) student accommodation development at Hallinans House on Newport Road, an application by Boardroom Properties Limited and Howells Properties.”
“Positively, Cardiff Council’s Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on tall buildings provides support and guidance for such proposals. It identifies example appropriate locations for tall buildings such as along railway corridors, urban corner sites in the core of the city centre, and sites that form part of existing clusters of tall buildings.”
Together with the Watkin Jones development, the other tall buildings granted consent since July 2016 in Cardiff are JR Smart’s office/retail development on John Street (86m); Watkin Jones student-led mixed-use development on Charles Street (82m), and an 82m student development on Herbert Street.
In terms of comparably sized cities, the Watkin Jones development will also surpass Leeds, Brighton, Sheffield and Belfast’s highest buildings. Across the bridge in Bristol, Bristol City Council recently granted planning permission for what will be the city’s tallest building in Redcliff Quarter standing at 82.7m.