Cardiff Cathedral Road flats plan 'an ugly blot' on conservation area

Architects have claimed the flats would "enhance the character" of the area

Plans for a new apartment block in a Victorian conservation area of Cardiff have sparked hundreds of objections.

A former vicarage on Cathedral Road, Pontcanna and two rear annexes of neighbouring townhouses would be demolished to make way for 33 flats.

One objector said the flats would be "an ugly blot on the area".

John Wotton Architects said the scheme was "an attractive development which will preserve and enhance the character of the conservation area".

The firm promised "high quality dwellings in a highly sustainable location on previously developed land; a sensitive development which responds to the site's characteristics".

The buildings currently there had been home until recently of the administrative headquarters of the Church in Wales.

A former vicarage would be demolished to make way for the flats

Developers had originally sought permission to build 56 flats on the site, reduced to 51 and then 33 following public consultation.

However, hundreds of people have filed letters of complaint about the latest proposals.

Jude Wood wrote to Cardiff Council saying the area was "noted as one of the finest Victorian and Edwardian neighbourhoods in Wales".

"The very reason the developers want to build as many flats as possible is because the conservation area commands a high property value, almost entirely due to its well-held Victorian beauty.

"Ironically, the new flats will be an ugly blot on the area."

The buildings had previously been used as offices by the Church in Wales

Iona Gordon, a local councillor for the Riverside ward, added: "There are special planning controls in the area and a high standard of design is required for new buildings.

"The use of red brick and the colour chosen is totally out of place in Cathedral Road."

The plans have also attracted criticism for the request to chop down and replace several mature trees, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Nerys Lloyd-Pierce, chair of Cardiff Civic Society, said approval "would fail to give weight to the environmental and social benefits that the trees contribute to this community".