Cardiff West bus station plan revived for Waungron Road tip

The latest plan for the former tip now includes a seven-storey block of flats

Fresh plans for a new bus station and 50 council flats on a former tip in the west of Cardiff have been unveiled.

The Waungron Road recycling centre in Fairwater closed in 2014 amid strong local opposition.

A previous bid to build a bus station there by 2017, next to a railway station, was dropped.

Cardiff council sees the site as a playing a key role in a new park-and-ride service but 500 people have signed a petition opposing the new scheme.

The revised proposal for the Western Transport Interchange now includes a seven-storey block of council flats, half of which will be for temporary accommodation.

The layout of the proposed new development

Architects Powell Dobson said in planning documents there would be "space for meaningful formal and incidental social interaction", and a "shared public space that supports a mix of uses connected to the transport hub".

"The proposed interchange will provide benefits to the existing residents and future residents of the development and enable more convenient access to key facilities within Cardiff," they added.

About eight to 10 buses would use the interchange every hour, with many more potentially as Cardiff's public transport network changes in the future.

A consultation has been opened before the proposal goes to Cardiff council, but opposition is already growing.

Hundreds of residents have called for the recycling centre to be reopened

Sean Driscoll, a Conservative councillor representing Llandaff who lives in the area, started a petition saying local residents felt the development would be "overbearing".

"It will also have an impact on the already heavily congested road network," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Neil McEvoy, the Propel party councillor for Fairwater, accused Labour council leaders of "working against the interests of the local community", claiming residents wanted the recycling centre reopened.

Delays to the Waungron Road scheme mirror those of the new bus station being built in Cardiff city centre, now due to open in 2023.