Make sure you have your say NOW on the future of your city!
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. Pic: Tamsin Stirling
Consultation on the Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP) Preferred Strategy stays open until October 5
What is the replacement local development plan (RLDP?)
The RLDP will define areas of the city which will be looked on favourably for building. An example of this from the current LDP is the Plasdwr area to the north west of the city where there has been extensive house building on green fields. The new plan still includes building on green fields, for example, sensitive areas in Cardiff’s countryside such as Goetre Fawr and Upper Plasdwr. CCS believes these should be protected.
It should be noted that a small number of candidate sites published are in fact proposals for these sites to be protected from development. Cardiff City Society requested a number of these.
What we want to see in the RDLP
Clearly defined language so that policies to protect residents and nature can be enforced
The council acknowledges that the current reliance on what is known as ‘supplementary planning guidance’ to decide which developments go forward doesn't carry sufficient weight in planning law. Guidance alone provides no protection against a decision being overturned in a legal case. In our view the current LDP has many examples of woolly wording, so enforcement is almost impossible. The document does now reflect the content of One Planet Cardiff, which sets out how Cardiff will be a sustainable city. However, it is very poor on detail, for instance, on protecting and enhancing biodiversity.
Protection for the environment, biodiversity and heritage buildings
We want the council to favour the reuse and refurbishment of existing buildings rather demolish and build anew. Builders should also have to consider sustainable alternatives to concrete and steel.
We want to see stronger environmental protections within the plan. Cardiff does not have a good record on sites of special scientific interest; nor on protecting mature street trees. The notion that a mature tree can be ‘replaced’ is outdated and erroneous. It also needs to be recognised that many brownfield sites can be hugely important for biodiversity and are rich in flora and fauna.
At a national level, Planning Policy Wales is being strengthened. This is the document which sets planning policy across the country; the revised version will include more information on biodiversity net benefit, which is currently not defined.
Another important area for Cardiff Civic Society in the RLDP is protecting heritage buildings.
Affordable housing
The council policy says that 30 per cent of new houses built on greenfield should be affordable, and 20 per cent of those built on brownfield sites.
However, time after time, evidence shows that this level is squeezed down by negotiation between the powerful developers and the council officials, and these targets are rarely achieved.
Cardiff Council estimates that of 1,090 affordable homes a year need to be built over the 15-year period of the RLDP.
Therefore, more than 15,000 affordable homes are needed: as outlined in section 6 of the document. However, in section 10 of the document Cardiff Council say that only 5,000-6,000 affordable homes are achievable.
CCS is very concerned that the council has already conceded defeat to powerful developers.
The environmental and housing crises sit alongside each other. There is a link between the prevalence of second homes and empty homes in Cardiff and the level of over-development affecting green spaces.
The rule around affordable housing rates must be named in the RLDP, as supplementary planning guidance on this matter can simply be ignored.
Consultation process
Key links are provided here for ease of access to the consultation process and key information:
Cardiff Replacement Local Development Plan 2021 to 2036: Preferred Strategy for Consultation [Source: Cardiff Council Cabinet Papers, June 2023)
List of candidate sites for proposed development or protection