Cardiff: Guildford Crescent 30-storey tower gets go-ahead

A 30-storey apartment tower has been approved on the site of a former music venue in Cardiff city centre.

Despite a 20,000-name petition and a protest march, Guildford Crescent was largely demolished in September 2019 by the site's owner.

The Victorian terrace included the Gwdihŵ night spot, plus the Madeira and Thai House restaurants.

Cardiff council's planning committee has now granted permission, despite concerns raised over height and design.

Another issue was the lack of money going to affordable housing - the council asked developers to pay £4,181,800, but accepted £500,000 after Galliford Try said it would not make enough profit.

Reasons for this included building near a railway line and retaining the façade of the 19th Century buildings - something the council had requested to keep the cultural heritage of the area.

Most of the façade will be included in the apartment tower, apart from the section which used to be the front of Gwdihŵ, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Lyn Hudson called the decision "ridiculous", adding: "I can't understand how this is acceptable in a heritage area. It's compounding a mistake into a disaster."

The 272 apartments will be classed as "build-to-rent", meaning they will be sold to investors and rented out.

At 30 storeys, the building will be four storeys taller than the nearby Bridge Street Exchange student flats.