St Mellons: Cardiff Parkway will 'rejuvenate' some of Wales' most deprived areas

A major new railway station will "rejuvenate" one of Wales' most deprived areas, residents have said.

It was initially hoped that Cardiff Parkway and a business park near St Mellons would be up and running this year after it met environmental tests.

But plans were put in doubt after the Welsh government changed planning laws.

Campaigners have also questioned the scale of the proposed business park, which they said could put biodiversity at risk.

It was estimated Cardiff Parkway would provide 6,000 jobs in St Mellons and could accommodate 800,000 passengers a year between Cardiff and London.

The proposed development would also link passengers on the South Wales Metro network to north Wales, Bristol, Manchester and London - and could see eight trains an hour between Newport and Cardiff.

Cardiff has 20 train stations, but none are located in the east of the city. The CF3 postcode area, serving the eastern suburbs of St Mellons, Trowbridge, Rumney and Llanrumney, is home to more than 40,000 people.

Bus journeys from St Mellons to Cardiff city centre can take up to one hour, compared to a 25-minute car journey, but a train service could mean journey times of just seven minutes.

"I think it's a very good idea, we need another station," said St Mellons resident Jennifer McCarthy.

"It will take traffic off the motorway, I think most people would use it to go in by train."

Phillip O'Mahoney added: "It's way out, St Mellons, so it would be good for the people that can't drive to get back and forth to town."

Gillian Villis also supported the plans, saying: "If you want to get into town you've either got to get the bus or take the car, and pay for parking, so it would be much easier."

Francesca Baggett added that "further investment in the area" was welcome.

"It needs rejuvenating, there's a lot of good hard-working people around here, but certain areas are a bit run down.

"I know a lot of people are concerned about the environmental aspects, but as long as they put biodiversity plans in place and have a plan for that."

The 2021 Census put Trowbridge/Rumney and Trowbridge/St Mellons in first and third place respectively for communities with the most deprived households in Wales.

Councillor for Trowbridge, Michael Michael, previously said the boost to transport for the community would be "massive", while the addition of a business park would provide "top quality jobs rather than having people leave and go somewhere else".

Cardiff council gave the green light to the development in April 2022 following support from local politicians including Economy Minister Vaughan Gething - who represents the area in the Senedd - saying it would "bring jobs, growth and investment".

But concerns included the impact on ecology and wildlife, and that some buildings could be up to 15 storeys.

A hearing was held in July 2023 to see if the plans complied with rules to protect the environment.

Cardiff Parkway said it was "disappointed" with the latest delay, but hopeful the "much-needed development" would still go ahead.

On Tuesday a hearing to look at the plans was held, after changes made to the Welsh government's planning policy in October, meaning there is more protection for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) such as the site in question.

Two specific SSSIs that could be affected are those at Rumney and Peterstone, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Friends of the Gwent Levels said it was not convinced by the developer's offer of new compensation land to replace the area that would be built on, claiming it would still put biodiversity at risk.

The group added that it supported the idea of "a local station to support the local population", and its opposition was directed at the business park, which was "not what should be done in a nature emergency" when there was a "fragile and complex ecosystem".

Following the planning hearing, the planning inspector will now submit another report to Welsh ministers for consideration.