'No more delays' as Cardiff bus station set for 2018 opening

Work on a new Cardiff bus station will begin in early 2018 after major delays.

The station was originally due to open this month, but the plans were pulled after significant funding challenges.

New plans, which will see offices and homes developed alongside it, were approved by the council's cabinet on Wednesday.

Councillor Russell Goodway said the project would progress "without further delays".

It is hoped the bus station will be open in 2020.

The old bus station was flattened in 2015 to make way for the Central Square development, which will include a new headquarters for BBC Wales.

Plans to replace it with a new interchange linked to Cardiff Central train station were delayed and then pulled because of "significant funding challenges".

Revised proposals, approved by the council in March, initially included private flats, shops, a car park and office space, but Rightacres had wanted to change the flats and offices to student flats, if sufficient tenants could not be found.

The new plans - which still needs planning approval for some elements - come after a funding agreement was reached between the Welsh Government and Rightacres.

It means that a new hotel or student accommodation will not be needed to fund the interchange, expected to take two years to build.

Mr Goodway, the council's cabinet member for investment, said: "There is no doubt that the project had stalled but this new partnership allows the council to progress with the bus station development without further delays and will enable us to secure significant office components to meet the needs of potential investors.

"I said from the outset that we will need to be flexible to deliver this project, using a market-led approach to generate the money we need. This is precisely what we are doing."