Fri Oct 09, 2020 10:06 am
There is an application to demolish the Roath park pub in City Road and replace with flats. The design is utterly vile - its like going back to the worst of the 1990's cookie cutter design for low rise flats. its actually eye popping just how bad it is.
Entirely unsympathetic to its surroundings, out of scale, awful design, crap materials etc. When you compare this with some of the residential stuff going up in Manchester, Leeds, Brum etc its like night and day.
There is also the issue of what's happening in City Road. It seems to me that there were probably only three decent period buildings of scale in the street - the Poets Corner pub, the Gaiety and the Roath Park pub. One has been demolished (PC's - plot still empty many years later), one is due for demolishing for unviable student accommodation and now this.
I don't have a problem with the pub closing down if its not viable. That seems to be an ongoing process in inner city areas around the UK particularly with the current situation. If the building is incapable of being converted into a useful alternative use then in principle I have no objection to it being demolished although I think its a shame. But the replacement must be better surely?
City Rd is in danger of becoming an absolute horror show which would be a shame as although its not architecturally special it is a good secondary centre close to the city centre and with well judged additions to the street (or replacements for some of the derelict buildings) it could be excellent.
