Planners likely to approve a 23-storey apartment building in

not many cities have Cardiff's civic centre. the beauty of each city is the fact that each is different as they have grown at different stages. Manchester is a great city with some wonderful victorian architecture that Cardiff will never match, but then Cardiff has some neo classical/neo gothic/baroque Edwardian architecture that others cities struggle to match.

Cardiff also has its own version of squares - the Hayes by the library may not be what you would call a traditional European square, but it is bordered by an eclectic mix of buildings of all ages and designs which provide a wonderful backdrop.

Cardiff is never going to match other cities in certain areas, nor should it try to. Cardiff should focus on doing what it does well - being a compact city with lots to offer pretty much everybody.

Jantra. You are going to hate this. You are at risk of having everyone agree with you.

I can understand what RC is saying. Cardiff doesn't have the wealth of grand period buidlings that Edinburgh or Dublin do or even Lpool, Mcer, Leeds etc. It's hardly surprising given that Cardiff - as anything opther than a minute fishing village - has only been in existence for 150 years. Thats part of the reason why we have very few Georgian buildings, which seem to be the architectural style that most resonates with the British public and which is why the likes of Bristol, Liverpool etc are often viewed as being more attractive that cities that are more Victorian such as Leeds, Mcer.etc.

But I also think that Cardiff is different from other regional 'capitals' such as Nottingham, Bristol, Leeds etc. I can't think of any other British cities that have, in the middle of a city centre, a 75k seater stadium, a perfectly intact castle, a huge arboretum AND a civic centre complex. That gives Cardiff a USP.

For me the most crucial developments to take place in the next few decades will be how the Bay and the City Centre are joined. The indicators are not good at the moment - LGA is a real wasted opportunity and Callaghan Square is not much better. If Cardiff wants to move up the ratings then it has to find a way to join the two properly with a mix of uses and high density and good quality housing

Each of those areas you mention are easily fixed in terms of future development, Lloyd George avenue while linear is actually quite attractive to walk along (as long as its not dark), was really nice today with the autumn foliage (the buildings are nothing to speak of though!). The get rid of the rail line (replacing it with something else) and this opens up room for more apartments and hopefully they will be taller and giving more density to the area.

I didn't mean what I said as a criticism of Cardiff. I just said it doesn't "feel" like a capital city to me - neither does Belfast for that matter. Others like Dublin, Edinburgh, and the capitals of small European countries do. I think its partly the history, and its partly the still relative lack of big buildings for national institutions. Cardiff wasn't a centre of government until the 1960s, for instance. And it kind of shows in the architecture and 'feel' of the city.

Now its a feel I like. It has a lot going for it. And it has got more national institutions over the years (starting with the museum, and now the Assembly, and WMC). It offers a lot more than most mid-sized British cities, and is starting to get the more bottom-up urban kind of buzz that for a long time was lacking. So its a good news story, and a great city.

not many cities have Cardiff's civic centre. the beauty of each city is the fact that each is different as they have grown at different stages. Manchester is a great city with some wonderful victorian architecture that Cardiff will never match, but then Cardiff has some neo classical/neo gothic/baroque Edwardian architecture that others cities struggle to match.

Cardiff also has its own version of squares - the Hayes by the library may not be what you would call a traditional European square, but it is bordered by an eclectic mix of buildings of all ages and designs which provide a wonderful backdrop.

Cardiff is never going to match other cities in certain areas, nor should it try to. Cardiff should focus on doing what it does well - being a compact city with lots to offer pretty much everybody.

Jantra. You are going to hate this. You are at risk of having everyone agree with you.

I will redouble my efforts

It's been approved then

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/plans-23-storey-apartment-building-10261993

Great news, hopefully they won't wait too long before starting.

Excellent. *cackles*

But what's this about it being staggered "to break the impact on the skyline"? As it's a similar height to the Radisson, Altolusso and Ty Pont (which tend to merge into one line/cluster from most angles), I can't imagine it impacting too much anyway. Or am I missing something very obvious?

Regardless, coupled with the 135m Watkin Jones tower and the 92m tower planned for CS, plus the added bulk of the CS mid-rises, it'll be a good few years for Cardiff's skyline. Any other talls I've missed out?

Aren't JR Smart planning to go quite tall at the new John Street - Callaghan Square just the other side of the Cardiff Bay branchline from this? And the other student resi planned for the bottom of Charles Street.

And I think the main reason for the staggered top is to make the building look a bit more interesting and less blocky.
I think thats something the student resi building (the 135m one) could do with - on some angles it might look quite monolithic.

I'm a bit concerned that one of the councillors said that they didn't like the height of the building. 63m is hardly a sky shattering tower. If the student tower close by is over twice the height then I fear that it will be limited by yet more unambitious councillors.

She says Cardiff should go down the Geneva route and limit tall buildings. I don't think she realises that Cardiff is a little lacking in space compared to Geneva. I sometimes wonder whether certain councillors will vote against anything just to ruffle some feathers.

Interestingly though, another councillors says this:

But Coun Garry Hunt, Labour councillor for Llanishen said: “I love urban landscapes and the clumping of high buildings. I think this area is starting to scrub up very nicely, and if the designs of the highest building is as described, it’s quite impressive and I like it very much.”

Do you think the "highest building" he refers to is the Watkin Jones tower? If so then maybe it will end up passing planning just fine.