General Developments

I was wondering what was going on because they have been doing work there for about two weeks now. I can't access the link - it says documents unavailable - so I'm intrigued now....

It did somewhat come out of the blue didn't it - shows we're not as ahead of the game as I thought we were on this forum

I noticed that the Travelodge on the other side of the Red dragon complex is starting to look decidedly dirty on the road facing flank. The white panels are desperate for a jet wash - could start to look really grubby within a few years I fear.

Render has fallen off the social housing tower on Celestia (the Pierhead St tower) so the ground entrance is covered by scaffolding for H&S purposes. In addition there has been scaffold at the foot of the largest tower for three months - I don't know why but nothing is happenning there at all. The development is starting to show quite major facade faults which doesn't bode well for the future. If Altolusso (the other big Cardiff Redrow residential build of the first decade of the millennium) starts to get 'render issues' then the owners are going to be looking at a substantial repairs bill now that the 10 year insurance cover is up.

Just go to the planning application search page and type in 16_00547 and it should come up.

I must admit this one has grown on me over the day, it's not bad for a Premier Inn and it should look pretty distinctive with portholes and white brick. Plus it's in a spot where I'd practically given up on seeing anything built in the foreseeable future.

I noticed that the Travelodge on the other side of the Red dragon complex is starting to look decidedly dirty on the road facing flank. The white panels are desperate for a jet wash - could start to look really grubby within a few years I fear.

I noticed this as well - one would have thought the hotel operators would have spruced it up. It's not difficult.

A lot of the Bay developments aren't ageing well. Scott Harbour in particular looks cheap and dated, a Marland House for the twenty first century, and don't get me started on Mermaid Quay!

Just to update on the Celestia render, a relatively large section fell off last year in high winds (very exposed area) and after the repairs, through insurance, the entire building was checked and works taken throughout the development (you can see white painted patches where they have done work), I've been led to believe the piece coming off the tower was removed on purpose but others have said it fell off which is concerning. After all the work has been complete the development will be repainted with anti fungal paint to stop the green algae growing and should look nice again. I know a neighbor had difficulties in selling his apartment, having to get a lot of different people involved from the insurance company etc. to verify everything was OK.

There have been a few development that have been refurbished recently and have become quite smart again, waterquarter looks so much better and Victoria Wharf has been mostly re-painted. Altolousso has scaffolding outside so i wonder if it will be repainted soon. With these recent refurbishments i wonder why developments such as the Aspect and Altolusso haven't been refurbished sooner.

These sort of high-profile developments really should have more in the body-corporate for maintaining the appearance of the facades.

I'd also like to see people like Network Rail and the councils look after their properties. Anyone been through Newport lately and looked at the slim on landmark pedestrian bridge? Or how dated the new Station terminals look? Dreadful the way they've been left.

I noticed today that the Parc/Park Hotel has been rebranded as Jury's. I'm not hugely upset about it but it's always a bit sad to see an historic name replaced by an international brand.

Lidl in Splott is about to be demolished taking on the old chippy/car sales unit with it.

There is an application in for the demolition of the Wharf pub and erection of 185 apartments over 5 blocks (with A3 on ground floor facing the dock) and three townhouses. Developer is JR Smart.

The design follows the current architectural style around Bute Dock (red brick/flat roof) although perhaps a bit more contemporary. Not hugely exciting but certainly not offensive. I was surprised by how big the footprint of the Wharf pub was.

There is the application (I think approved) for apartmenst in Schooner Way plus luxury townhouses to the north of the Wharf. Exciting times for Atlantic Wharf, which remains criminally under utilised. Whatever happend to the proposed wakeboarding?

Anyway here is a link to the Design and Access Statement -

http://planning.cardiff.gov.uk/online-a ... 775773.pdf

If I have done it right the link should be accessible to everyone apart from Jantra..........

JR Smart continues it's demolition binge of surviving old landmarks.

JR Smart continues it's demolition binge of surviving old landmarks.

To be fair the Wharf is only about 25 years old! I like the building and I liked the pub. When it first opened it was very popular and used to have a lot of live music. But it's not viable as a pub and the building doesn't lend itself easily to conversion for other uses.

JR Smart are very busy though. Are they stretching themselves too thin?

It may be a new build, but it's in-keeping with the area and adds a lot of character. Such a shame.