Earlier this year Cardiff Council asked residents, and a wide range of organisations, groups and public bodies, for their views on the draft vision and objectives for its replacement Local Development Plan.

Results from the consultation, which received 1,215 responses, identified:

• Overall support for lower levels of housing growth and medium jobs growth.
• A strong preference for the use of brownfield sites.
• Improved access to green space as a top priority for improving health and wellbeing.
• The creation of 15 minute neighbourhoods, access to green space, and active travel as the top 3 approaches for responding to the pandemic.
• The provision of community facilities, reduction in crime, and providing good cycling routes, as the top 3 priorities for improving neighbourhoods.
• Two thirds of respondents agreed with the draft vision, ranking tackling climate change, healthier environments, and protecting green infrastructure as their top 3 priorities in order of importance.

Following the consultation a council report, due to be discussed by Cardiff Council Cabinet on Thursday, September 23^rd, recommends that revised versions of the LDP vision and objectives, including important changes and significant additional detail, are approved.

These key documents are integral to the next stage in the replacement LDP process, which will be to consult on strategic options for development within the city.

A series of Focus Groups and citizen’s events will take place between November and February 2022 to inform the preparation of a “Preferred Strategy” which will be consulted upon in the Autumn of 2022.  

Changes have been made to numerous areas of the draft vision and objectives in response to the results of the consultation, a full version of which is available on the Cardiff Council website. Some examples of these changes include:

• The introduction of a reference to new “low-carbon homes” in replacement of “new homes.”
• A shift from referring to a city that is “easier to move around” to a city that reshapes movement around “a core of active travel (walking and cycling) and public transport usage.”
• New references to prioritising opportunities for new homes and employment opportunities in city and local centres and “sustainable brownfield locations.”
• A move from talking about “looking after” the city’s natural, historic and cultural assets, to “enhancing” them.

Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, said: “The replacement LDP is going to shape the look and feel of Cardiff for years to come, so it was really important for us to hear as wide a range of views as possible at this early stage, and try to reflect what we’ve been told in the revised vision and objectives.

“We’re at a crucial stage in the city’s development. Cardiff’s a vibrant, exciting city that’s growing fast, but in the need to adapt to climate change and recover from the pandemic, it faces some big challenges.

“We all want Cardiff to be a sustainable city which plays its part in tackling the Climate Emergency – and we recognise the importance of affordable housing and connected communities. It can continue to fuel the Welsh economy in a post-COVID world, and be the place where people can live healthy, happy fulfilling lives in a clean and affordable environment.

“We’re grateful to everybody who took the time to share their views in this first consultation and who helped us take another step towards achieving our ambitions.”