Legal News

Work has begun on a new urban village to be sited just outside the Welsh capital Cardiff.

Welsh Assembly Economy Minister Edwina Hart has described the £100 million development as “a major milestone”.

Known as The Mill, the new development will include both affordable and open market housing – as well as new community facilities, such as a village centre, attractive open spaces and architecture, riverside footpaths and cycle-ways.

The Welsh government says pioneering methods are being used to fund the creation of the new neighbourhood, providing homes for sale and rent to a wide range of working households on a 53-acre site once occupied by the landmark Arjo Wiggins paper mill.

The project is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs during construction.

Following the signing of a £10 million contract with Tirion’s development company, South Wales civil engineering firm Alun Griffiths has now moved onto the vast site to lay roads and services in preparation for the building of homes and community facilities in 2016.

It is estimated that the civil engineering work will take approximately 16 months – and developers and contractors will continue liaising closely with residents in neighbouring communities throughout the work.

The £100 million development has been made possible through a partnership between the Welsh Government, Principality Building Society and the Tirion Group – a not-for-profit enterprise which aims to use the same collaborative model to create high-quality residential schemes across the country.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said:

“It’s great to see work is now underway on what is set to become a key regeneration project that will see the transformation of the former paper mill site into a vibrant new community.

“It will not only provide hundreds of much needed new homes, including affordable homes – but will also bring investment to this area of Cardiff and create a significant number of jobs in the construction industry.”

Tirion Developments chairman John Lovell added:

“This is an ambitious project underpinned by an innovative financial model. It’s taken a great deal of effort to get to this stage and, now that work is underway here on this first development, we believe it will provide vital momentum that will help bring many other neglected industrial sites back to life and create vibrant communities where people will want to live.”

Peter Hughes, managing director of Principality Commercial – the commercial arm of Principality Building Society which provided loan funding for Tirion to develop infrastructure on the land – said:

“This is one of a number of developments that Principality has been involved with to support the local economy, stimulate the housing market in Wales and help people into homes.

“The start of work on site provides great encouragement to all concerned that their hard work is coming to fruition.”

The new neighbourhood will be managed by Cadwyn Housing Association –
chief executive Chris O'Meara said:

“We are delighted to be involved in this innovative project and to be working in partnership with the Tirion Group.

“This project represents a unique opportunity to establish a brand new, thriving community in the heart of Cardiff – and Cadwyn will play an important role in making this a reality.”


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