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What does the Labour win in Cardiff mean for planning and development in the city?

Labour has strengthened its hold on Cardiff Council following its significant gains in the 5 May elections, securing 55 of the 79 seats (from its 40 of 75 seats prior to ward boundary changes). This outcome sees Labour become the first party in Cardiff to retain control for three consecutive terms since its inception in 1995.

The Conservatives had been the largest opposition party in Cardiff for the last five years and were even hoping to gain control of the council with a campaign focused on critiquing the delivery of major developments in the city, along with their party’s ambitions to level-up investment beyond the centre and across wider Cardiff.

However, as was the case across much of Wales where the Conservative Party lost 40% of its seats, they saw significant loses in Cardiff including the ‘safe’ seats of Whitchurch and Tongwynlais – leaving them with just 11 seats (down from 20). Labour council leader, Huw Thomas, is set to continue in the role with the party’s strengthened mandate to deliver on manifesto promises.

High up on the agenda is the delivery of new homes, with pledges to deliver a further 1,500 new council houses by 2028. This comes as no surprise and we’ve seen continued investment in Cardiff, including a mix of housing types to meet changing lifestyles and needs. This can be seen in the regeneration plans for the Taff Embankment, including Vastint UK’s ambition to bring forward around 2,500 homes and Packaged Living’s Build-to-Rent led scheme, ‘Trade Street Gardens’, which would bring forward new homes and ground floor mixed-use spaces in the city centre.

Wider ambitions for Labour include the delivery of new schools, economic recovery post-Covid and implementation of sustainable initiatives to address the climate crisis such as new renewable energy projects, £1 bus fares and a segregated cycleway running to Newport.

The Labour manifesto also focuses on major events and cultural investment in the city, including developing a major events pipeline featuring a local music festival, the opportunity to host Euro 2028, and a new culture strategy with ambitions to deliver a modern arts attraction and new public art in Cardiff. It will be interesting to see how these aspirations tie in with large scale regeneration plans for the city both in the short term, through meanwhile uses and into the long term with new amenity, venue and event space. Vastint UK’s vision for the Taff Embankment that, in addition to new homes, would transform under-utilised industrial space to deliver new offices, flexible leisure, hospitality and retail spaces.

In terms of planning, Labour is looking to continue lobbying the Welsh Government for stronger powers to protect historic buildings across the city – seeking new planning regulations to protect local buildings. The exact shape this may take, and the impact it may have on regeneration efforts in the city, is unknown at this stage. However, it’s likely we’ll see more pressure to repurpose and incorporate heritage buildings into wider masterplans.

We continue to advise on a number of development proposals in Cardiff including the regeneration of the Taff Embankment and Trade Street Gardens.

The latest election results give Labour more authority to progress its agenda and is likely to see further progress on achieving their ambitions for housing development and delivery in the coming years.  

If you would like to discuss the results of the Cardiff elections, or find out more about projects in Cardiff, please contact Emily Bell.

20 May 2022