General Developments

It looks like another building is getting a lid - on Cowbridge Rd East this time.



http://www.loftco.net/projects/wellington-house

I can see why the HPP needs to use land already owned by the council in order to work but that does mean a lot of new social housing being built in existing council estates.

Obviously anything that helps with the supply of affordable homes is welcome - but it's not great for social cohesion if the bulk of the new builds are in poorer parts of the city.

I suppose the houses get built where the council owns land and for the most part that is where council estates have been built. Acording to the Walesonline article I have linked in my prebious post 600 of the 1,500 proposed homes will be owned by the Council. I guess thats probably close to the existing proportion of public/private home ownership in places like Ely, Llanrumney etc.

With house prices rising as they are I wonder whether having a council house will be viewed as it was in the 1920's/30's - ie. a safe, well built home for working people who are unable to afford to buy. I think the typical council house tenant in years to come will be call centre workers, taxi drivers, departmental managers of supermarkets, civil servants, teachers, bank workers, admin staff etc.

It looks like another building is getting a lid - on Cowbridge Rd East this time.



http://www.loftco.net/projects/wellington-house

That's not bad at all is it?

To be fair, everything Loftco do is pretty good. They're responsible for the Tramshed development in Grangetown and the Barry Pumphouse too. I think they could have gone a little higher with this one - but at least it's not student accommodation!

With house prices rising as they are I wonder whether having a council house will be viewed as it was in the 1920's/30's - ie. a safe, well built home for working people who are unable to afford to buy. I think the typical council house tenant in years to come will be call centre workers, taxi drivers, departmental managers of supermarkets, civil servants, teachers, bank workers, admin staff etc.

Unless there is a substantial programme of council/social housing building, I'm not sure how that will come to pass. At least so far, the decline in council house availability has meant that rather than housing a broad cross-section of low-middle income households, it has become more (rather than less) concentrated on the poorest in society. Given the big waiting lists we see for social housing and the priority for those with health problems, lots of kids, etc, I think thats going to become more true rather than less in the medium term.

In the longer-term we might see some changes. But I don't think it will be as described. I think we'll see the working age poor (including many disabled people, out-of-work lone parents and families with children, large families with low in work incomes), and actually more pensioners again. Why? Because with the rise of private renting, I think within 20-30 years we'll see more people retiring who don't own homes, and when they retire, can no longer afford private rents.

The groups you mention - they're going to be in the private rental sector. [And actually, on that list, teachers are reasonably well paid - classroom-based teachers get about 35k or so on average, which as part of a couple can buy you a decent home in Cardiff, and a really quite nice home in the nearby Valleys. Of course, starting salary is lower, around £22k, but even then in the Valleys, as a couple, that allows you to buy something decent. Cardiff two people on that could probably get a decent 2 bed or 3 bed in parts of the city].

I think the key is a substantial increase in building social housing which I agree is unlikely. If there was then the groups I referred to in my post would almost certainly qualify as tenants whereas at the moment the general view is that social housing is reserved for the very poorest. In that sense the situation would mirror that of the inter war years where social housing was sought after and occupied by the respectable working class and lower middle classes.

I wonder if home ownership as a concept for the public at large is actually just a blip from the last 30-40 years and what we are now seeing is a return to the 'status quo'. For example my grandparents or the generations before them never owned their own home nor would they even contemplate that as a possibility. My parents aspired to home ownership and my siblings never considered any other option. But its debatable if my children will actually ever be in a position to purchase their own homes unless they move to an area where there is little in the way of employment opportunity. A robust social housing stock would mean that it didn't really matter on a practical level but thats unlikely to happen.

I also wonder if all of the other benefits enjoyed by the baby boomers such as free higher education and bullet proof pensions are also just a blip and that we are now going through the painful process of returning to the status quo. Does anyone (even well paid professionals) under 40 really think it feasibale that they will own their own homes outright and be able to retire on a significant income by the time they are 55? Until recently that appeared to be the norm for middle class baby boomers.

You raise an interesting issue about Generation Rent (basically most people under 30) and what will they do when they are priced out of market rent private sector properties when they are due to retire (if retirement itself isn't phased out). Will the state be able or willing to provide accommodation?

Is it time to consider a more radical approach to land/home ownership such as a land tax or private sector rent controls?

The old Burger King on the side street near Principality Stadium has a lot of hoarding around it. Anyone know what's happening there??

I think that's going to be Brodies Bar - it was discussed on here a while back. London based brew bar.

There is an application in for the former Burger King on the corner of Guildhall and Westgate Street. The proposal is to create a roof terrace, some external works (new windows, some wood cladding etc) and then simplify the internal layout. They want to keep the A3 usage and are seeking a premises license.

It might just be the landlord seeking to make the unit more marketable or perhaps it's the East London craft brewer that is looking for premises in Cardiff as reported by the WM a couple of weeks ago?

This looks like the development

Is that loftco development an old snooker club? I thought for a minute it might be that pink building in the middle of the road.