Riverside
Number/street name:
Canton Community Hall, Leckwith Road
Address line 2:
Riverside
City:
Cardiff
Postcode:
CF11 8HG
Architect:
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Architect contact number:
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Developer:
Cardiff Council.
Planning Authority:
Cardiff Council
Planning consultant:
LRM Planning
Planning Reference:
21/01806/MJR
Date of Completion:
11/2024
Schedule of Accommodation:
39 x 1 bed flats; 2 x 2 bed flats
Tenure Mix:
100% council
Total number of homes:
Site size (hectares):
0.55
Net Density (homes per hectare):
75
Size of principal unit (sq m):
52
Smallest Unit (sq m):
52
Largest unit (sq m):
68
No of parking spaces:
18 (8 for residents' exclusive use)
Scheme PDF Download
Planning History
Prior to the formal planning application submission in July 2021, a comprehensive consultation process took place. This commenced in July 2020 with community consultation organised by Cardiff Council to determine how the site could be better used while maintaining current facilities. This was then followed by a further review and consultation exercises working alongside Design Commission for Wales, Cardiff Council and the local community to apprise and inform design development prior to a formal pre-application process being undertaken from December 2020 – May 2021. Resolution to grant permission was achieved in December 2021, with formal approval received in February 2022.
The Design Process
Riverside is one of three ‘Community Living’ schemes that are being developed concurrently by Cardiff Council as part of their Older Persons Housing Strategy. The proposal looks to create 41 one and two bed independent living apartments alongside re-providing an existing community centre with associated garden and Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA).
The design has developed as a specific response to the housing requirements of its users, with the core principles established by HAPPI (Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation) being used to guide the process. This has led to the adoption of an innovative atrium block typology that allows the circulation areas to become activated as spaces for social interaction, the provision of daylight and to aid in legibility and orientation through the establishment of visual connections. All upper floor flats benefit from being dual aspect, with a visual connection to the shared atrium space assisting in combating social isolation.
The building is arranged as a linear form running north–south and is composed as a series of pitched gabled bays stepping from five-storeys to the north, down to three-storeys to the south, in response to its primarily low-rise residential context. Accommodation is spread across all floors, with all apartments benefiting from private external amenity space in the form of recessed balconies or gardens. The ground floor provides residents access to a shared lounge and garden, alongside staff and back of house areas.
The new community centre is interlinked with the main residential building and extends as a single-storey to the east, addressing the new community garden and MUGA.
A simple and robust palette of materials is proposed, with generous, well-proportioned openings being arranged as a series of subtle horizontal bands, expressed through changes in orientation and relief, that reference the immediate and wider context.
Key Features
• The design approach has been shaped by the core HAPPI recommendations for delivering high quality housing for older people.
• The use of an innovative atrium block typology provides a generous, daylit legible circulation space that promotes social interaction and allows all upper floor apartments to be dual aspect.
• All apartments are ‘care ready’ and Welsh Development Quality Requirements compliant.
• Ground floor communal facilities provide access to shared and private gardens.
• The scheme provides benefits to the wider Riverside community including the re-provision and enhancement of a community centre, community garden, and MUGA.
