Decision due on new Barry college

Wednesday, 28 August 2024 22:23

By Ted Peskett - Local Democracy Reporter @TedPeskettNews

Plans for a "state-of-the-art" college campus on Barry's waterfront are set to be given the go ahead.

Cardiff and Vale College are planning to build the new facility on a brownfield site to the south of Hood Road.

It is part of a wider scheme to replace the current site at Colcot Road, which will also includes plans for a new campus near Cardiff Airport, which is subject to a separate application.

The new campus, built in conjunction with the Welsh Education Partnership, would cater for 855 students and 79 full-time equivalent staff.

It would be situated on land on the junction of Hood Road and Ffordd y Milleniwm and based next to the new home of Ysgol Gymraeg Sant Baruc, which opened last year.

A decision is expected to be made on the plans at a meeting of Vale Council’s planning committee next Thursday.

The main access to the site will be from Ffordd y Mileniwm, which is the existing access road used for Ysgol Gymraeg Sant Baruc. There will be parking on site and cycle storage.

A report on the plans state that the council’s highway development department was consulted and found the parking provision falls short of the maximum provision.

The report states: "It is stated that while the parking provision falls short of the maximum provision, consideration should be given to the sustainable location of the site and it is also noted that the site frontage is already protected by Traffic Regulation Orders."

The council report also states that Baruc ward members were consulted, but no comments have been received at the time that it was written.

Inside the building, there will be a coffee shop, a shop and dining area. The hair and beauty therapy and hospitality and catering departments will also have active street frontages that are open to the public.

The upper floors will include a gym, external garden terrace, classrooms and IT rooms.

Plans for the campus show that there will be a dining area outside with a canopy and a courtyard with a grass lawn and seating area.