A ground-breaking ceremony was held on the site of the former Radiocraft building in Canton this week to mark the start of its redevelopment by Cardiff housing association, Taff Housing.

The redevelopment of this site is just part of Taff Housings multi-million-pound investment in regenerating derelict and disused sites across the city and delivering 350 new homes by 2026.

Taff Housing, based in Canton, is investing over £30 million in the development of high-quality affordable homes, as part of its five-year business plan.

Funding support for the new homes has been received through Welsh Government as part of their target to deliver 20,000 new low-carbon social rent homes.

The affordable homes and support provider has already built and completed over 100 new homes since 2021 and currently has three further sites across the city under development.  By the end of 2023, Taff Housing will have completed another 76 homes in Riverside, Adamstown and Canton through a programme of new build and refurbishment. With further developments planned to commence later this year, adding another 70 new homes to its growing portfolio.

Not only are the homes helping to address the shortage of affordable homes in Cardiff, but they are also helping to regenerate derelict buildings and restore economic prosperity to areas in decline.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Councillor Lynda Thorne, said

“By developing sites like the former Radiocraft building that have fallen into disuse and disrepair, Taff Housing is helping to not only tackle the housing shortage and current cost of living crisis, it is also helping to regenerate and revive the area.”

Councillor for Riverside, Leonara Thomson, who attended the event added,

“The development will be a fantastic asset to the area.”

All the new homes being built by Taff Housing are being installed with solar panels and batteries, as well as mechanical ventilation and heating systems.  They are also being constructed using a fabric first approach with improved insulation and air tightness, to prevent costly fabric upgrades in the future.

Keri Harding-Jones, Head of Development at Taff Housing added

“We are committed to producing homes that are high quality, comfortable and energy efficient. We work with innovative designers to make the best use of urban brownfield sites to create a spacious, comfortable living areas for our tenants in all our new homes. We are trialling the use of modern methods of construction that are not only more efficient, but also help to reduce the amount of carbon released during the building process. We are also building all our homes to EPC rating A and fitting them with ‘green’ technologies to ensure that they are both energy efficient and cost effective to run for our tenants.

The former Radiocraft building will be demolished and replaced by ten high quality, one and two bedroomed flats, as well as a retail unit.

Taff Housing already owns and manages over 1500 homes across the city, providing 4000 people with somewhere to call home.

For more information on Taff Housing and its development plans please visit www.taffhousing.co.uk