Bute Street

Our client wished to bring these underused buildings back into meaningful use as retail and office accommodation at ground floor level, with residential apartments above. In order to facilitate this, the proposal sought to extend upwards, whilst preserving and enhancing the distinctive character of this highly sensitive site.

The property is situated south of Butetown, Cardiff, within the Mount Stuart Square Conservation Area.

The site comprised two terraced properties of three storeys at the eastern end with a frontage on to Bute Street in Cardiff Bay, linking through to a separate building behind, of the same height which filled the remainder of the site.

The site is bordered to the north by Portland House, a Grade II* listed building with historic significance to the area. The flood risk in the area eliminated the potential for residential use at ground floor. The properties forming the application site had previously been used for retail on the ground floor, with bedsits above.

The final proposal achieved retail and flexible community space at ground floor level with the basement level used for plant and storage. 5no 2B 4P apartments and 4no 1B 2P studio flats were accommodated on the upper floors, accessed from a shared, light-filled core.