St Davids Hall Changes

The new, but unpopular plans to revamp St David’s Hall, situated in the town centre, have eventually been approved after months of negotiating. The original plans for the hall, situated behind the St David’s Centre, were blocked by the council last year, but the owners, fearing that the Hall will be overshadowed when the new St David’s 2 centre is completed, reapplied for permission for the changes to the 1980s landmark.

Originally, the designers wanted glass fins to be fitted to the front of the building, lighted by LED lights at night, but the council have tweaked the £250,000 plans to include the logo on the front and ‘‘a mirrored finish’’ to complement the big screen that is currently there.

However, the plans have come under scrutiny from many people who believe them to be irrelevant. Llanishen councillor Richard Foley, who has been fighting the plans since they were originally submitted believes that they will turn the classic hall into a ‘‘monstrosity with flashing lights’’ and considers that the plans ‘‘tacky and inappropriate’’.

Elaine Davy, from the Cardiff Civic Society, who aim to protect the city’s heritage, calls the plans ‘‘ghastly’’ and ‘‘a waste of £250,000’’. She said ‘‘dressing up something like St David’s Hall is daft. It’s a perfectly good example of 1980s architecture, and it’s a good neighbour to the listed buildings that surround it. The new St David’s 2 project doesn’t need to be liked with the hall in this naive way.’’