Drone footage taken on October 19, 2020, show the roof to be in a serious state of disrepair.
Text of an open letter to Cllr Huw Thomas, the leader of Cardiff council from Cardiff Civic Society:
Dear Councillor Thomas,
Cardiff Civic Society and Save the Coal Exchange are calling upon you to issue a Repairs Notice on the Coal Exchange.
Drone footage taken on October 19, 2020, show the roof to be in a serious state of disrepair. This section of the building was scheduled for immediate and urgent work in 2016, when the building was taken over by Signature Living, but no action has been taken.
We would like to draw your attention to the following information:
A2. Compulsory Purchase Orders and Repairs Notices:39 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, sections 47–5040 ¬ Under section 48 of the 1990 Act, a local authority or the Welsh Ministers can serve a repairs notice which specifies works that it considers reasonably necessary to bring a listed building into the state of repair needed for its proper preservation. If, after a period of not less than two months, there has been no material change in the building’s condition, the local authority can begin compulsory purchase proceedings under section 47 (see below).
…if there is reason to believe that a building has been deliberately allowed to fall into disrepair to justify its demolition and the development, or redevelopment, of the site or any adjoining site, the local authority can ask the Welsh Ministers for a direction for minimum compensation. Compulsory purchase orders must be confirmed by the Welsh Ministers.
We request that you act on the issue of the Coal Exchange as a matter of urgency. This Grade II* listed building is hugely significant in Wales’ cultural and industrial history. It is reprehensible that it has been neglected for many years. Any other city would be proud to make such a building a centrepiece of its cultural and tourism offer.
Yours sincerely,
Nerys Lloyd-Pierce
Dr. Elaine Davey
