Atlantic Wharf
Encyclopedia
Atlantic Wharf is a southern
area of the city
of Cardiff
, Wales
. It is primarily an area of new houses and apartments located on the west side of the disused Bute East Dock and to the east of Lloyd George Avenue
. It also includes a number of refurbished dock warehouses, modern hotels, the Red Dragon Centre
and Cardiff Council's County Hall
. Atlantic Wharf lies in the Butetown
electoral division of Cardiff and the Cardiff South and Penarth constituency for the UK Parliament/Welsh Government.
on 14 September 1859. The new dock was 1,310 m in length and up to 152m wide. It was surrounded by railway sidings and large warehouses. Eventually the Bute East Dock was closed in 1970. The railway sidings were removed.
Only after 1980 did redevelopment begin around the disused dock. The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
was set up in the late 1980s to drive regeneration of the Docks area. Atlantic Wharf grew to include housing, new businesses, hotels and the conversion of three large derelict dock warehouses in the close vicinity of Bute East Dock. In 1988 the County Council built a new headquarters building at Atlantic Wharf to reinforce the regeneration initiatives. It has been described as a "remarkable gesture of faith [by] the South Glamorgan County Council".
A new multiplex cinema and leisure complex was built nearby, known as Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village (now the Red Dragon Centre). Collingdon Road was landscaped and redeveloped to form a mile-long boulevard to Cardiff Bay. Work was completed in 2000 and the road was renamed Lloyd George Avenue
.
. Over 100 years after its creation, the buildings of Newtown were subject to compulsory purchase and were demolished in 1970 for redevelopment. The area eventually became an industrial estate next to the mainline railway.
Cardiff South
Cardiff South or South Cardiff can refer to the collection of communities in the south of Cardiff, Wales. Although the usage is unofficial and boundaries are only ambiguously defined, they generally share the postcodes CF10, CF11 or CF24 and the telephone code 029...
area of the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is primarily an area of new houses and apartments located on the west side of the disused Bute East Dock and to the east of Lloyd George Avenue
Lloyd George Avenue
Lloyd George Avenue is an avenue in Cardiff, Wales. Roughly one mile long, the road links the Inner Harbour of Cardiff Bay to Cardiff city centre and forms part of the A470 road. It runs parallel to Bute Street and the Butetown Branch Line...
. It also includes a number of refurbished dock warehouses, modern hotels, the Red Dragon Centre
Red Dragon Centre
The Red Dragon Centre is an indoor entertainment complex in southern Cardiff, the capital of Wales.The complex features restaurants, cafés, an Old Orleans restaurant, a Hollywood Bowl with arcade amusements, an Odeon multiplex cinema, a Doctor Who visitor centre , a casino and an on-site car park...
and Cardiff Council's County Hall
County Hall, Cardiff
The County Hall is the head office of Cardiff Council , located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff.-Design and construction:...
. Atlantic Wharf lies in the Butetown
Butetown
Butetown is a community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early nineteenth century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose title the area was named...
electoral division of Cardiff and the Cardiff South and Penarth constituency for the UK Parliament/Welsh Government.
History
The Bute East Dock (originally called the East Bute Dock) was constructed to ease pressure on Cardiff's growing port in the 1850s. It was opened by the 12-year-old Third Marquess of ButeJohn Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
on 14 September 1859. The new dock was 1,310 m in length and up to 152m wide. It was surrounded by railway sidings and large warehouses. Eventually the Bute East Dock was closed in 1970. The railway sidings were removed.
Only after 1980 did redevelopment begin around the disused dock. The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up by the United Kingdom Government on 3 April 1987 to redevelop of one sixth of the area of Cardiff to create Cardiff Bay.-Objectives:...
was set up in the late 1980s to drive regeneration of the Docks area. Atlantic Wharf grew to include housing, new businesses, hotels and the conversion of three large derelict dock warehouses in the close vicinity of Bute East Dock. In 1988 the County Council built a new headquarters building at Atlantic Wharf to reinforce the regeneration initiatives. It has been described as a "remarkable gesture of faith [by] the South Glamorgan County Council".
A new multiplex cinema and leisure complex was built nearby, known as Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village (now the Red Dragon Centre). Collingdon Road was landscaped and redeveloped to form a mile-long boulevard to Cardiff Bay. Work was completed in 2000 and the road was renamed Lloyd George Avenue
Lloyd George Avenue
Lloyd George Avenue is an avenue in Cardiff, Wales. Roughly one mile long, the road links the Inner Harbour of Cardiff Bay to Cardiff city centre and forms part of the A470 road. It runs parallel to Bute Street and the Butetown Branch Line...
.
'Little Ireland'
The district of Newtown was constructed on the initiative of the Marquess of Bute in the mid-1800s to provide housing for the labourers who were building the new docks. The area consisted of six streets in the far north edge of what is now Atlantic Wharf. The streets were occupied mainly by Irish immigrants from CorkCork, Ireland
Cork, Ireland is a term which may refer to the following places in southern Ireland, depending on context.* Cork * Barony of Cork City* County Cork* Metropolitan Cork* Greater Cork...
. Over 100 years after its creation, the buildings of Newtown were subject to compulsory purchase and were demolished in 1970 for redevelopment. The area eventually became an industrial estate next to the mainline railway.
Notable buildings
- The Bonded Warehouse - Built in 1861 at the head of Bute East Dock using a frame of cast iron columms, in classical proportions. Grade II listed. Now converted into offices for an architecture practice.
- Spillers & Bakers building (Schooner Way) - Mill and warehouse building constructed by milling company SpillersSpillersSpillers Ltd is a defunct British company that owned flour milling operations in the United Kingdom, operated bakeries and also sold pet food.Winalot is a popular brand of dog food sold by Spillers.The name was first used in 1927 for dog biscuits...
in 1887. Grade II listed. Now converted into luxury apartments. - County Hall (Atlantic Wharf) - Headquarters of Cardiff Council, built 1988.
- Red Dragon Centre (Hemingway Road) - Leisure complex including a 12-screen cinema, bowling alley and restaurants.