The first people are set to move into Cardiff’s new “garden city” this autumn. Eventually there will be 7,000 homes included in the £2bn development, which is being created at land bordering Fairwater, St Fagans, Danescourt and Radyr. It will take 15 years to complete the project, which is said will provide 30,000 jobs during its lifetime. Work has started on the first phase of the Plasdŵr development and the first 126 homes of the 630 planned as part of the first phase are now being built. Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play Play now These homes are being built on land to the north of Llantrisant Road by lead developer Redrow Homes. Developers say it will bring £73.58m in community benefits to the local area including four new primary schools and a secondary school within the development. New health centres, shops, offices, pubs and restaurants, leisure centres, playing fields, parks and preserved woodland are all part of the plans. The first primary school will be for 480 pupils and will be delivered as part of the first phase of the development. Money will also be spent creating roads, paths and cycleways to encourage residents to use public transport. As work progresses, different developers will be involved. Of the 15 homes that have been released so far, nine have already been reserved. The Mills family were one of the first to purchase a home on the development and will be among the founding members of the Plasdŵr community. Sian and her husband Michael, along with their two children Evan, eight, and Carys, five, will be some of the first residents. They are due to move into their new three-bedroom home in October this year. Project director Wayne Rees said: “At Plasdŵr we want to create a genuinely sustainable community where people can put down roots and begin establishing a home for future generations, set up businesses, work, go to school, play and enjoy their leisure time. “The Mills family, and the other residents of this first phase of Plasdŵr, will be the founding members of a new community, helping to establish and shape it for future generations to come. “While Plasdŵr will become a new community, we also want to ensure that it blends with the wider community surrounding it and provides additional facilities that are needed for the area as a whole to thrive.” Mrs Mills said: “Before we heard about Plasdŵr we hadn’t really thought about purchasing a new build home. “Housing developments can sometimes be a bit claustrophobic, but what really attracted us to Plasdŵr was the ‘garden city’ aspect. “We love the idea of living somewhere with lots of space and green, open areas. As a young family, the parks, sports facilities and cycle paths are really appealing to us. “It’s important to us to live somewhere that has a sense of community. In our old house, we would only see our neighbours briefly when getting in the car – it was a busy road so there wasn’t much opportunity to stop to talk. “We know we’ll be part of a friendly community where we can build relationships with the people around us.” The developers say that Plasdŵr is inspired by the garden city movement of the 19th century, founded on principles of “fresh air, sunlight, breathing room and playing room”.
The first occupants of Redrow Homes 's £ 2bn " garden city " development on land between St Fagans , Danescourt , Radyr and Fairwater in Cardiff are to move in this autumn . The first 500 homes of the 630 planned at the new development are currently being built . The development will include shops , restaurants , leisure centres , playing fields and preserved woodland . A school for 480 pupils will also be part of the first stage of the development . The whole project is expected to take 15 years to complete .