Key Points
- Cardiff Council is considering changing the use of a disused facility used by the former Welsh Ambulance Service to provide a new base for its parks services.
- The Welsh Ambulance Service moved out of this building in 2022.
- A decision on whether the council should develop a full business case to relocate the park service from the depot at Wedal Road to Bute Park following its refurbishment will be made on 19 November.
- Two-thirds of the council’s fleet is currently stored in the Wedal Road depot.
- The Wedal Road facility is in poor condition and requires a significant level of investment to continue operating.
- As part of the business case, the council will investigate the potential of selling the existing depot in order to finance the redevelopment of the disused former Welsh Ambulance Service building.
- It is expected that the proposed design will use natural materials to fit the surroundings.
- Changing rooms and summer storage for local sports clubs will be retained.
- The proposed change will be put forward for approval by the economy and culture scrutiny committee on 17 November prior to the cabinet meeting.
- According to Councillor Jennifer Burke, the cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, the proposal could provide long-term use for the derelict building and improve facilities for parks staff.
- The new Cardiff station of the Welsh Ambulance Service was opened at Pontprennau at a cost of £8 million, funded by the Welsh Government, in December 2022.
Cardiff Council (Wales Times) November 14, 2026 — It is considering whether to turn a former ambulance depot at Blackweir Fields in Bute Park into a new operational base for the city’s park service.
As reported by WalesOnline, councillors are due to decide on 19 November whether to commission a full business case for moving the park service from its current Wedal Road depot into the largely vacant Blackweir building, following a total refurbishment.
The proposal would bring a prominent building in uk/local/cardiff/">Cardiff’s largest park back into regular use after the Welsh Ambulance Service left the site in 2022. It would also require the council to examine the practical and financial case for relocating staff, vehicles and operations into the sensitive parkland location.
What is Cardiff Council proposing?
Under the plan, Cardiff Council would investigate whether the former ambulance depot could become the new home of its park service. The building would undergo a total refurbishment before the service relocated from Wedal Road.
The council says the proposal could provide improved facilities for park workers while giving a long-term purpose to a building that has stood largely empty for several years.
If the initial decision is approved, it would not immediately authorise the relocation. Instead, the council would develop a detailed business case, testing the proposal’s practical, operational and financial implications before any final decision.
Why is Wedal Road under review?
The current Wedal Road depot stores around two-thirds of Cardiff Council’s vehicles. However, the site has significant maintenance problems and would need substantial investment if it were to remain in use over the long term.
The council would therefore explore whether selling the existing Wedal Road site could help fund the complete redevelopment of the former ambulance depot at Blackweir Fields.
No sale value, redevelopment cost, timetable or final funding arrangement has been set out in the published reporting. The proposal is at an early decision stage, with the business case intended to establish those details.
What would change at Bute Park?
The proposed redevelopment would aim to make the former ambulance depot suitable for full-time use by the council’s park service. It would also provide improved facilities for the parks team.
According to WalesOnline, the design would use natural materials to fit the parkland setting. The plan would retain changing-room and storage facilities used during the summer months by local sports teams.
Bute Park is described by the council as an important and sensitive location. Any proposal would therefore need careful consideration, particularly because the site sits within Cardiff’s largest park.
What have councillors said?
Councillor Jennifer Burke, Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said the proposal represented a potential opportunity to find a new long-term use for the former depot.
As reported by WalesOnline, Councillor Burke said:
“This is a potential opportunity to find a new long-term use for a building that has stood largely empty for several years, while also providing better facilities for our parks team.”
She added:
“Bute Park is an important and sensitive location so any proposal needs to be carefully considered.”
Councillor Burke also said the next stage would allow the council to test the plans properly, including the practical and financial details, before a final decision was made.
When will councillors decide?
The proposal is scheduled to be scrutinised by Cardiff Council’s economy and culture scrutiny committee on 17 November.
The cabinet is then due to decide on 19 November whether to proceed with developing a full business case for the relocation and refurbishment.
That decision would determine whether the council moves to the next stage of assessment. It would not, on its own, confirm that the former ambulance depot will become the park service’s new base.
Why did the ambulance depot become vacant?
The Welsh Ambulance Service left the Blackweir site in 2022. The service moved to a new £8 million station in Pontprennau, which was funded by the Welsh Government and officially opened in December 2022.
The Welsh Government said the Pontprennau facility became the new home for both emergency and non-emergency crews previously based at the Blackweir station.
Since then, the former depot has remained largely vacant, prompting the council to consider whether it can be repurposed for public-service use.
Background of the development
The former ambulance depot is located at Blackweir Fields within Bute Park, the largest park in Cardiff. The building was formerly used by the Welsh Ambulance Service before its relocation to Pontprennau in 2022.
Cardiff Council’s current park service operates from Wedal Road, where approximately two-thirds of its vehicles are stored. The council says the depot has maintenance issues that would require major investment to keep it viable in the long term.
The proposed conversion would combine two policy questions: whether the council should invest in a refurbished Bute Park base, and whether disposing of Wedal Road could provide a funding route for that project. The council has not published a final business case, cost estimate or decision on the future of the existing site.
Prediction: What could this mean for Cardiff residents?
For Cardiff residents, the proposal could lead to a more visible council presence in Bute Park, with park-service staff and vehicles operating from a refurbished building within the park itself. The plan also suggests that existing sports changing rooms and storage facilities would remain available for local teams during the summer.
For park users, the most immediate effect would depend on the outcome of the business case and subsequent planning and design work. The council has said that Bute Park is a sensitive location and that the proposal would need careful consideration, indicating that access, operations and the park environment would be central issues in the next stage.
For local sports teams, the published proposal indicates that their summer changing and storage arrangements would be retained. For council taxpayers, the potential sale of Wedal Road and the cost of refurbishing the former depot would be key financial questions for the business case to address.
For the Welsh Ambulance Service, the development concerns a building it vacated in 2022 after moving to its Pontprennau station; the proposal does not indicate a return of ambulance operations to Blackweir.
