The former Clare Road tram depot in Cardiff is to be put up for sale by the local Council when they move their service vehicles to a new site in the city. The depot dates from 1902 and after closure of the tramway in 1946 was used for trolleybuses until 1953 following which the Council took on the property to store service vehicles. But the council are now moving to new premises and so are looking for an alternative use for the depot which could be as an art gallery if plans from 2003 are resurrected.
Cllr Ashley Glover, Grangetown, said: “We have got to test the market to see what the interest is but certainly we’re also working on other alternatives for the use. It’s got to be best value for the taxpayer, not just in monetary terms. I certainly think it needs to be a bit more community benefit coming from that site. I’d like to see a centre like Chapter [an arts centre elsewhere in the city] there, we’re working on a university link-up. It’s a listed building so there’s limited use of the site.”
The depot is Grade II listed and was one of six tram depots which once stood in the Welsh capital. The others being: Wood Street (built 1872, closed 1938), Severn Road (built 1879, closed 1902), Harbour Road (built 1881, closed 1903), Lucas Street (built 1886, closed 1902) and Roath (built 1902, closed to trams 1950 but was retained for trolleybuses and then buses until 1986).