Welsh Water has confirmed that the controversial sewage pumping station in Cardiff's Hailey Park will face further delays, with tunnelling work now expected to resume in autumn 2026, pushing the overall completion date to March 2027 — two years behind the original schedule. The project, which has been a source of friction between the water company and local residents, was paused in September 2025 due to unforeseen circumstances.
Background of the Controversy
The pumping station at Llandaff North's Hailey Park was first approved in 2022 and is intended to meet increased sewage demands from the Plasdwr housing development on the outskirts of Radyr. The station will pump sewage from Plasdwr across the River Taff to an existing system that leads to Cardiff Wastewater Treatment Works. However, residents, community groups, park users, and councillors have raised concerns over potential bad smells, noise levels, and effects on biodiversity. In 2023, campaigners lost a legal challenge against the development after raising thousands of pounds to contest it, arguing it should have faced more scrutiny.
Timeline of Delays
Originally, tunnelling work was scheduled from October 2024 to April 2025, with field restoration and landscaping expected to finish the project in 2026. Welsh Water later pushed the tunnelling start to February 2025. Work eventually began but was halted in September 2025 due to water causing significant flooding and damage to the tunnel-boring machine. The company had planned to resume earlier this year after obtaining a Section 61 application for 24-hour tunnelling over five weeks, but that did not happen.
Now, Welsh Water says the lack of availability of essential machinery and specialist resources has kept tunnelling on hold. The work is expected to resume in autumn 2026, about a year after it was paused. A timeline for the remainder of the work will be provided at that point.
Community Impact
Ian Vincent, from Whitchurch, who was heavily involved in the legal challenge, said the delays were having a terrible impact on the community. He stated: "They are about two years behind schedule now and they've constructed the shaft but haven't really started tunnelling at all because it flooded." He added: "A big section of Hailey Park, a beautiful Green Flag park, is just completely out of bounds, there's a horrible massive compound there. Of course it's summer now and people should be over there and enjoying the park but instead it's just a blot on the landscape."
Steph Wilkins, chair of Llandaff North Residents' Association, had previously expressed a lack of trust that the work would be completed on time.
Official Response
A Welsh Water spokesperson said: "We were planning to resume our tunnelling work in Hailey Park earlier this year. However, due to the availability of essential machinery and specialist resource needed by our contractor to carry out the work, our tunnelling activities remain on hold. We now expect activity to resume in Autumn 2026, when we will also be able to provide a timeline for the remainder of our work and reinstatement. We apologise for the delay and thank the community for their patience and understanding during this time."
Llandaff North Labour said the overall estimated completion date has been updated to March 2027, though Welsh Water has not confirmed this, stating it will provide a timeline once tunnelling resumes.
