The well-known Cardiff buildings that soon won't exist with landmarks set to be demolished

Cardiff is in a state of flux. While towering new high-rise apartment blocks pop up around the city other buildings are making way for them.

Within the next year things could look very different in the capital. For the latest Cardiff news sign up to our newsletter here.

In a very short walk around the city centre you'll find the Central Quay, Anchor Works, Copperworks, and Wood Street House development. But travel just a few minutes in any direction and you'll find an old cinema, bar, or shopping centre being torn down.

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From the Red Dragon Centre to the former home of Porter's bar, here are some of the Cardiff buildings we'll be saying goodbye to – some of them very soon.

Gaiety Cinema

The domed façade of the Gaiety Cinema is one of City Road's most recognisable sights. But if the most recent plans go ahead it might not be there for much longer. The building ceased to be a cinema in 1961 and is better-known to many as either a bingo hall for several decades or as Spin Bar and Bowling Alley – a guise it operated under from the late 1990s until it closed in 2006.

For a time it was occupied by squatters and has been the subject of several unsuccessful redevelopments – including plans for a pub, a bar and restaurant, a block of student flats, and a car park. Now new owners Draycott Group want to turn it into an affordable housing block with the exact details – or timings for demolition – yet to be revealed. Draycott Group are the same developers behind the Harlech Court redevelopment, which is significantly further under way.

Harlech Court - AKA the old Porter's

Opposite the Utilita Arena, next to the Park Inn by Radisson hotel and across the tracks from the University of South Wales Cardiff campus, is a short, wide building made to look very small indeed by the Altolusso building towering over it. Currently consisting of the main Harlech Court building, an office block behind it, and a car parking platform shared by a neighbouring hotel – which itself will not be demolished – the site was formerly home to much-loved Porter's bar.

Porter's itself is happily settled in a new venue – you can find it at 9 Barrack Lane. But its former home is set to be "bulldozed" as its owners indicated back in 2022. Plans first appeared two years ago for a block of flats on the site which could reach 35 storeys – making it possibly the tallest building in Wales by the time it arrives depending on how it other plans shape up including those for a similarly-sized tower in Wood Street.

There was some strong opposition when the plans were first announced and the process has, self-evidently, taken a while. The latest update came in March when Cardiff Council confirmed prior approval would be required for the site's demolition, which can go ahead if the appropriate details are provided by developers.

Llanishen tax office

The demolition of the former tax office in Llanishen off Ty Glas Road has been on the horizon for a while with plans approved in August 2022 and work beginning in June 2023. Now huge chunks are being torn out of the structures as contractors get through the bulk of the work.

The buildings have been part of the Cardiff skyline – if not a beloved part certainly a familiar one – since 1968. Now new pictures from our photographer have captured the progress as the site is razed to the ground.

The Red Dragon Centre

Out with the old and in with the new in Cardiff Bay where one of the city's most expensive projects is on the horizon – an arena which, in 2023, saw its projected cost jump by £100m. Currently the Red Dragon Centre, which the council acquired in 2019, is set to be demolished to make way for new development as part of the Atlantic Wharf scheme which will include the new 17,000-capacity arena.

The Red Dragon Centre itself, home to the Odeon cinema, Hollywood Bowl and a handful of restaurants, will be a source of nostalgia for anyone who grew up in Cardiff in the 2000s. Having first opened in 1997 it is also home to radio station Capital South Wales.

Debenhams

The closure of Debenhams in 2021 was a big moment for the UK's retail sector but its aftermath may have been bigger. In every decent-sized city where there was once a Debenhams there is now a headache over how to replace it and, in Cardiff, St David's centre owners Landsec have deemed there simply isn't the demand for a retail site of this size and nature.

The building is therefore set to be knocked down entirely. Work is still set to begin this spring, according to organisers, meaning it should start soon. If all goes to plan the main demolition is set to finish in spring 2025.

The current plan is for an open square to be built on the site and opened to the public in summer 2026. Plans are at a very early stage with the first phase of consultation recently completed and a planning application is only set to be submitted in July 2024.

According to current designs the square could include play areas, a water play feature, an events area – for example to host a seasonal ice rink – and a stage for shows and events. You can read more about that here.

Channel View high-rise - but things are more complicated with this one

This entry on the list is a significantly bigger question mark than the others. The Channel View high-rise is set to be demolished – or at least residents were told it would be in 2016. They were promised they would be moved into new flats but have now been informed the new-builds have been delayed and they could stay in Channel View for another four years – feeling in "limbo" and dealing with black mould and "horrendous" plumbing issues.

You can read more about the troubled recent history of Channel View here. A Cardiff council spokesman said a decision was made not to re-clad Channel View post-Grenfell but instead redevelop the area with 400 energy-efficient low-carbon homes with 180 of them replacements for existing council-managed properties.

The council said work is now under way on site for phase one – including two buildings – for which Channel View residents will get first priority. The spokesman added that fire safety is taken "very seriously" in the building and a full review is under way to ascertain improvements to be made while tenants wait to move.