BMI Redland Cambrian Slate tops off St Davids’ last housing development for 15 years

The UK’s smallest city, St Davids, is nearing completion of its final major housing development for at least the next 15 years, with every home finished with BMI Redland Cambrian Slate roof tiles.

The 58-home Maes-Y-Felin scheme, delivered by GRD Homes, sits within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, one of Britain’s most tightly protected landscapes. With no further large-scale developments permitted in the city for the foreseeable future, this once-in-a-generation project faced intense planning scrutiny to ensure it preserved St Davids’ historic character in this designated conservation area while also delivering current building performance standards.

“Building here required careful consideration of design and durability,” said Gareth Davies, Director at GRD Homes. “We needed a roofing product that not only blended seamlessly into its National Park surroundings, but could also stand up to harsh coastal weather and help us achieve our EPC A ratings. Cambrian Slate ticked every box.”

Maes-Y-Felin is a tranquil development built to uncompromisingly high standards. The houses are traditionally built using the very best materials, giving them solidity and longevity. Time honoured touches such as native Pennant stone, Cambrian Slate roof tiles, and oak flooring combine with forward thinking additions such as charging points for electrical vehicles.

Manufactured with over 60% recycled natural Welsh slate, Cambrian provides a natural slate appearance to satisfy demands for heritage requirements. While its mechanically fixed, clipped and nailed installation provides resistance to wind uplift, which was critical for St Davids’ exposed peninsula location. BMI Redland supplied a full roofing system, including Cambrian Ambi-Dry Verge and ridge kits, to deliver consistent detailing across the scheme’s mix of single-storey and complex dormer roof designs.

The project was also supported through BMI SpecMaster, the company’s free-of-charge roof specification service which guarantees system performance for 15 years. For GRD Homes, this provided added reassurance that the roofing solution would deliver both performance and aesthetics over the long term.

To keep the build on track and amid industry-wide supply pressures, GRD Homes worked with local merchant LBS to pre-stock Cambrian products, ensuring continuity from the first roofs in phase one to the final plots still in development.

The development delivers 18 affordable homes for local residents alongside 40 executive and private properties, all built with locally sourced materials and trades wherever possible.

“This project is a milestone for St Davids,” said Damien Pooley, Portfolio Manager for pitched roofing at BMI UK & Ireland. “It’s proof that even in the most sensitive and exposed locations, the right roofing system can help create new housing that blends with its surroundings.”