21st March 2008 - Great Expectations All Round
We noted that the river walkway was recently closed by RCT due to the vandalism and illegal activities that were taking place there. The Pontypridd Observer dated 13th March 2007 carried an article about this event. Councillor Paul Cannon, the RCT cabinet member for communities says it "is a temporary measure as it is hoped that the entire river walkway from the Victoria Bridge to the Park Footbridge at M&S will be enhanced as part of the ongoing regeneration programme for Pontypridd town centre." We interpret this statement as anticipating the immediate development of the Glan-yr-Afon scheme for Gas Lane and the precinct. The present situation of the project is that there is now an agreed agenda for publicly funded support which will be provided by the Welsh Assembly Government. This means that the previous developer, Scarborough Development Group (SDG), now known as Valad, will demand compensation from the public purse according to the statements made by them in the public enquiry of 2005/06.
We have lent our support to the Glan-yr-Afon scheme since we first heard of the precinct's new owner's intentions for the site. Our reason was that the scheme did not require part of the Ynysangharad War Memorial Park to be used for anything other than leisure purposes. The Glan-yr-Afon plans also include a cafe quarter overlooking the park and river and a new footbridge into the park which to improve the link between park and the town centre. We hope that the development will be able to begin soon and that the financial implication raised by SDG/Valad will not continue to stifle the regeneration of our town.
22nd January 2008 - Breaking News
The Riverside/Glan-yr-afon scheme has been given the go ahead by the Welsh Assembly Government and RCT council. Commentary on this development soon.
22nd January 2008 - Pontypridd: A nicer place to shop
Just before Christmas, the long awaited pedestrianisation trial finally began. Tonight, the Pontypridd Chamber of Trade have organised a meeting of the town's traders to discuss the impact of the scheme on the town over the Christmas period.
The scheme was devised in partnership between Rhondda Cynon Taff council and the Pontypridd Town Centre Forum. The Chamber of Trade are members of the Town Centre Forum. The forum also does not permit a public gallery and are as such viewed as a local quango run by influential businesses and senior local councillors. Our view of a partnership means that consensus decisions should eminate from the Forum with an agreed policy for trading within the town. It is not for RCT to dictate what the people of Pontypridd want.
RCT completed a public consultation exercise during 2006 which received public support for the pedestrianisation scheme. We are also in favour of pedestrianisation, however at present the infrastructure of the town does not support this. The simple local geography and topography does make access for disabled drivers difficult and closing off the town centre does not improve the situation. We agree with the Chamber of Trade's view that the St Catherine's Corner development should have been completed before the trial began.
14th July 2007 - Investing in our Future?
For two decades, Pontypridd has waited for regeneration. Some plans for the town centre have come and gone, and some have come and refuse to go away contrary to public opinion. However one thing remains; we are constantly told that Pontypridd can't regenerate without public funding.
The contraversial Angharad Walk scheme has now been around for some 15 years in various guises. The company behind it, Scarborough Development Group (SDG) insisted in the 2005/2006 public inquiry that it cannot go ahead without £13.5million of public funding, with no mention of any private finance. In 2004, the supermarket chain, Morrisons, wanted to invest £10million to build on the derelict Brown Lenox site, but after RCT council eventually passed the plans in 2005, SDG lodged a complaint to the Welsh Assenbly which led to the public enquiry and the plans being turned down on competition grounds.
In 2006, Pontypridd had a chance to see serious competition to Angharad Walk. The Riverside/Glanyrafon plans brought forward by the new owners of the Taff Vale Shopping Centre were displayed to the public in June 2006 and generated a huge amount of public support. Instead of just office and retail space, the Riverside/Glanyrafon plans included housing and a 53 bed hotel which could help draw tourism to the area.
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Down in Cardiff, the city centre is currently undergoing a massive transformation with the building of the St David's 2 shopping centre. As you can see from the picture, £675million of private investment is going into this development. We do not believe there is any reason why Pontypridd cannot also attact private investment on a comparative scale. |