Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:40 pm
I thought Barrack Lane would get a real boost when Admiral opened up. People nipping out for lunch, coffee, a haircut, etc. But I think the combination of (a) quite a lot of onsite provision of food and drink, and (b) most workers being pretty low paid, has meant that hasn't come to fruition.
More generally, the lane isn't helped by the fact its sort of hidden away at the back of St Davids, Hill's Street is such a dead frontage and Charles Street has died a bit of a death as a place for A3 ('Fusion'/Funky-Budda, Exit/Wow-Club and Icon have all closed (and there had been plans to open these out on to Barrack Lane). There is nothing to entice people to explore this little side lane - and Cardiffian's need encouragement to go off the beaten track when it comes to their city. As it stands, I don't see much hope, unless they can attract the kind of occupiers people will go out of their way to find - very specialist retail, or a very popular street-food style outlet.