- Posts: 881
- Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:50 pm
OK, not Cardiff.. but close by:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/new-details-pontypridd-precinct-site-11756875
Anyone who knows Pontypridd knows that there have been plans for this site back to the late 80s. That controversy over earlier plans which involved building a car park in a small (and not very nice) corner of the town park stopped anything happening for years. And then when a scheme was agreed which avoided such a car park, it got hit by the late 2000s downturn. And then a cutdown scheme proposed after the downturn - consisting of only 5 main units aimed at value retailers - hit the buffers too. Finally we have a new scheme proposed by the council - which therefore looks a bit more likely to actually happen.
But we've gone from proposals for a scheme of around 300,000 square feet of retail space in the mid-90s, including "a department store" (most likely Debenhams), to a scheme which now contains no retail space whatsoever. Instead it includes a small amount of A3 space, and around 90,000 square feet of office space (one has to think where the demand for this space is going to come from, unless it is the public sector).
I can't help but be disappointed, even if the scheme looks quite nice. It won't really add to the vibrancy of the town, or pull more people in for their shopping. A town that could probably serve as a key retail destination for a population of around 150,000 is going to become ever less attractive as a retail destination - especially if the Talbot Green 'new town centre' gets built. Depressing!
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/new-details-pontypridd-precinct-site-11756875
Anyone who knows Pontypridd knows that there have been plans for this site back to the late 80s. That controversy over earlier plans which involved building a car park in a small (and not very nice) corner of the town park stopped anything happening for years. And then when a scheme was agreed which avoided such a car park, it got hit by the late 2000s downturn. And then a cutdown scheme proposed after the downturn - consisting of only 5 main units aimed at value retailers - hit the buffers too. Finally we have a new scheme proposed by the council - which therefore looks a bit more likely to actually happen.
But we've gone from proposals for a scheme of around 300,000 square feet of retail space in the mid-90s, including "a department store" (most likely Debenhams), to a scheme which now contains no retail space whatsoever. Instead it includes a small amount of A3 space, and around 90,000 square feet of office space (one has to think where the demand for this space is going to come from, unless it is the public sector).
I can't help but be disappointed, even if the scheme looks quite nice. It won't really add to the vibrancy of the town, or pull more people in for their shopping. A town that could probably serve as a key retail destination for a population of around 150,000 is going to become ever less attractive as a retail destination - especially if the Talbot Green 'new town centre' gets built. Depressing!