Take action on car park closures
WITH W regard to the controversy c regarding BCBC’s intended regeneration plans for Porthcawl to close two of the three car parks in the centre of town – can you imagine any other council in Britain closing two m main car parks?
Especially in the case of Porthcawl, which is a very busy, popular seaside resort where the traffic into the town increases tenfold on sunny days and increases by five to ten per cent every year. If this volume of increased traffic continues, by 2030 we would need an extra new car park in addition to the ones we already have.
The closure and sale of the land by BCBC would probably, to the average person, indicate a case of greed, incompetence and stupidity – which is unbelievable in its conception.
The most serious aspect is that motorists would be unable to park in the centre of town, resulting in a dramatic loss of trade and the closure of many shops. Car parking is already a problem, with cars parked along the seafront and in adjoining streets.
Further risk would be caused by BCBC’s proposal to build 950 properties on Salt Lake, which would result in the cars owned by the occupants adding a further 950 cars minimum to the centre of town.
The land of these two car parks belongs to Porthcawl (prior to 1974) and, as highlighted, BCBC’s regeneration plans for Porthcawl are a disaster, resulting in two main car parks being lost forever. Does this also indicate that BCBC is continually making false promises to make Porthcawl a premier resort?
In order to prevent the closure of these two car parks it is up to the Porthcawl people to fight and take action now. John Jenkins Porthcawl
IN response, Councillor Charles Smith, Bridgend County Borough Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and education, said: “This is one of the biggest regeneration opportunities that the county borough has ever experienced, and we are certainly very mindful that any new development will need to include adequate public car parking to suit Porthcawl’s needs as a visitor destination.”