Hot Seat South Wales West MS

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I AM staging a public meeting for residents of Porthcawl on Thursday, November 23 at 7pm.

The meeting will be held at

Trinity Church, on the corner of

Lias Road and John Street.

I have called it because so many people have complained about a lack of opportunity to discuss the many plans in the pipeline for Porthcawl. They also want the chance to question and challenge those responsible for making these decisions.

Sadly, the leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, Cllr Huw David, and chief executive Mark Shephard have declined the invitation, arguing that they have held enough consultations and are sufficiently aware of local public opinion. I beg to differ which is why I have reissued my invitation to them both. At the time of writing, I have had no further response.

But I have decided to carry on with the meeting and I know that some county borough and town councillors will attend, plus members of Porthcawl Civic Trust. I hope we can have an informed discussion about what the planners have in store for Porthcawl and get some questions answered.

It seems to me that residents have two overriding issues.

The first concerns the plan to build up to 1,100 new homes in the town at a time when many struggle to access healthcare and other public services.

The second is the town’s future as a major seaside resort upon which thousands of local jobs depend. People point to the lack of a major attraction in the Porthcawl Placemaking Strategy.

The fairground – love it or hate it – did attract generations of people into the town. But it is set to disappear in favour of more housing. There is nothing in the plan to replace it – not even a leisure centre or swimming pool.

The plans are also heavily biased towards bringing people in by bus rather than car – hence the new £4m bus station – and the plan to scrap about 2,000 existing car parking spaces, although some may be replaced if the proposed multi storey car park does materialise.

If people do wish to visit Porthcawl by bus they will be hard pressed to do so as only two bus services remain.

So come along to the meeting and have your say. All are welcome.