Seaside town could be ‘St Ives of Wales’
PORTHCAWL could be “the St Ives of Wales” but risks going into a “genteel decline” if it doesn’t make the most of major regeneration plans, a property developer behind a range of iconic redevelopments has warned.
Speaking at a public meeting, Simon Baston, director of LoftCo, said the town was competing with places like Barry and Swansea, which both had the advantage of younger populations.
Mr Baston, who has worked on awardwinning schemes such as Cardiff’s Tramshed, the Pumphouse in Barry and the Jennings development in Porthcawl, said the town’s “magnificent beach” was not enough to attract future residents.
Porthcawl’s multi-million-pound regeneration plans were going before Bridgend council’s cabinet and full council this week.
The plans will take place over a number of stages beginning with a supermarket being built at the northern end of Salt Lake car park.
Later phases involve a housing development next to the new store, a revamp for Hillsboro car park, a leisure scheme, a hotel, coastal defences and further housing on the seafront.
Work on the plans has been kickstarted following the end of a decadeslong deadlock between leaseholders – two local families – and the landowners, the council.
At the end of last year the council agreed to pay the two Evans families £3.33m to relinquish their rights to Salt Lake car park.
Monday night’s meeting was organised by Sustainable Wales, a charity which aims to encourage sustainable lifestyles at a community level.
Speakers included representatives from Cenin Renewables, Porthcawl Town Council and Bridgend council’s cabinet member for regeneration Charles Smith.
Opening the meeting, Margaret Minhinnick, director of Sustainable Wales, said: “This regeneration has been a long time coming.
“We are really enthusiastic about this next phase, it looks a lot more likely that something is going to happen...
“Over this long period of time we have heard a lot of negativity and criticism but let’s start preparing for the type of future we all want to do with quality of life now and for future generations.”
During the meeting residents raised concerns over a lack of parking, the density of housing and the position of the new supermarket, saying shoppers would simply come and go from it rather than spending any time in the town.
Other issues raised involved a lack of activities for young people, the planned closure of John Street’s public toilets, declining footfall in the town and “stinking streets”.
Some residents highlighted the site’s history with previous failed regeneration schemes over the past few decades.
Councillor Smith said the planned development was mixed with retail, housing, parking, highways, leisure and open space planned, adding the revamp of Hillsboro Place car park would be carried out in a way which would enable another tier of parking above or below the ground if necessary in the future.
He said Bridgend council was working with developers like LoftCo and housing associations, adding that some of the housing could look like the new Coastal Housing development behind Swansea’s High Street, but around four storeys high instead.
He said while there was no planning brief for the housing development it would involve “several hundred units”.
Porthcawl town councillor Alex Harris (Green Party) said there was an opportunity to design the development to include electric charging points on the seafront, solar-panelled houses and enable people to walk and cycle to nearby shops.
Mr Baston, who is currently working on a project involving the former railway goods shed in Barry, said housing could no longer be developed in isolation and community cohesion had to be considered.
He said: “People don’t want a housing estate, they want a sense of place and everybody’s going to have their own idea of what that is. It could involve a tech hub, pop-up food places, restaurants, children’s play areas, cycling routes, etc.
“The supply chain is going to get smaller – how we live, work and play is going to get smaller.”
He added: “I don’t think Porthcawl quite understands the pace of change.
“If I went to Barry for a meeting like this, the people there would be 15 to 20 years younger, if you’re talking about sustainability you need to have that grounding of young families – they’ve got a 40 years’ tax base.
“Porthcawl needs housing, everybody needs that, and it has to come with how people are going to live now, with good restaurants and places for people to work.”
Mr Baston said public transport links were key, suggesting that with several hundred houses being built, people would need regular buses to Pyle train station and into Bridgend for the main line.
He said: “It’s fine saying you’re five minutes from the M4 but car ownership is decreasing and Porthcawl is going to go into genteel decline unless what is on offer is a new way and quality of life.
“If you change it quickly enough on a full 24/7 basis you will see John Street improve because there will be the people to spend there.
“It’s a one-off opportunity here, you can build something fantastic.
“It could be the St Ives of Wales, we need to have that level of ambition.”