Mike Lawley, chairman of Cooke & Arkwright, reflects on the legacy of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
I was a professional working in Cardiff when the corporation was set up in 1987 and I had a good insight into how radical the process of change would be.
The Cardiff Bay years were busy and challenging, but often exhilarating ones professionally.
Having been closely involved in acquiring and developing property within the Bay and contributing to some of the Barrage Bill work, it is interesting to stand back and see it all with a more objective eye.
At the time of the designation and the years that followed, Cardiff Bay was a very divisive, almost Marmitelike entity. The remit of the development corporation was to bring about change, and this worked at many levels.
The central focus of the scheme was the creation of the Cardiff Bay lake, which was intended to create an enticing environment and regenerate the large areas of derelict dockland and former industrial areas that dominated south Cardiff.