Registrar’s office will relocate amid ongoing building work
THE registrar’s office in Bridgend is likely to move into the council’s civic offices after an increase in the number of wedding cancellations was put down to building work taking place on a neighbouring site.
Ty’r Ardd, a former day centre, was converted in 2011 to house both the registrar’s office and the reference library.
A report which went before councillors on December 19 said that as construction increases on the Sunnyside site – where a housing development and medical clinics are planned – the number of weddings taking place at the registry office is likely to drop even further, risking the financial viability of the service.
At the full council meeting communities director Mark Shephard said: “We need to look fairly urgently to preserve the service.
The current site is effectively in the middle of a building site and there will be no dedicated parking space potentially for a while. We are already losing bookings.
“The initial proposal involves looking at relocating the registrar’s office to the civic offices, though it doesn’t have to be the final site. There is a large multi-storey car park opposite the civic offices.”
Officers said there was currently a significant commercial interest in the land and Ty’r Ardd building.
The council says the registrar’s office could be accommodated on the ground floor of the civic offices.
A remodelling of the area, which would include a patio area for wedding photos, is set to cost around £275,000.
It would be funded through the sale of the land, which is expected to be “significantly more” than the cost of the works.
Mr Shephard said the council was in discussions with Awen Cultural Trust about the relocation of the reference library.