Councillor brands BarryNews a ‘town without a purpose’

POLITICIANS have defended Barry after a Cardiff councillor described it as a “town without a purpose” which has been in decline since the 1920s.

Labour councillor Russell Goodway made the remarks during a meeting last Thursday about a business plan for the £1.2bn Cardiff City Deal.

Asked how important it was to share the investment across the region into smaller towns, St Athan-born Coun Goodway said: “The town of Barry, which is my adopted home, is a town without a purpose now. The purpose for which it was created no longer exists.

“It was a vibrant dockland exporting coal. For most of its existence actually it’s been in decline. The port emerged in the late 1800s and by the time you got to 1920 it was starting to decline.”

Cllr Goodway, who represents Ely in Cardiff but lives in Barry, also told Cardiff council’s Economy and Culture Scrutiny Committee the importance of exporting well-paid jobs outside Cardiff to keep Valley communities alive.

He said: “There are businesses that don’t need to be in the city. If we work together there’s no reason why we can’t encourage those businesses to be located near to Cardiff, but not necessarily in Cardiff.”

Councillor Huw Thomas, leader of Cardiff council, added some towns outside Cardiff need a reason to exist.

He said: “There are towns out there who no longer have a purpose to exist. We need to be creating reasons for them to exist again – and if possible not just as a commuter towns to Cardiff but as a foundational economy in their own right.”

Political leaders in Barry defended of the town. Vale MP Alun Cairns said: “Barry is Wales’ largest town and has seen a huge amount of investment in recent years – led by destination restaurants like Hang Fire and the hugely popular regeneration of Barry Island that it is the jewel in the Welsh crown.

“Barry is attracting investment in a number of ways – from major new housing schemes to Aston Martin nearby in St Athan – which all point to an even brighter future.”

Councillor Ian Johnson, Plaid Cymru councillor for Buttrills in the centre of Barry, said: “As a Barry resident, Cllr Goodway is well aware of Barry’s high quality of life, otherwise he probably wouldn’t live here. We are close to the beaches of Barry Island, the green spaces of the Vale of Glamorgan and near to Cardiff Airport – whilst also keeping the advantages of Cardiff on the doorstep. Barry Town United FC are back in the Welsh Premier and the town has just opened Wales’ newest – and smallest – theatre.”

He added: “Creating more well-paid jobs in Barry would reduce pressure on public transport and road infrastructure between the Vale and Cardiff, although there is a clear and urgent need for a Dinas Powys bypass and railway improvements.”

Cllr Thomas has since said he was not attacking satellite towns around Cardiff but said many areas in south east Wales including the capital “are having to reinvent themselves for the modern age.”

He said: “None of us are coalexporting docklands or mining towns any more. Those old definitions are redundant and all of us need to find new ways of defining ourselves. The point I was making, which should be clear to anyone who views the video recording of the meeting, is that that we don’t want towns around Cardiff to just be commuter towns.”

Cllr Goodway has been approached for comment.