Bridgend Town Centre Regeneration Masterplan
The Bridgend Town Centre Regeneration Masterplan (2021) outlines a vision for a liveable and vibrant place.
The vision brings together enterprise, employment, education, in-town living, shopping, culture, tourism and well-being within a historic setting.
The plan identifies a series of ambitious and deliverable projects. To achieve the overall vision and regenerate Bridgend Town Centre over the next 10 years, four broad themes have been identified:
- Growth
- Resilience
- Well-being
- Identity
- Development zones
Development zones
Bridgend town centre consists of a variety of uses, which has formed the basis of eight development zones:
- The Railway Station Area
- Brackla, Nolton and Oldcastle
- The Retail Core
- Café and Cultural Quarter
- The Northern Gateway
- Riverside
- Newcastle
- Sunnyside
Within which 23 relevant projects have been identified, plus a number of site wide projects.
- A new entrance to the railway station from Tremains Road and Llynfi Lane
- An active travel link from the railway station to Brackla Street
- Improvements to the Northern Gateway - to create a legible and attractive gateway to the town centre.
- The relocation of Bridgend College to the town centre
- To create a culture hub as an indoor event space
- A new town square
- More in-town living
- Better access to the town centre
- Strengthen the retail core
- Improvements in and along the Ogmore River
A masterplan is a dynamic long-term planning document that offers a theoretical layout to guide future regeneration and growth and makes the connection between buildings, social settings, and their surrounding environments.
A masterplan includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for a site’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use. It is based on public input, surveys, planning initiatives, existing development, physical characteristics, and social and economic conditions.
The masterplan for Bridgend town centre outlines a vision for a liveable and vibrant community. It identifies a series of ambitious and deliverable projects for the next 10 years that will support future economic growth and secure more benefits and opportunities for the Bridgend County Borough.
The masterplan will be used as a planning tool to improve the town centre and will used to secure future funding to deliver identified projects.
Placemaking is a comprehensive approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. It capitalises on local assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people's health, happiness, and well-being.
A Placemaking Wales Charter has been developed by Welsh Government and the Design Commission for Wales in collaboration with the Placemaking Wales Partnership. The charter builds on the strengthening focus on Placemaking in policy and practice in Wales and aims to provide a common understanding of the range of considerations that go into placemaking.
More information the Placemaking Wales Charter can be found here: https://dcfw.org/placemaking/placemaking-charter/
It is important to remember that the Masterplan is just that, a plan that offers a starting point for the decision making process which will follow. No decisions will be made without full engagement and there will be extensive consultation undertaken with property and business owners. There are a number of empty buildings in the town centre which could be used to relocate any businesses that are in a property which is part of a proposal for redevelopment or demolition.
The regeneration projects identified in the Bridgend Town Centre Masterplan will be implemented in various phases over the next 10 years. In order to take a planned to approach to delivery, an action plan has been developed to assist with formulating a project timeline, prioritising and planning projects and furthermore, identifying what resources or inputs are needed to do deliver individual projects.
The successful delivery of the masterplan will be dependent on an active partnership approach between key stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors. A strategic approach to project delivery will be taken, with BCBC acting as a key facilitator to bring together key project enablers to deliver projects that form part of the overall vision for the regeneration of the Bridgend town centre.
Funding applications will be made to number of funding bodies to deliver projects, some of which include:
- UK Government
- Welsh Government
- Cardiff Capital Region
- Private Investment
- And various other funders
The previous Bridgend Town Centre Masterplan which was adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) in 2011. It was based on retail-led regeneration and an overarching vision for the period up to 2020.
The overall vision was to ‘ensure that Bridgend town centre expands its retail offer and fulfils its potential as a thriving, vibrant and accessible market town’.
The new masterplan for the Bridgend town centre is regeneration focussed. It outlines a vision for a liveable and vibrant community. It identifies a series of ambitious and deliverable projects for the next ten years that will support future economic growth and secure more benefits and opportunities for Bridgend County Borough.
A Compulsory Purchase Order is when the Government, Councils or Utility Companies in certain circumstances have a Statutory Right to buy a property or take a right over it. In order to exercise such rights the body must meet set criteria as laid down by statute, in particular the authority must prove the purchase is in the public interest.
The Bridgend town centre masterplan has been produced to provide a strategic direction to the management of the town centre development over the next 10 years. It is an aspirational vision and is at consultation stage. When the project planning stage begins, this is when a Compulsory Purchase Order could potentially be carried out in order to take projects through to development stage
Contact
Bridgend County Borough Council Regeneration
Email:
regeneration@bridgend.gov.uk
Address:
Civic Offices,
Angel Street,
CF31 4WB.