Barry waterfront

The Consortium behind the proposed £230million Barry Waterfront scheme has submitted its planning application to the Vale Council for the new Barry Island link road.

The road will run through the centre of the Waterfront development and, in addition to providing a direct route to Barry Island, will also provide access to the new development, including a new primary school, district centre and café quarter, waterside public realm, park areas and new housing.

The £5million link road has been designed by the Consortium’s specialist traffic consultants to accommodate both traffic to Barry Island and the new development and will form an extension to the existing Ffordd-y-Mileniwm distributor road.

Richard Keogh, speaking on behalf of the Barry Waterfront Consortium, says: “Ffordd-y-Mileniwm has been criticised for its lack of pedestrian crossing facilities, so we were determined that our proposals include elements which would make the area safe for pedestrians and cyclists to cross, linking both sides of the road to one another.

“From our original public exhibition and consultation work, through to our more recent meetings with local interest groups, we know just how important the link road is to people living in and around the area.

“This is a crucial part of the Waterfront scheme and the fact that we have submitted plans for the link road ahead of the outline application decision indicates our commitment to the project.”

The link road forms a key part of the Consortium’s scheme which, according to an economic impact study carried out by Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, will create up to 1,300 jobs across south east Wales, almost two-thirds of which will be based in the local area, and a further estimated 1,700 person-years of construction employment over a nine-year build period.

Keogh continues: “As well as providing a fantastic boost for jobs in the area at a time when the economic climate is still unsteady, our scheme also represents a major private investment in the regeneration of Barry.

“By providing Barry with a quality waterside public realm, primary school and district centre, our scheme opens the door to further investment in the local area, and follows nicely on the back of the news that Barry is to receive £9m from the Welsh Assembly Government as a Strategic Regeneration Area.

“The outline application is still being considered by Council officers, and we do hope to receive a positive decision soon so we can immediately begin working to bring all the economic, practical and aesthetic benefits of our scheme to Barry.”

The Barry Waterfront Consortium has appointed a company to devise the public arts strategy and programme for the major redevelopment on Barry Waterfront.

Continuum Arts will deliver the programme for the £230million regeneration of the Waterfront, which includes a new link road to Barry Island, a waterfront café quarter, significant waterside open space and park areas, retail space, and approximately 2,000 new homes comprising a mix of private and affordable housing.

Stuart Clamp, of Continuum Arts, says: “We are delighted to be appointed to such a prestigious, exciting and challenging project. We look forward to acting as a focus for dialogue with the community of Barry, other stakeholders and regional agencies to determine their aspirations for the project. It is clearly important that people from the community play a role in how the project will look.

“We firmly believe that the quality of a place can be improved and enhanced by the work of artists, designers and craftspeople who share their skills and vision in collaboration with the community, stakeholders and fellow design professionals.

“We hope to respond to the history and heritage of the site, while still providing creative, innovative and contemporary artworks. We are also keen engage with the local community through arts activities, interventions and events, and would look to support young, regional artists.”

Continuum Arts has been involved in public art as consultants, curators and lead artists for over ten years, and recently managed the public art programme for the major brownfield regeneration development at Port Marine, Portishead. It has already worked with the Vale of Glamorgan Council on the forthcoming Penarth Heights project.

Richard Keogh, speaking on behalf of the Barry Waterfront Consortium, says: “This appointment marks an important step in how the redevelopment of Barry Waterfront will take shape.

“Continuum Arts has experience in working on community projects and specifically in the regeneration of waterfront areas. Importantly, its work on Penarth Heights also means it is accustomed to working alongside the Vale of Glamorgan Council, which is vital as we work together to bring the vision for the Waterfront to life.”

Dr Jonathan Hicks, of the Vale Heritage Centre Coalition, says: “It is important that, when people visit the Waterfront, they get a sense of the history of the docks and the Vale as a whole, and the public arts strategy can play a key role in providing this.

“I am delighted to be working so closely with the Consortium on their ambitious plans for the development and hope that work can begin in earnest, leading to the establishment of a Vale Heritage Centre on the site. I see the public art programme being used to complement the Centre and to contribute towards the interior setting-up costs.

“This would be a wonderful facility for the Vale and a boost to the Council’s aspiration to increase tourism, as outlined in their Corporate Plan.”

The economic impact study commissioned by the Barry Waterfront Consortium has revealed that its regeneration proposals could lead to the creation of up to 1,300 new jobs across south east Wales, with almost two-thirds likely to be based in the local area.

The figures are part of a study by Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, the consultant that recently produced the plans for an enhanced District Centre that includes a new 4,000 sq ft community facility to be built alongside the main area of the scheme set aside for shops, bars, restaurants and offices.

The socio-economic benefits of the Barry Waterfront proposals could include 870 (710 full time equivalent) new jobs created by employers within the scheme. A further 175 (140 FTE) direct and indirect jobs could also be created in the local area as a knock-on effect of the development, with a further 350 (285 FTE) indirect jobs spread across the south east Wales region as a whole.

These figures exclude the additional construction sector jobs that would be created if the scheme is given the go ahead – an estimated 1,700 person-years of employment over a nine-year build period.

Commenting on the findings of the study, Consortium spokesperson Richard Keogh said;

“We have always maintained that the regeneration of Barry Waterfront would be fantastic news for jobs in the local area but these figures really highlight the importance of this scheme, particularly in the current economic climate. The sooner we can secure a planning permission for the project, the sooner these substantial economic benefits can be delivered.”