Council calls for resident responses to ambitious redevelopment plan

Anthony Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

The projects that could change the face of a south Wales town centre have been revealed.

Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council is currently consulting with the public on a draft Tonypandy town centre strategy which includes a series of potential projects that aim to attract investment and deliver positive and meaningful change.

These focus on Pandy Square, Dunraven Street and Lower Dunraven Street. Proposed projects for each of these areas would include:

• Non-spatial projects such as developing a marketing strategy, along with a list of key events and providing business support.

• Public realm enhancements that include the development of green space at Gelli Road and upgrades to the memorial gardens.

• Enhanced way-finding and signage throughout the town centre.

• Property enhancements of derelict or underused high street properties.

• Improved active travel facilities to encourage cycling and walking locally, for example the provision of secure cycle storage.

• Enhancements to gateways into the town centre including improving the appearance of the bus and train stations as key areas.

Ambitious vision

Working with the new BID (Business Improvement District), the strategy will become a blueprint for future investment in the town centre, set a clear and ambitious vision for the retail area, and put forward a series of exciting local projects, the council said.

Welsh Government funding has been secured to develop the strategy via the Transforming Towns Placemaking grant, and the council has appointed consultants The Urbanists to advise and support the strategy’s development.

There are five main ambitions of the strategy which include Tonypandy being welcoming through accessible town centre connections and promotion of sustainable travel, living on the high street with homes nestled among the shops, making history to celebrate the past and promote the future, having places to celebrate within the heart of the town to provide opportunities for people to get together and celebrate events, life, and arts and culture and nurturing business by encouraging local entrepreneurs and filling the area with traders that include small start-ups and independent stores.

The consultation will run until October 3 and a dedicated online consultation page is going to be set up on the council’s RCT Let Talk website.

Representatives

The consultation team, made up of council officers and representatives from The Urbanists, will be present at the weekly Friday market in Tonypandy on Friday, August 15 from 9am to 2pm and Friday, September 5 from 9am to 2pm.

The public can also visit an exhibition stand at Tonypandy Library where visitors will be able to view the strategy and complete a paper version of the survey, which can be handed in to staff.

Paper copies of the survey can also be posted free of charge to Freepost RUGK-EZZL-ELBH, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Fourth Floor Office, 2 Llys Cadwyn, Pontypridd, CF37 4TH.

The consultation will also be promoted locally via posters and flyers in the community, along with the council’s website and social media channels.

All feedback received over the eight-week period will be included in a future report to cabinet before members make a final decision on whether the council adopts the Tonypandy Town Centre Strategy.