Caerphilly residents have been in engaged in conversation over the town’s regeneration projects under the Caerphilly Town 2035 umbrella.
Excitement is building over the future of the town, and the recent engagement sessions found there was mostly a warm reception to all the plans put forward, with the proposed cultural centre having an overwhelmingly positive response.
The feedback also revealed that traffic, parking, and transport remains an issue for those living and working in the area, while the heritage of the town is important to residents and should be considered in future plans.
Throughout October and November, a four-week exhibition was held in Caerphilly town centre, where all the views gathered will be used to inform the town’s future plans, and to shape the way the project continues to engage with the public.
A launch date for the town’s new container market, Ffos Caerffili, was recently announced – opening its doors for the first time in March.
Councillor Jamie Pritchard said: “As a council, we are excited to see the individual projects under the Caerphilly Town 2035 umbrella develop, with Ffos Caerffili in its final stages of development before opening on Friday, March 15.
“We’re deeply sensitive to all concerns raised regarding the impact the Caerphilly Town 2035 projects will have on the town, and those who live, work and visit, and welcomed the conversations we had with the hundreds of residents who came to speak to us and the project team.
“The Caerphilly 2035 engagement team is looking forward to continuing its public engagement in 2024, and to continuing the conversations which will shape the future of the town centre.”
The exhibition stood in Caerphilly library for 25 days and was supplemented by four events where key project contacts were available to discuss the plans with visitors one-on-one.
Over 350 residents gave their views in person, and the Caerphilly Town 2035 team has spent time collating the feedback received across the life of the exhibition to fully understand the views which were shared with them.
As expected with a project of this size, the report outlines public feedback varied from those who are in strong support to those who have concerns about how individual projects could potentially negatively impact their day-to-day life.
The project team is keen to stipulate that all new buildings are subject to the statutory planning process’ which will duly consider the impact on Caerphilly residents through individual and rigorous public consultation and encourage all concerned residents to engage fully with those processes.
