Bridgend County Borough Council has received confirmation that a funding bid which will enable it to acquire and demolish Bridgend town centre’s police station has been agreed by Welsh Government’s capital panel.
The police station site, which is located at Cheapside, forms a significant part of the council’s regeneration plans for the town centre, and has already been marked as the potential location for an all-new college campus.
Early discussions have taken place between the council, South Wales Police and Bridgend College as part of the local authority’s draft regeneration masterplan for Bridgend town centre.
With plans to move police activities at the site to alternative town centre premises and their main offices on Cowbridge Road, it is hoped that relocating Bridgend College’s learning and skills campus into the town centre would act as an anchor project within the regeneration plans and create a new modern environment for learning and training.
The planned new campus could take advantage of enhanced public transport links within the town to make it easier for people to access its facilities. In turn, the campus would support local businesses by significantly increasing footfall throughout the town centre.
The council has been working closely alongside Bridgend College for a number of years now, and together we have been considering how an all-new site within the heart of the town centre could benefit the college and its students as well as local businesses and residents. Tripartite discussions have been held with the college and South Wales Police, and while it is important to note that these plans are still at a very early stage, acquiring the police station site is the first step towards establishing this new facility within the heart of the town.
Shortly before Cabinet met to discuss the proposal this afternoon, we received confirmation from the Welsh Government capital panel that our funding application to the Transforming Towns programme had been agreed. While it still requires ministerial sign-off, this is excellent, highly encouraging news, and represents significant progress towards delivering this ambitious new initiative for the town centre.
I’m looking forward to seeing the proposals develop further, and hope that we will be in a position to confirm further details very soon.
Councillor Charles Smith, Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration
