The Decline Of Pontypridd

Nothing represents the decline of Pontypridd better than the rotting Taff Vale Precinct and the regeneration plans (and local councillors for that matter) that have come and gone in the last six years. A post-war shopping precinct that reminds me of similar places from a childhood in my beloved Yorkshire, the sooner they tear this place down and start again the better.

Unfortunately, the proposals to replace the precinct have smelt as bad as the precinct itself. One previous plan called for the building of a car park within Pontypridd’s War Memorial Park - another Pontypridd landmark that successive Labour and Plyd Cymru administrations are famous for neglecting. With the rise of out-of-town shopping over at Talbot Green (30 mins by car from Pontypridd today; much more accessible once the Church Village by-pass has been completed) and more recently at Merthyr Tydfil (15 mins by car), plus new developments down in Cardiff (the St. Davids 2 project, and the new shopping area to go along with Cardiff City’s new stadium at Leckwork) to go along with the many existing shops of our capital city, Pontypridd isn’t just being left behind, it’s having the wealth sucked out of it - and indeed out of the entire borough. And that’s something that the entire Rhondda Cynon Taf district cannot afford forever (as those of us in the south of the district have the heaviest council tax burden).

Want to know more? Read my blog article.