Cardiff has become almost unrecognised since the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up in 1987. The plan was to regenerate the 1,100 hectares of derelict docklands and was part of Britain’s Urban Development project to bring new life to run-down areas of cities. Their aim was to enhance the image of Cardiff and to put it firmly on the international map as a city to visit and enjoy. They succeeded.
There is now a stylish mix of open space, housing, commerce and leisure facilities. The regeneration has cost £2.4 billion. The most significant achievements have been the building of a barrage across the mouth of the bay to create a freshwater lake. New homes have been built here at Atlantic Wharf, new offices and the area is also home to the new National Assembly for Wales.
The regeneration project has provided the following for the city:
16750 new jobs
4800 homes
79 hectares of open space
42 roads built or upgraded and 327 hectares of reclaimed land.
Cardiff rose to greatness as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the docks were built for the booming coal and iron trade. The area around the docks became a bustling community known as Tiger Bay and many people from around the world made Cardiff their home. By the 1880’s Cardiff had grown from a small town into the largest with it’s port handling more coal than anywhere else in the world. The world’s first ever £1 million deal was signed in the city. For advice on a website that could use some regeneration, think about Drupal Website Designer at https://www.website-express.co.uk/service/drupal-development-agency
After WWII things began to slump as coal was not in demand so much and countries began producing their own steel. The Steelworks closed in 1978 which caused 3,200 people to lose their jobs. This area of Cardiff then became a wasteground with an excluded community and high levels of unemployment. This is why the regeneration was crucial in turning things around for the city.
Cardiff’s city centre has also had a serious makeover. A new distinctive and vibrant centre has been designed and developed to attract more visitors to the city. The vision is for the centre to be a Gateway to the Capital of Wales. Cardiff Central Railway Station is the busiest in Wales and so the development wants to provide an urban layout that offers optimum people movement and accessibility and an easy route through to the city centre. Cardiff attracts many visitors and commuters and the railway station deals with over one million passengers every year. The Central Square project will see the area around the sttaion transformed into new offices, a new home for BBC Wales, a new bus station and hopefully create 10,000 more jobs.
The regeneration project will cost around £400 million and is backed by local employer and national company, Legal and General. There is clearly much confidence in this area to attract such large investment and it is a great success for the city that had hit rock bottom only 30 years ago.
