Wandering Again Through The Welsh Labour Shame That Is Bridgend Town.

Hello there. hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will know I have chronicled the decline of Bridgend Town since I began this blog a few years back in view I would argue of the rule of arrogant incompetence by the Labour council.

I haven't done this for a while. Partly because I've moved from the area (though I still work there) but of course for the main reason that as I've been in Essex exile looking after my mother I haven't been in Wales let alone Bridgend for the past few months.

(A quick aside. I'm writing this from Essex at my mother's home after her week's recuperation with me and my wife/daughter in Wales. But tomorrow will be leaving her to return the Vale of Glamorgan, She is not 100% but well enough that I can leave her alone with a clear conscience. Barring a disaster Essex exile will be over. I'll chat about that tomorrow)

But yesterday for reasons I won't bore you with I had before work the chance of wandering around the town and decided to do just that. Now before going on need to say that it was just two hours including grabbing a carton of chips and trying to eat it on the go without dropping them for lunch, a sort of potato jenga. So this was no scientific survey, just a wander.

So let's start with good news.

This store closed down last year but has now reopened. Never seen this in Bridgend Town before but worth mentioning. However for the most part nothing seemed have changed. A few new shops cannot hide the many empty ones.

The Latest Example

I wanted to see whether there are any changes from some particular examples I've previously mentioned. Let's start with the case of the Mcdonalds. Closed down in 2000 and left to rot for seventeen years until demolished late last year to be replaced by social housing and, incredibly given the aforesaid many empty shops in the town, retail units.

Anyway three to four months have passed since I last saw it so let's see how the building work is going on.

Err....

So at this moment it's the closest Bridgend Town shoppers will ever see a gap there. Let's hope that this is not going to take as long as the resolution of what to do with the Mcdonalds.

And what about the Nolton Arcade? Where aside from the two shops that back onto Nolton street every single shop has closed down?

Unchanged

And the Bridgend Indoor Market where there are many empty stalls. Well that was unchanged as well. Personally if I was a stall holder I would think that the council didn't really care for me. Little things you understand such as this.

It's March But The Christmas Decorations Are Still Up

Even when work is done to improve the town there seems to be potential problems, One of the buildings being renovated was First minister and local Assembly Member Carwyn Jones' old office (yes even he left Bridgend Town). All very well you might think, except whilst the work is being done there is a sign TO LET on it. The question is why do this when there are empty units in the very same street and those nearby. What purpose does this serve?

There was a particular shop closure that caught my eye. The business (a florist) didn't close down but said in a notice that it wasn't able to operate in Bridgend Town and was moving to nearby Porthcawl. Now what I'm going to say is off the top of my head and I might be wrong but I think that there are no florists in Bridgend Town.

It used to have two not that long ago.

Porthcawl has two.

It occurred to me that in any region what should be the biggest town should be the one that has more to offer than the other towns in the region. In the Bridgend borough though there is more of a debate in comparing Bridgend Town with Porthcawl or Maesteg.

Bridgend Town deserves better.

Until the next time.