Another series of questions at this month’s full council meeting focused on support for town centres and high streets.
Cllr. Ross Penhale-Thomas (Ind, Maesteg West) said high streets were the lifeblood of our communities but were facing turbulence and uncertainty.
He asked what lessons have been learned from the Business Improvement District in Bridgend town centre and were there any similar schemes being considered to ensure as much local money as possible is spent locally? He cited Treorchy as a success story that towns in Bridgend can learn from.
The response was deferred as officers and the responsible Cabinet Member didn’t have enough information.
Town centre wi-fi roll-out continue
In follow-up questions, Cllr. Graham Walter (Lab, Porthcawl East Central) asked for an update on progress made in rolling-out free wi-fi in town centres.
Council Leader, Cllr. Huw David (Lab, Pyle, Kenfig Hill & Cefn Cribwr), said the roll-out will happen in Bridgend, Porthcawl, Maesteg and Pencoed. It’s part of a CCTV upgrade programme (as reported previously).
Cllr. Richard Collins (Lab, Maesteg West) asked for confirmation that high streets and support for small businesses remained a priority for the council.
Corporate Director for Communities, Janine Nightingale, said town centre traders were “absolutely” a priority. She was proud that Maesteg continues to have a large number of independent traders.
Bridgend Council has worked over the pandemic period to protect smaller businesses through various grants to help them change their business model and improve their online presence.
One surprising statistic is that in Maesteg there wasn’t a great deal of footfall drop-off during the pandemic; in some cases, it increased as people didn’t want to travel as far.
Rumours of Porthcawl Aldi withdrawal are “untrue”
Earlier in the meeting, the Council Leader dismissed rumours said to have been circulating that Aldi has pulled out of building a new supermarket at Salt Lake in Porthcawl.
The rumours suggest that ground contamination is the cause.
Cllr. David said this isn’t true. There are no ground issues with preliminary works nearing completion. Contractors are set to be appointed to continue construction work shortly. The store remains on track to open in summer 2023.
