Image Source: Bridgend County Borough Council
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Bridgend Council’s Communities, Environment & Housing Committee will be updated later today on BCBC’s progress in delivering its masterplan for Bridgend town centre (pdf)
The masterplan was launched in 2020, finalised in 2021 and was expected to be delivered across 10 years.
The masterplan divided the town centre into several key development/regeneration zones. Key proposals include several mixed-use developments, the redevelopment of Cheapside and Brackla Street, major improvements to the area around Bridgend railway station, a heritage trail and a cafe quarter centred around Elder Yard and Dunraven Place.
In total, around £5 million has either been spent or committed to delivering parts of the masterplan since 2022.
What's been delivered to date?
The obvious development of note is the new Bridgend College campus at Cheapside, which is expected to (at least in part) open in January 2027. Based on how it looks at the moment, the tower building on the former multi-storey car park will open later.
The redevelopment of Wyndham House by Valleys2Coast housing association lies within the masterplan’s “cafe quarter”. A separate planning application for kiosks and retail space on the ground floor was recently submitted.
The Sunnyside Wellness Village is nearing completion, with the new Bridgend Group Practice set to open later this month (July 2026).
Additionally, Bridgend Council has started early work on the redevelopment of the Rhiw Centre. BCBC bought the Rhiw for just under £5.4 million in March 2026.
The council proposes mixed uses for the Rhiw, including leisure, retail, office space and housing. It’s clear from the report that at least some of the centre would be demolished. A funding bid to the Welsh Government is in the early stages of development.
A self-guided heritage trail, with interpretation boards, was launched in 2024 in collaboration with Bridgend Library and Bridgend Town Council.
Work is underway on proposals for the town centre’s green infrastructure. Named projects include new or upgraded planters, shrubs and trees along Caroline Street, Adare Street and Brackla Street. £200,000 in UK Government “Pride in Place” funding has been secured.
The report also notes work to support and develop the town centre’s nighttime economy. It picked out Bridgend’s growing reputation for food, with several restaurants specialising in different global cuisines opening over the last few years – some of which have been supported by BCBC & UK Government grant funding.
Still in the pipeline
There’s no mention of this in the body of the report itself, but £113,000 in development funding has been provided to Valleys2Coast for a feasibility study (presumably for housing-led development) at Bridgend Shopping Centre (Brackla Street Centre).
Town centre parking surveys are currently underway to determine demand and capacity issues; Bridgend railway station’s car park has come up for a lot of discussion in the last few weeks.
The experimental traffic order, which relaxed some of the town centre’s traffic restrictions, is mentioned. Though, as has been well noted by now, this doesn’t go as far as the partial de-pedestrianisation argued by town centre businesspeople and others.
There are early plans to display artwork by Bridgend College students along Wyndham Street, but it’s clear that some of the “gateway” proposals (Derwen Road, Angel Street/riverside housing etc.) have been quietly dropped.
Proposals linked to the railway station (Tremains Road entrance, Brackla Street link, redevelopments around Court Road and Station Hill) have seemingly stalled over funding, with little to no progress made.
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