Bridgend Town Centre Framework
Client: Bridgend County Borough Council
Partners: Roberts Limbrick
Place: Bridgend, Bridgend County Borough
The community need
In Spring 2018, Bridgend County Borough Council asked me to help them develop a framework document for Bridgend's town centre.
The council was conscious of its past investments through Townscape Heritage and the Welsh Government's Vibrant and Viable Places programme, but wanted a new document that positioned the town centre going forward, against the backdrop of Cardiff Capital Region and the work of the Valleys Taskforce. There was also a need to understand the role and function of, and co-relationship to, other settlements in the county borough.
With the support of Roberts Limbrick Architects, the council wanted to create a framework that:
Was fluid and visionary
Would support future funding applications
Showed opportunities for strategic partners to buy into.
What I did
I worked in partnership with the council for three months. I carried out policy and statistical research and reviewed previous studies and projects.
Working alongside council officers, I gained an understanding of projects in the pipeline and tested ideas for re-purposing and relocating activities and services in the town centre, such as education, enterprise, bed space, leisure, lifestyle and retail. We also considered access, links and infrastructure and the promotion of public transport, walking and cycling.
Using Bridgend's corporate identity, we designed a document that showed a logical progression from the town's location in the region, the county borough and the town centre itself.
We devised a vision, strategic framework, and thematic opportunities within a visually strong document that included artists' impressions, plans, and precedent images. Finally, we looked at outcomes, how they could be delivered and how they met the goals of the Well-Being of Future Generations Act 2015.
The outcome
The document is helping the council frame their conversations with public and private sector partners when looking at new initiatives.
