| Product: |
Barry (Wales) |
| Date: |
11/04/01 (126 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Some redevelopment taking place...
Disadvantages: ...but is it all too late?
I was born in Barry, but moved away some ten years ago to start a new life elsewhere.
I still occasionally visit the town, and it breaks my heart to see how far downhill this once thriving town has gone.
The once fine town hall is no longer in use, with windows boarded up with black wood. The main square of the town in front of the town hall, King Square, had some fountains built upon in some time ago. These no longer work, and are full of rubbish.
The town centre and Holton Road used to boast dozens of speciality stores. Apart from those which cluster close the derelict town hall, most of these are now closed, with little hope of being taken over. In fact some of the buildings on Holton Road have collapsed altogether.
Barry Island is a shadow of it's former self. The holiday camp, which brought so much prosperity to the town, has long closed, with the chalets demolished to be replaced by housing. There isn't even a hotel on the Island !
The Cold Knap area, although still quite pretty, has lost it's open air lido, where I spent many a happy summer. The pool and the chalets sit behind barbed wire fences in a state of dereliction. The old Bindles ballroom, where many a Barry couple met, has also fallen into disrepair.
There are, however, still some pockets of hope. The old docks, silent for years, are being redeveloped as a marina which will hopefully enhance the image of the town. Barry Island beach has seen a smart new promenade built which is pleasant enough for a short stroll.
Barry does, however, look like a town dying on it's feet. I really hope that the aforementioned redevelopment of the docks area boosts the economy of the town. It certainly needs it.
Summary:
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Last comments:
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- 06/05/02 Like you, this was my home town. A brilliant place in my youth in the 1950's and early 1960's, but as you say, now sadly gone downhill. Haven't visited much since my mother died in 1995. I much prefer living in Edinburgh but a number of schoolfriends still stay there and I will admit that it was pleasant having a few pints at The Waters Edge (now an Old People's Home) during the summer.
PS I actually worked on the construction of the Butlins Holiday Camp ..... memories .... |
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- 12/04/01 It's a shame a lot of small towns are going this way. Having said that, I grew up in a place that sounds very similar, and I couldn't wait to move to the city. Soon the populations of these places will be made up entirely of the the elderly, so they just don't have the facilties to draw young families in. |
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