Capturing Cardiff Pitch - 20 years since Tiger Bay

[Dan O'Brien]

I’d like to do a piece on the development of Cardiff Bay 20 years after the redevelopments began – where its come from, what its achieved, and where its heading,.

Twenty years ago Cardiff Bay was, frankly, a bit of a mess. During Wales’ industrial prime, the docks on Tiger Bay (as it was known then) were the world’s biggest exporter of coal, supplying the world with coal mined from the Welsh valleys. Then the 1970s and 80s did their thing, unemployment soared, poverty increased and the area’s economy collapsed. Following the success of the London Docklands development, in 1987 the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up to turn the 1,100 hectares of the derelict Tiger Bay into an environment and a symbol Wales could be proud of.

They had a mission statement: “To put Cardiff on the International map as a superlative maritime city which will stand comparison with any such city in the world, thereby enhancing the image and economic well-being of Cardiff and Wales as a whole”.

They wanted to “promote development and provide a superb environment in which people will want to live, work and play”, “re-unite the City of Cardiff with its waterfront”, “create a wide range of job opportunities and would reflect the hopes and aspirations of the communities of the area”, and have the Bay recognised as a centre of excellence and innovation in the field of urban regeneration.

The first parts of the renovated Tiger Bay opened in 1996, with the Cardiff Harbour Authority taking over the running of the bay once it was finished in 2000.

No one doubts that the bay development has been a massive success for the economic development of the area – its now home to the Welsh Assembly, high-class residential and visitor accommodation, multinational companies and a host of other major organisations. But has it achieved what the project set out to accomplish? Has the Bay really been re-united with the City or has it developed an identity of its own? Has it really developed to “reflect the hopes and aspirations of the communities of the area”? And where is the Bay heading now? There are plans for an international sports village among other things, but how does this fit in with the way the rest of the bay had been designed with the environmental impact at the top of the agenda? And, importantly, is there actually a need for this new development?

I would hope to get mini interviews with the Cardiff Harbour Authority, the design team for the new projects and views from the opposing environmental pressure groups as well as visitors and residents.

The bay also lends itself to some very slick camera shots, and there’s a lot of archive pictures available from when the Bay was a port – one of the buildings, a market hall, has remained the same through the ages so was thinking of getting some pictures from the same angles as the archive shots to compare them.

[matthew yeomans]

good idea - focus on the new development and what it can add to the Bay....use the history and looking back to inform the future plans.......