HERE’S my hope for Barry for 2017.

Better infrastructure – road, rail, pavements, cycle paths, community facilities, creating educational and employment opportunities; finish Barry regeneration off properly; connect Barry Island back via Battery Hill and across Lock Gates; swing-bridge to Thompson Street; demolish RAOB and Barclays and build multi-storey car park for High Street and Broad Street; a footbridge off Barry station into new Waterfront housing development; build BCWAC community sailing centre on the Mole; reconfigure lock gates and enable small craft to use Barry port; develop a business park with offices on Waterfront; good tourist parks all around outskirts of Barry for camping caravans and motorhomes; Dinas Powys bypass to link Barry to capital city. I feel like a stuck record, but someone has to be.

This can be funded from land sales of Barry Waterfront land which has accrued to Welsh Government already and from land sales of land still owned by Welsh Government. Trust me, Barry regeneration has not cost the public purse anything to date. It was all covered by land sales and profit to Welsh Government. Most successful regeneration scheme in Wales and producing profit to public purse? Barry of course, but not mentioned by politicians as they don’t want you to have the money in Barry - a town with three of the most deprived wards in Wales. This can happen with political will and vision and in my view with proper local leadership. It is shocking and truly sad that a Barry councillor has never chaired Barry Regeneration.

I hope that the issues I have raised will give people ambition, inspiration and aspiration so that Barry can become even better with some strategic initiatives that I have mentioned.

- many of which are the original aims that the Welsh Development Agency had when they were properly managing Barry.

Paul Haley

Former Pride In Barry chairman

The Knap

Barry