50 years ago

Extracts from the Barry & District News of January 23, 1064:

• The recommendation of the Barry Housing Management Committee that the David Street site be used for the erection of 100 factory-built houses has been followed by swift action by the Public Works and Planning Committee. The Borough Engineer (John Proctor) told members that an outline application or consent has already been forwarded to the County Planning Authority.

• The Barry Constituency Labour Party opened its Election Year programme on Friday with a public meeting addressed by Mr W T Rodgers, Labour MP for Stockton-on-Tees, and David Marquand, the prospective Labour candidate for Barry. Mr Marquand recalled that more than a year has passed since he first spoke in Barry.

• After 10 years a Barry Dock, Police Sergeant Bill Evans leaves Barry early in February to take a new post as sergeant in charge of a section police station at Kenfig Hill. Sergeant Evans came to Barry Dock in 1954 as Divisional Training Officer responsible for the training of road crossing patrolmen, special constables and so on.

• Barry Corporation will build a car park large enough to hold 2,500 cars to compensate for the loss of parking facilities when a Butlin Holiday Camp is built. John Proctor, the Borough Engineer, told a public planning inquiry on Tuesday that the Corporation proposed to build a car park on the site of the old railway sidings beside the Old Harbour. In addition he said, the Butlin organisation proposed to provide enough space for 1,000 cars at three points within the camp.

• Mr W N S Davies section superintendent of the Prudential Assurance Company Ltd, having been employed in that grade at Barry since 1947, has been promoted to district manager at Aberdare. Mr Davies was educated at Holton Road Schools and later at Barry Grammar School.

• Figures released by the Ministry of Labour show that on January 13, here were 548 men unemployed in Barry, and 134 women. A spokesman said that the rise in unemployed building trade workers was normal at this time of the year. Last month there were 584 men and 133 women unemployed in the town.