50 years ago

Extracts from the Barry & District News of August 6, 1964:

• The last Bank Holiday at the beginning of August will be long remembered for its sunshine, after a dull start to the weekend on Saturday. But with the temperatures rising rapidly, there was a rush for Barry’s beaches. The rush was at its height on Monday morning. By 1.45pm all the car parks and every available inch of parking space on Barry Island and the Knap was occupied.

• Halpern and Partners, the firm of planning consultants recently engaged by the Corporation to put forward a “Master Plan” for the development of the town between the southern side of Holton Road and Dock View Road, do not seem to have lost any time in starting their big task.

• A native of Barry and former pupil at the Barry Grammar School, Detective Chief-inspector Kenneth Lee, second-in-command of the Glamorgan County CID at Bridgend, has been promoted to the rank of superintendent and seconded as a staff officer to HM Inspector of Constabulary, No 8 District, which involves the whole of Wales.

• Coal prices went up by 10s a ton on Saturday with local dealers fighting a losing battle to fulfil orders taken in preceding weeks at the lower summer prices. Best coal has been in short supply throughout the summer, and the demand has been unprecedented.

• A Barry minister has entered the fight to save Central Park from being swallowed up by the redevelopment of the town centre, north of Holton Road, by the Ravenseft Property Development Company. He describes it as “planning gone made.” He is the Rev William Fulton of Crossway Methodist Church.

• Last year was one of the most successful financially for Barry Docks for a number of years, the port finishing with a sound net surplus of £176,994 with an actual trading surplus of £242,864, it is revealed in the annual report of the British Transport Docks Board. Although not completely cleared of the threat of closure contained in the report of the Rochdale Committee, its operations showed an increase in inward cargo from 735,000 tons in 1962 to 836,668 tons in 1963.