A bar owner on a Cardiff street which used to be the city’s bustling gay hub says he now owns the only hospitality venue there and he is “moaned at” weekly by residents. Haydn Price is the owner of Eagle Bar - a small gay venue on Charles Street near the city centre - which he described as now being “hemmed in by flats” thanks to constant planning approval for more residential development.
With what used to be a thriving gay scene offering clubs including popular Exit, Club X, Icon and Eagle’s sauna, Haydn says the road was “always known as a commercial and bustling street”. But now - months after Cardiff Council’s licensing committee informed Haydn he couldn’t allow his punters to drink and smoke outside - Haydn says the road is unrecognisable and his bar’s potential is being stripped away.
“I worked over the road editing a national gay magazine years ago when I saw that the unit was empty and thought about its potential as an alternative gay venue,” the former journalist told WalesOnline from his small bar in the centre of the street - now with new flats either side. If you step foot outside his bar you are greeted by a constant rumble of building work on huge new apartments towards Bridge Street.
