There are plans to demolish the former Marks & Spencer building and Dorothy Perkins and Burtons building in Pontypridd town centre to make way for future redevelopment of the sites.
A report on the Pontypridd Placemaking Plan set to go before Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s cabinet on Monday, February 28 gives an update on the properties at 96-99a and 100-102 Taff Street.
It recommends cabinet agree to a grant funding application being submitted to Welsh Government to demolish the buildings due to their dilapidated and structural state and general poor quality and to start the demolition process if and when funding is in place and on the securing of any necessary statutory consents.
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In March 2021, the empty buildings formerly occupied by Marks & Spencer, Dorothy Perkins and Burtons, were bought with investment from the council and Welsh Government.
Located opposite the former Bingo Hall site and adjacent to Ynysangharad War Memorial Park, the report said these vacant properties provide an “exciting development opportunity.”
“Early design work commissioned to explore opportunities for the site demonstrate that the properties provide a great opportunity to open the town centre towards the river and the park and to provide a range of leisure, commercial and retail uses in this location,” the report said.
The property formerly occupied by Marks & Spencer has been empty since 2015.
It has been suffering from a lack of maintenance and is in poor condition needing extensive refurbishment and upgrading works both inside and outside, the report said.
It added that the property will continue to deteriorate without significant expenditure and structural surveys have deemed that the building is beyond economic repair and consideration is now needed regarding demolition to maximise the redevelopment opportunity in this “prime location.”
On the Burtons and Dorothy Perkins building, the report said that while it appears to have been maintained in relatively good condition by its previous owners, the building itself is of “poor architectural quality “and “detrimental” to the character of the high street and to the integrity of the conservation area within which it is located.
“It is recommended that the Marks & Spencer and Dorothy Perkins/Burtons buildings are demolished to allow future redevelopment of the whole site, shaped by the public engagement sought by this report and through the process of securing all necessary planning and other consents,” the report added.
The grant funding for the demolition would come from the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme with a maximum 70% contribution towards the associated costs.
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