Bridgend Council have approved an extra £265,000 for the development of Cosy Corner in Porthcawl after asbestos was discovered at the site.
The £2.4m development will include five small retail units, public toilets and changing facilities, along with an outdoor children’s play area and public seating area with canopy. However, following surveys on the land, which was acquired by the local authority in 2020, asbestos was found at the site.
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It means the cost of the project will now increase for work such as importing 2,000 tonnes of new soil to bring the site to formation level, and replace material that was unsuitable as a result of potential asbestos contamination. Officers say that this change in the contract's cost was still within the total £2.8 million for the development of the site.
The move was supported unanimously by council bosses in attendance at the cabinet meeting on March 14, with Cllr Rhys Goode saying: "From a future generations point of view I think we can all say how thankful we should be that we did decide to undertake further surveys, because we all know the terrible effects asbestos can have if disturbed."
The area has been at the centre of much controversy in the town over recent years, after a failed community driven project under the management of Credu Charity Ltd, proposed a state-of-the art maritime centre for Porthcawl, alongside Wales' first Coastal Science and Discovery Centre. The project ground to a halt in August 2020 however, after Visit Wales withdrew from the project claiming it was no longer financially viable due to a "significant increase in project costs."
The land was later reclaimed by Bridgend by Bridgend Council who began work on the latest set of plans which were approved in 2022.
Cllr Hywel Williams added: "It's vitally important that members of the public have absolute confidence in the council that they do their job properly and as expected.
"This is a very exciting for Cosy corner and Porthcawl, and it shows a real commitment from this administration to make Porthcawl a destination of choice in the county borough, and it's critically important that residents have confidence that if we find a problem we will put it right. We've drawn a line under whatever's gone on before, and this will be an exciting project going forward." You can read more of our stories from Bridgend here or subscribe to our dedicated newsletter here.
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