The concept of a ‘15 minute’ city has caused a large amount of concern from people living in the UK, and, recently, in Bridgend, even if it is a town and not a city. Some residents have expressed fears that it will mean a restriction on how much they can travel, and limit their freedom.
Bridgend County Borough Council has endorsed the idea which is an international planning concept designed to ensure people have enough local amenities within a 15-minute walk or bike ride of their home. So what will change for people in Bridgend? And what does this mean for the future?
Firstly, Bridgend Council has said it is using the idea, also known as the 20-minute neighbourhood, as more of a guide, and something it will refer to while making planning decisions to try and make life more convenient for local communities. It has stressed that the idea is not to prevent people from moving around, but to enhance life in their local area. You can get more Bridgend news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Read more: Welsh Government not on track to hit climate change targets
Considering whether the concept could end up dissuading people from further afield, Councillor Rhys Goode said: "I don't accept the premise that it prevents people from moving around, if you do want to go further afield you can do. It is about giving people a choice- and giving them access to good resources on their doorstep."
The council has said it will be putting a focus on how it can reimagine areas in Bridgend for the residents living there. This is matching a mindset Paris-based urban planner Carlos Moreno has, who discussed the 15-minute-city concept in the UN climate conference, COP21, in 2015 after years of research on improving urban living. The idea Moreno had was not to develop modern spaces as vast, concrete jungles, but as more live-able neighbourhoods.
Councillor Rhys Goode told WalesOnline: "It's a planning concept that doesn't define how to do it- but allows individual areas to work out how it will work for them.
"It is a way of looking at things- and something the planning team consider in the development of Bridgend over the next 10 years. It is like when you look at the redevelopment of Porthcawl. All of that uses this concept of looking at a community and fitting it into this jigsaw of making life easier for everyone, looking at plans through a different lens and considering how they will impact communities to make them better, and healthier."
Mr Goode added: "There is no beginning and end date - but something we will look at in our strategic planning. Each community will be different and as they change we continue to look at how communities can develop. One example is the area where Poco Poco is in Bridgend. That's a lovely area."
When asked what he would like to see changed in Bridgend town centre right now, he said: "The end of raven place screams out for more of a café culture in my head. There is a sandwich bar on the corner, but the pedestrianised area doesn't really have a big café scene, but there is an awful lot of stuff I'd like to see. It is about working with developers."
Bridgend is not the only area endorsing the urban planning concept. Oxford has said it plans to be a fully functioning 15-minute city by 2040, and other councils have also started to implement the ideas. But not everyone in the city supported the idea, and protests in the area were held in light of the news.
The concept has had people debating whether it will work as a positive solution to people having to travel in their cars to get places, causing pollution, or if it will end up ruining the character of some areas. Paris is often referenced in conversations around the idea, as it is already a 15-minute-city, with daily conveniences within a five-minute walk for most Parisians.
Carlos Moreno spoke about it at COP21. The Panthéon-Sorbonne professor said in TED video discussing the 15-minute-city concept: “Why does a noisy and polluted street need to be a noisy and polluted street? Just because it is? Why can’t it be a garden street lined with trees, where people can actually meet and walk to the baker and kids can walk to school?
“Our acceptance of the dysfunctions and indignities of modern cities has reached a peak. We need to change that.”
At the same time, there is a debate taking place in Bridgend regarding possible de-pedestrianisation of the town centre. How removing a space that's just for people on foot and replacing it with an area accessible to cars once more fits in with the 15-minute city concept is not clear.
But businesses in Bridgend think the 15-minute city idea is a good one. Scott Magill, who founded WhoCult Coffee & Donuts, based in Barry, Newport, and on an industrial estate in Bridgend, who has lived in Bridgend all his life, said: "I think Bridgend town died a good few years ago. I think when they stopped letting cars through the town centre it meant there was a big dive in the amount of people visiting the shops there. The business rates are very high there which puts people off so being able to open up places like this in different kinds of areas and communities is a good idea."
On ending up in their industrial estate location, he added: "It was a happy accident for us and this location really does work. We would never like to move from our Bridgend location. In terms of other businesses setting up in places like this, my advice to them is that you've really got to think outside of the box. You can't rely on a town centre or a city centre and do whatever you think will work for your business.
"There are so many options now and times have changed. It works for us because we've had the opportunity to set up a bakery, and have a base there which has allowed us to grow. We would have struggled if we'd been anywhere else."
Venetia Steele, who runs Venetia Steele Boutiques in the town centre, and sells clothes specifically for women aged over 40, said: "Personally, I think the 20-minute neighbourhood is a great idea if it can bring communities together and we can have a proper town centre. It needs to become a destination area where businesses will thrive.
"It also needs to be made safe, though, because some people don't like walking around if it's not well lit. But if places become normal, hives of activity then people will feel confident to walk around because they know other people will be there. Making it so there's more options for people would be brilliant. It's like with me, I don't have my hair cut in Bridgend. However, I would prefer to come into Bridgend and have all my stuff done because it's local and easier to just walk from one shop to another."
Find out about traffic and travel issues where you live:
