Whenever I visit sites of Ancient Greece I am reminded of
how many thousands of years people have yearned for a ‘polis’ – a shared space
in which we engage with others, share dreams, argue different points of view, provide
mutual support. We yearn for successful towns. They are a feature of every
civilisation.
What
Makes Pontyclun Successful?
I have recently returned, on a temporary and part time
basis, to the role of being a special adviser to the First Minister of Wales –
such is the advantage of losing my Pontyclun seat on RCT Council.
One of my tasks has been to create a discussion within
Welsh Government on what makes a town successful.
I suggest that all of Wales could look with interest at
what is being achieved in Pontyclun.
We are a small town which grew rapidly up to the year 2000.
In 1980 the population was 4000. In 2000 the population was 8000 as a result of
the new housing in the Hendy, Ynys Ddu and Brynsadler.
A
Shared Public Space
Population growth does not always create successful towns;
it can just create detached, soulless commuter zones. The challenge is to
foster a shared space that brings people together. Our success in
Pontyclun has been to create a town
centre that brings people together when they live in the various villages of
Brynsadler, Talygarn, Hendy, Mwyndy, Miskin and Groes Faen.
Public
Amenities
It is a feature of a successful town that central and local
government continues to invest in town centre public amenities.
Pontyclun Primary School, with 540 pupils, is in the town
centre. Y Pant Secondary School with 1400 pupils is close by.
Our GP clinic in School Street is adjacent to our main street.
We kept our town library open and it is near to the school and shops. We have
kept our Community Centre and Café 50 as amenities that bring people to the
town centre. We recently created Pontyclun Park as a place that brings people
together.
In 1990 we re-opened Pontyclun Station and this brought
people into the town centre.
Elsewhere in Wales we can see the negative effect of moving
schools, health centres and other shared
amenities to out out-of-town, green field
sites. The gleaming new citadels of concrete and glass can only be approached
through a fume of congested traffic; and the town centre is left behind, vacant
and empty.
Voluntary
Action
A successful town harnesses the energy of local people who
come together to create and share the same space. We are lucky in Pontyclun to
have the people and the local groups that bring us all together.
Pontyclun Rugby Club, in the town centre, has over 500
playing members: men, women, young and less young. With all their families,
volunteer coaches and organisers they bring life to the centre of our town.
Pontyclun Football Club, which socialises in the Pontyclun
Athletic Club, has just as strong a playing base with the same volunteer
spirit. It brings people to the town centre.
Pontyclun Running Club meets throughout the week in the
centre of Pontyclun.
Our choirs such as Cantorian Pontyclun meets at Café 50 in
the town centre. Llantrisant Folk Club has an international reputation and
meets at Pontyclun Athletic Club.
Pontyclun University of the Third Age was created only two
years ago. With 150 members and over 20 learning groups, it brings people to
the town centre.
Churches and Chapels, such as Bethel and St Paul’s, bring
hundreds of people together in the town.
Less successful towns than Pontyclun have less voluntary
action and it is less focussed on the shared space of a town centre.
Innovative
Business
Successful town centres cannot rely entirely on shops. It
is inevitable that we will buy more and more on the internet. The town centre
businesses that succeed will offer the personal service that the web cannot
provide – cafes, restaurants, sociable bars, hairdressers, beauticians. An
innovative business like Giles Gallery offers unique products and services that
cannot be gained digitally – it brings people to the town centre and benefits
when our local voluntary groups and public services bring people into town.
When food retailers, like our Deli and Butcher, offer local and distinctive
products, they succeed.
We need businesses to locate in town centres so that their
employees can use the town centre shops and services. Businesses in Pontyclun that
provide this role include Churngold in the old chapel, Rina Consultancy on Clun
Avenue, Concrete Canvas opposite the Pant School.
A
Lively Community Council
It is my privilege to chair Pontyclun Community Council
which buzzes with energy and imagination. When we organise a Christmas
Festival, a Summer Festival, providing lights and flowers, a walking festival,
a music festival, a public park, Café 50 - we bring people to the town centre.
When the Community Council works with the volunteers in the
Community Garden and the Environment Group, we make the town centre attractive
to people. We provide the town car park which is crucial to bringing people to
the centre.
A successful town needs a lively and engaging town council.
The
Future for Pontyclun
Nothing is guaranteed – towns go backwards as well as
forwards. We need continued investment in our town centre public amenities. We
need to attract and support the next generation of volunteers that will lead
our voluntary groups and our local council. We need the excitement and
innovation of new business leaders.
The inherent tendency of capitalist markets is to
centralise into ever fewer and larger conurbations. We need governments to
provide the support and infrastructure, including transport, that allow local
towns to thrive. What we do not need is any more out-of-town retail parks.
In 1896 Pontyclun Football Club coined the socialist mantra
‘Gorau chwarae, cyd chwarae’
– those who play the best, play together. Successful towns need that same
spirit.
Paul Griffiths
Chair
Pontyclun Community Council
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