Conservative candidate for Caerphilly, Owen Meredith, has welcomed proposals by Caerphilly County Borough Council to create a heritage site in the town centre on the site of the former Post Office near Twyn Square.
Plans announced by the council this week see a new building designed to complement the adjacent Tourism centre. The development is expected to include a library, a council customer service centre, a heritage centre and a presence from Gwent Police and other community facilities.
Supporting the plans, Mr Meredith said:
“This is the kind of development Caerphilly needs. In fact, I wrote to the council just last week asking them why the town centre had been allowed to become collection of empty and unsightly premises. I pushed them to take action on the Co Co Discount and Post Office sites in a way that would maximise the tourism potential of the town centre and capture some of the heritage of Caerphilly on the high street.”
However, Mr Meredith criticised the decision to spend taxpayer’s money on a new building. He commented:
“This is the right idea, but I am not sure the current plans make the most of what we have. I would rather see the existing site redeveloped, at a smaller cost and retaining its history, rather than knocked down and rebuilt as seems to be the proposal here.
“This proposal is a step in the right direction, but we need to see more radical moves to help people feel proud of Caerphilly again and encourage visitors in. That is the message I am getting from local businesses and residents on the doorstep, and that is what I will be using this election campaign to promote.”
Owen has written again to Cllr Davies to call for a more to be done ahead of the final plans expected to be published in the coming weeks.
