Pontypridd’s iconic Penuel Square will undergo a massive transformation as part of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s regeneration project for the town centre.
The famous landmark area, with its historic listed Fountain, will become one of the focused main areas of Pontypridd, where visitors can enjoy their surroundings on a busy shopping day.
The enhancements will include introducing attractive new granite paving, road surfacing, street furniture, signage and lighting to the area, as seen in other phases already nearing completion in Mill Street and Church Street.
One of the most exciting aspects of the redevelopment of Penuel Square will be the refurbishment of its Victorian Fountain, unveiled in 1895 by its donor, Sir Alfred Thomas MP.
The four-bowl stone fountain was designed to provide fresh drinking water to passers-by and horses. It has since become an iconic image of Pontypridd along with its famous William Edwards Bridge.
Expert stonemasons will clean and refurbish the Fountain on site while the Council’s contractors, Costain, undertake the necessary regeneration work in its vicinity.
Part of the works will require the removal of the large tree which now dominates Penuel Square. The tree, which is a London Plane and is more suited to park environment than town centres as caused damage to the carriageway in the nearby area and also caused damage to the Fountain. It is likely to cause further damage in the future if left in place andl detract from the proposed overall aesthetic finish to the area.
The revitalisd Penuel Square will have a number of smaller town trees which will not overpower the area. They will complement the proposals with bespoke benches for shoppers to stop and rest in the area.
Following consultation with the family of Bernard Elkan, the prominent businessman to whom the tree was dedicated in 1978, the tree will be replaced by a new tree in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park. The plans for Penuel Square have been viewed by the family of Mr Elkan and they are impressed with the proposals.
The tree currently in Market Street which is also a London Plane is also overpowering the area and has the potential to grow substantially larger and completely out of scale with its surroundings.
It is with this in mind that urban designers and landscape architects recommend the tree will be removed and the area totally remodeled, allowing an open space for events to take place and attract further visitors to the town.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Safer Communities Cllr Paul Cannon said, “The steady transformation of Pontypridd is visible to anyone who visits the town centre. Our regeneration plans form the very centre of exciting, widespread projects currently being undertaken throughout the whole of Pontypridd.
“Currently we are near completion of refurbishing Mill Street and Church Street, with further phases taking place elsewhere in the shopping thoroughfare. The major enhancements to Pontypridd Train Station is well underway and the demolition of the eyesore Taff Vale Shopping Precinct is close to completion.
“Shortly Sainsbury’s will begin their work at the Brown Lenox site. Together this culminates in around £75million worth of investments in Pontypridd. Never before has this major town experienced such high levels of economic investment. The future of Pontypridd has never looked so good.”
The £10.5M Pontypridd Town Centre Regeneration project is taking place following the Council securing financial support from the Welsh Assembly Government through the European Regional Development Fund and Targeted Match Funding, alongside Council and private sector contributions.
