New Pontypridd Taff Vale precinct office plans submitted

New plans for a riverfront office, restaurant and car park development in Pontypridd have been submitted.

Earlier proposals for a shopping centre on the site in the Rhondda Cynon Taff town fell through in 2012 after the developer went into receivership.

The former Taff Vale Precinct was demolished in 2011 and the site has remained empty since.

The council is investing £1.5m in the site's redevelopment.

The proposals include three buildings with a walkway linking Taff Street to the river with views across to Ynysangharad War Memorial Park.

An artist's impression of the new Taff Vale development

The council, which already owned the freehold, bought the leasehold of the site in 2015 in a bid to push the scheme forward.

Council leader Andrew Morgan said previous retail-led schemes planned for the area had failed, but he hoped the new office-led plans would bring "hundreds of people into the town, who in turn will spend their money locally and dramatically increase footfall".

"If we just simply brought forward proposals for a retail-only development, we could have potentially pulled existing retailers away from southern part of Pontypridd, even if a retail-led scheme could actually be delivered, which is very doubtful in this current retail climate," he said.

Robert Bevan, cabinet member for economic development and planning, said the project was "incredibly exciting".

"While ambitious, I firmly believe this is a deliverable proposal which will develop upon the potential which the Metro and City Deal have to offer for our wider economy," he said.

Subject to planning permission being granted in autumn, Mr Morgan said work could start in the "near future".