Commendation for best brownfield development
Those were the nights
It may seem odd that 20 new apartments that are a stone’s throw from the beach at Barry in South Wales should merit a commendation for Best Brownfield Development, but it serves to illustrate that brownfield sites are not all industrial buildings or contaminated land. In this case, the land at Barry was previously occupied by Bindles Ballroom, which was popular with American troops stationed in Barry and Cardiff during the Second World War. Its reputation increased after the war when it became the place for local firms in South Wales to have their annual works dance.
Tom Clemett, who has recorded the history of Barry exhaustively on the website www.barrywales.co.uk/tomclemett/ says: “A great number met their future wives or husbands there.” By the 1950s Bindles Ballroom was booked almost every night.
In 1974 it became the Barry Variety Club, with cabaret stars such as Max Boyce, Trini Lopez and Matt Munro, but it could not match the competition from Butlins at Barry Island and other night spots.
Eventually it closed in 1982 and became a television studio, which was subsequently burned down. Partially rebuilt, it became Bindles Pub and Restaurant, but finally closed in 2000 and the site was sold for housing.
Three design schemes were refused planning permission before Capita Property Consultancy was appointed by Barratt to reappraise the design brief and produce a solution that addressed the concerns of both the planning authority and local residents, who objected to the site being used for “yet more housing.”
In the end, Capita’s fresh approach produced a solution that was not only more ambitious in its response to its setting, but one that made use of materials chosen for their robustness and sustainability in the extremes of a marine environment. Its £3- million scheme used full-height aluminium double glazing, together with white rendered elevations and titanium-finished zinc roofs, which gave a contemporary feel that Barry had not seen before. The open-plan interiors were popular with buyers, and the first-floor apartments have vaulted ceilings 9ft high. Barratt began building five blocks of apartments in 2002, whose construction was completed in July 2004, by which time all 20 apartments had been sold off-plan at prices from £210,000 for a two-bedroom apartment up to £380,000 for a three-bedroom apartment with views of the Bristol Channel. The apartment blocks are called Mediterranean, Caribbean, Pacific, Atlantic and Adriatic. Well, people can dream, can’t they?
Especially if they are dreaming of Bindles and Barry Island – and Barratt.
HomeBuilder: BARRATT SOUTH WALES LIMITED
Oak House, Penarth Road, Cardiff CF11 8UW
Tel 02920 704334 Fax 02920 707174
Contact: Adrian J Bird, Sales Director
Email: a.bird@barratt-southwales.co.uk
Website: www.barratthomes.co.uk
Architects: CAPITA SYMONDS
Eastgate House, 35-43 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0SB
Tel 029 2033 3777 Fax 029 2033 3778
Contact: Paul Devitt, Capita Property Consultancy
Email: paul.devitt@capita.co.uk
Website: www.capitasymonds.co.uk
Photography: STEVE MALLBY PHOTOGRAPHY (01342 321493)