Bridgend town centre change begins after years of requests

It will see changes to a number of pedestrianised streets in the town

An experimental scheme to extend access to a Welsh town centre has begun this week following years of requests from local residents.

The move to extend loading and unloading hours in Bridgend town centre along with new Blue Badge parking bays came in to effect from April 15.

It will cover a number of streets such as Queen Street, Dunraven Place, and Market Street, which have been closed to traffic between the hours of 10am and 6pm, with bollards in place blocking access to pedestrianised parts of the town since 2004. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter

Bridgend County Borough Council recently announced it had purchased the local Rhiw Shopping Centre for a sum of £5.37m in what it said could be a “game-changer” for the town. You can read more about that here.

A council spokesman, speaking about the new traffic order, said: “Part of an 18-month experimental scheme, the changes are designed to support businesses while also improving accessibility for residents.

“Under the scheme current loading and unloading hours of before 10am and after 6pm will be updated to before 11am and after 4pm in order to better balance the needs of deliveries, businesses, and pedestrians during peak periods.

“At the same time Blue Badge parking bays will be installed along Derwen Road to offer improved access for registered badge holders as part of a more inclusive and flexible approach to town centre parking.

“The scheme will be carefully monitored and regularly reviewed and adjustments will be made where necessary using feedback from businesses and other key stakeholders to ensure the changes can deliver the maximum possible benefit.”

The proposal to test these steps for a period of 18 months was first approved by cabinet members in 2025 after years of calls from local shop owners to open the town centre back up to traffic.

They campaigned for this in the hope that it would encourage more people to visit the town and increase footfall.

It followed intense scrutiny from some council members who felt the move didn’t go far enough with many who wanted to see the roads opened up to traffic and parking on a more permanent basis.

The move also came just months after Councillor Ian Williams of Oldcastle asked the local authority to consider reimbursing fines issued to people parking in Bridgend town centre after what he said was confusion around access to the area.

At a full council meeting in February Cllr Williams said there had been a “great deal of confusion” over who and what was allowed into the town centre when the bollard was down following the approval of the order last year.

He also made reference to signage in the area which he said people didn’t understand as well as a council press announcement which he said had caused additional confusion. You can read more about the council’s response here.

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