IT is 10 years since the organisation formed to transform Cardiff into one of Europe’s top waterfront cities was wound up.
And the £1.8bn investment in the area has turned Cardiff Bay into a landmark attraction, not just for the capital city but also for the rest of South Wales, according to one of the main architects behind the development.
Michael Boyce, the former chief executive of Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC), said it had “transformed the whole of the south of Cardiff”.
CBDC was wound up on March 31, 2000, having overseen, for the previous 13 years, the rejuvenation of rundown docklands that had once been one of the world’s leading sea ports.
The brand Cardiff Bay has become a globally recognised one: it adorns motorway signposts and has become one of Wales’ flagship tourist attractions.
“Everybody knows of Cardiff Bay,” said Mr Boyce. “The National Assembly is there, the Wales Millennium Centre is there, its profile is extremely high now.
“It needed an enormous commitment from the very beginning. One of the most difficult things to do was to get the authority from Parliament to build the barrage, and without the barrage there would be no development.”
Mr Boyce is adamant on that point and is quick to highlight the fact that fears by those opposed to the barrage’s development over flooding and disease have not been realised.
“Nobody would want to develop around a huge area of smelly and polluted mud,” he said.
“The barrage brought water back to the edge of Cardiff; it was the most important thing and the hardest thing to achieve.
“It was the crucial catalyst for the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay. I t would not have happened without water and we couldn’t have had water without the barrage.
“That is the experience around the world, in Sydney, Cape Town, Baltimore, Vancouver – all these cities are great waterfront cities.
“They said south Cardiff would be flooded, that there would be no wildlife, no birds, no fish and a greater incidence of illness and disease in the city.
“All those things, which we knew at the time to be unsustainable arguments, have proven to be unsustainable.”
Matt Phillips, who worked for CBDC in its later years, said the development had made an “enormous difference to Cardiff and South Wales”.
Mr Phillips, who is now managing partner at property consultancy Knight Frank, said: “What it has allowed Cardiff to do is grow both in terms of being able to punch above our weight and in terms of profile. It has given a real impetus to the city in terms of the growth.
“It did see a lot of money going into it and it had a lot of private sector money converge with that as a result.
“It’s had a huge effect on the city of Cardiff and has provided options for indigenous companies in the capital to grow.”
Roger Thomas, managing partner of chartered surveyors Cooke and Arkwright, agreed.
“Today, the Bay is undoubtedly part and parcel of the city but perhaps on reflection the objective of being united with the centre isn’t so important 10 years on,” he said.
“What the development has done is enlarge the offer to residents, businesses and visitors alike, giving two distinct destination choices.
“Despite this, unification does seem inevitable as developments evolve and the heart of the city and the Bay edge closer.
“Twenty-five years ago the city spread from the centre eastwards with businesses looking at Windsor Place and Newport Road as the prestige locations.
“The city has effectively turned around on itself with the developments St David’s 2 and Callaghan Square and is now south facing towards Cardiff Bay.”
Since the winding up of the CBDC, the growth of the Bay has continued.
The iconic Wales Millennium Centre as well as the Senedd building have been completed, with the Cardiff Waterside development now attracting a host of high-profile businesses to the area.
The Bay is booming again.
