By Lewis Smith
Copyright walesonline
A trial to test re-opening roads to traffic in Bridgend town centre for longer periods of time will be carried out over the next 18 months. The move comes after a motion looking at the partial de-pedestrianisation of the town centre was backed unanimously by members of the council in January 2025 following years of complaints from local shoppers and business owners. A number of streets in Bridgend town centre, including Queen Street, Dunraven Place, and Market Street, were first pedestrianised in 2004 with the roads currently only open to traffic between 6pm and 10am. Many described it as a “desperate” situation in recent years with calls for the roads to be re-opened to traffic for longer, or even on a permanent basis, in order to encourage footfall back in to the town. At a meeting held on September 23, 2025, cabinet members were given the results of a recent public consultation which received 750 responses with 60% in support of extending the loading and unloading hours. As a result they have now agreed to carry out an experimental traffic order over the next 18 months that will see the opening times of the roads extended to before 11am and after 4pm. It will also see more cycling allowed within the pedestrianised zone with the existing and “underused” taxi bays in Derwen Road set to be converted to blue badge parking spaces. Additional arrangements will also be put in place to simplify town centre access during large-scale events or emergency incidents. The move will come at a cost of around £102,000 to cover things like the legal drafting of the traffic order and new signage and carriageway markings. Addressing the chamber councillor Neelo Farr said: “I’m really happy that we are doing this. I think we have been asked for a long long time to explore this and I’m really really pleased that we’re here doing this.” She also asked officers how the authority would measure if the trial had been successful over the next 18 months. In response they said the main consideration would be over the safety of town centre users though added if there were any issues, potentially with the number of collisions or anti-social behaviour incidents in the area, then the trial could be stopped or amended. The report also noted the changes would likely not be a silver bullet for economic activity in the town with a separate report expected to be brought back to councillors discussing regeneration in the future. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
