Why Put a Downer on Progress? Wildfox Resort in Afan Valley Looks Incredible

I’ll be honest - I’d never even heard of the Wildfox Resort being built in the Afan Valley until I spotted it in a news story the today. Straight away I thought: Wow, this looks brilliant! A brand new, modern, world-class tourism resort tucked into one of Wales’ most stunning natural valleys. Jobs, investment, attention, families visiting - it’s what we need, right?

But then I did what many of us do... scrolled down to the comments.

And surprise, surprise - there it was. The usual chorus of negativity. Allegations of bribes. Accusations of councils ignoring town centres. Moans that this won’t help “real people” or that “it should have gone somewhere else.”

Look, I get it. In some cases, these gripes are valid. Just look at the state of places like Tredegar indoor market once the heart of a town, now it is no more. Yes, town centres have been ignored. Yes, some councils have made poor choices. But let’s not kid ourselves. A lot of the blame sits with us - the public.

I’m just as guilty. I’ll happily scroll through eBay for bits and bobs. And then there’s Temu, Shein, Wish... you name it. We’ve all played a part in bleeding our town centres dry. We want convenience, speed, cheap prices - and we got it. But it came at the cost of our high streets.

So when something like Wildfox comes along - something fresh, exciting, with the potential to bring people into the valleys, create jobs, boost hospitality and support small local businesses - we should be championing it, not tearing it apart before it even breaks ground.

Same goes for Rhydycar West. These are ambitious, bold moves that put Wales on the map in a new way. Not everything needs to be a retail park or a Tesco Express. Sometimes we need to think bigger.

Want town centres to come back to life? Let’s start with a retail enterprise zone model. Cut the rates, give people a reason to set up shop, and give shoppers a reason to turn up. Bring life back through fair policy, not by slamming every new development that dares to try something different.

Wildfox Resort is a good thing. It’s a needed thing. And if it succeeds, so do we

Credit: Powell Dobson Architects

Credit: Powell Dobson Architects

https://www.powelldobson.com/projects/wildfox-adventure-resort-afan-valley



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