The council has bought the town centre indoor shopping centre St Tydfil as part of its plans to regenerate Merthyr Tydfil.
The council aims for it to play a major role in the the authority’s 15-year town centre “masterplan.”
Built in 1970, the semi-covered pedestrian St Tydfil Shopping Centre was refurbished in 1993 and contains more than 50 shops, including national retailers and independent businesses.
It also has an upstairs indoor market with more than 30 stalls.
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St Tydfil was owned by German property investment company Patrizia, and the three centre management staff will now be employed by the council.
Merthyr Tydfil Council cabinet member Councillor Geraint Thomas said: “We’re very excited to have purchased St Tydfil Shopping Centre.
“It’s in the heart of the town centre, between the new and old bus station sites, both of which are also owned by the council.
“Having the combined sites offers considerable future potential for redevelopment and is central to regeneration plans for the whole town centre.”
The masterplan’s aim is that by 2035, the town centre will have high quality residential, office, leisure and retail, new plazas, green spaces and “an active riverside” and to create a centre “with inviting streets, squares and routes, where people feel safe, welcomed and uplifted.”
The plan identifies the need for regeneration of the town centre and highlights opportunities for the diversification of the retail and leisure offer of the High Street and St Tydfil Shopping Centre.
Cllr Thomas added: “Ownership of the shopping centre significantly enhances potential options to better Merthyr Tydfil and improve the urban fabric of the town centre, across many sectors.
“In the short term we’ll continue to work closely with existing tenants, while also working with partners and the community to develop regeneration plans for the future.”
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