The first images of the newly completed £38 million Llys Cadwyn development in Pontypridd town centre have been revealed.
With Rhondda Cynon Taf Council announcing that the project has been finished, this is what the new development formerly known as Taff Vale looks like.
The final building has been handed over to the council by contractor Willmot Dixon and the keys given to Transport for Wales (TfW) for staff to move in next month.
The development is located where the Taff Vale Shopping Centre once stood and the council took complete ownership of the site in 2015.
It had been left derelict for many years after several failed projects from the private sector.
The final shopping centre building was demolished in 2017 and the council received £10m from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government’s Building for the Future programme with work starting in 2018.
The development is known as Llys Cadwyn or Chain Court to reflect RCT’s proud industrial heritage and this is what it will include.
Building number one, which is nearest Bridge Street, includes a library, council customer contact point and a leisure and fitness centre.
The gym will be open to the council’s Leisure for Life membership and have an 80-station gym, group cycling and a fitness studio.
Building number two, which is the centre building, is made up of office space and a food and drink outlet.
Building number three will be home to Transport for Wales’ new headquarters and the company will move some of its staff in next month but not in large numbers due to coronavirus restrictions.
The areas in and around the buildings have also been completed and are accessible to the public, including the new Taff Vale walkway running adjacent to the river.
Willmot Dixon, the construction team behind the development, said that more than 240 local people have had employment and training opportunities as a result of the project.
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A new pedestrian bridge has also been built by between Llys Cadwyn and Ynysangharad War Memorial Park.
Knights Brown built the bridge, which got £800,000 funding through Welsh Government ’s Targeted Regeneration Investment Programme.
