Plans have been approved by Blaenau Gwent Council Planning Committee to change the use of the former shopping site in Ebbw Vale into a mixed use business centre. News of Mercia Real Estate Ltd buying Festival Park was announced in August, 2021, after months of speculation as to what would happen to the once popular site.
The privately-owned real estate investment and asset management company, based in Birmingham, hopes to bring a new lease of life to the site, with its approved major development plan, which is hoped to bring further job creation into the area.
The area was once known as the Garden Festival of Wales and filled with fairground attractions, plant exhibitions and a famous mechanical clock. It previously brought over two million tourists to the former Ebbw Vale Steel works. You can read about the history of the Garden Festival of Wales and its legacy in more detail here.
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It was later turned into a modern shopping facility that featured over 30 shops and restaurants, with a children's play park and an owl sanctuary. WalesOnline previously visited the almost derelict site in 2021, where one Sports Direct shop remained open in what had become a ghost retail park. You can read more about the visit here.
After years of efforts and proposals to redevelop the area, alterations have now been approved to provide premises for businesses, trades, small storage and logistic operators. There will be nine buildings which could accommodate 28 units of varying floor space.
A number of the units will be dismantled and that floor area will be used for more yard space, parking, roads, and paths. Some of the units will be modified and the canopies removed. The central mall walkway will also be resurfaced to become a service or access road.
Councillor John C Morgan, cabinet member for place and regeneration, said: "This now allows the currently unoccupied Festival Park to be developed and utilised for a variety of uses, thereby providing the site with a new lease of life. The development fits strategically with our Tech Valleys vision and addresses local need for further business units within the area.
"From an economic development perspective, we are keen to support business start-ups, support our local indigenous businesses grow and attract inward investment projects to the area. This development will act as a catalyst for future business and enable further job creation within the area.” You can get more Ebbw Vale news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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