if
it's about Cardiff..
Sport, Entertainment, Transportation, Business,
Development Projects, Leisure, Eating, Drinking,
Nightlife, Shopping, Train Spotting! etc.. then we want it here!
"... they put our shower of shite in the shade.They seem to be so proactive and forward thinking. Bristol has such a village mentality"
"We have missed out massively over the years on central funding hence the continued monotonous private residential and office developments on every bit of spare land in central Bristol. Cardiff get Cardiff Bay....we get a new foyer for the colston hall!"
"The Cardiff Bay area just gets better and better and this latest development looks awesome, as others have said compare and contrast to the Bristol Harbourside and you can see what a lost opportunity that has been."
"When I went to Cardiff for that pray-off final I was gobsmacked. I was a student there thirty years earlier and it was ten years behind us, when I went back it was ten years ahead. By all accounts the gap is growing."
"Cardiff has been transformed over the last 15 years, mainly due to being a capital and getting devolution."
"Before devolution being Welsh capital had relatively little effect, but now it's the seat of the devolved national government the results are clear to see." etc... etc...
Interesting that Bristol people feel they're falling behind.
interesting. I suppose familiarity breeds contempt. How we always talk of having a secondary centre like Bristol or the commercial sector like Bristol.
I think they are correct thought, for a slightly smaller city we do have much more going for us. Being a capital helps. I don't think devolution has helped much though. I'd say the only development linked to devolution would be the Senedd.
We don't get any EU money in Cardiff - that's a myth. I agree we do have more public sector workers and that is something I think that needs addressing. I doubt that has resulted in significant funding for development though. I'm pretty sure most of the funding is private sector (happy to be corrected if that is not the case). Saying that, we've had some pretty good investment in public facilties: WMC, RWCMD, the various university buildings, canoeing/surfing centre. We also have bute park, llandaff fields, pontcanna fields, roath park.
I agree with much of that, Jantra. The three big public investments have been the barrage and, if you count lottery money as public money, the Millenium Stadium and Millenium Centre.
Two of those were pre-devolution but I think it's probably fair to say they all came about in part because of Cardiff's status as a capital city. I think the designation of Cardiff as the capital in 1955 is the key factor. Ironicaly that move was dismissed at the time by Jim Callaghan who claimed "it won't create a single job"!
It's interesting to see what one of our closest neighbors thinks of us. Although I haven't really seen old photos of Bristol to compare to how it has changed, I have seen old photos of Cardiff, and I think a resident from fifty years ago would probably have a hard time recognizing it as it is today.
Though Cardiff was in the doldrums pre-1999, I never really swallowed the idea that Bristol was ever that much ahead before devolution.
If anything, after visiting the place a few times recently after a very long hiatus, I would say it's improved massively from what I remember of it during the 80s and early 90s; Apart from the nightlife, I would say Bristol was a pretty awful place to be during that period; Very very rundown and grotty, with lots of dereliction, even in Clifton. The crime rate was staggering, with smack and crack incredibly easy to get hold of. Public and cultural facilities were poor, not to mention an even poorer retail scene. Even Cardiff airport was superior to Lulsgate.
Maybe something changed in the late 90s and 2000s (rarely visited during that period and was living in Sheffield) but before that I never really got why some folk considered Cardiff to be even remotely inferior to that city.
Jantra
interesting. I suppose familiarity breeds contempt. How we always talk of having a secondary centre like Bristol or the commercial sector like Bristol.
Yes, grass is greener and all that. Cardiff is lightyears ahead with it's major public facilities. The lack of an arena et- al in Bristol is definitely a main gripe I hear from friends and acquaintances over the bridge. On the flip side though I do think Bristol is perhaps much better than Cardiff now in terms of bars, restaurants, and retail. Plus neighbourhood gentrification seems to have been more extensive and successful over there, so swings and roundabouts I guess?
The truth is that both cities have changed immeasurably for the better but both are unfortunately overlooked and underrated by most people in this country.
We don't get any EU money in Cardiff - that's a myth...
I can't speak with certainty about the most current situation - but in very recent times Cardiff has received not insignificant sums of Euro funding ... a couple of examples being Loudoun Sq redevelopment - as well as other new community facilities and environmental improvements in Butetown
We don't get any EU money in Cardiff - that's a myth...
I can't speak with certainty about the most current situation - but in very recent times Cardiff has received not insignificant sums of Euro funding ... a couple of examples being Loudoun Sq redevelopment - as well as other new community facilities and environmental improvements in Butetown
You can't move in bristol without hearing how jealous they are of Loudoun square tbf. Seething they are.
