Blot on the landscape will soon be no more (From Penarth Times)

Blot on the landscape will soon be no more

PENARTH'S eyesore multi-storey car park is well on its way to complete demolition.

Work is progressing well on the blot on the landscape as part of a £7.8 million scheme to build a walkway/cycle way around the headland.

The long awaited demolition is just the first phase of the Penarth Headland Link project, which is currently at the design stage.

Its eventual completion, hoped to be within the next four to five years, will link Penarth Esplanade with the Cardiff Bay Barrage.

The money for the scheme, set aside by the National Assembly, will be given in stages over the course of the project.

For now, the works comprise the demolition, support works to a Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water Control Building and associated coastal protection.

The demolished material is being removed from site for recycling and the contract, which started on November 12, is expected to last for seven weeks.

The end of the car park may come as a welcome relief to Penarth residents eager to see its downfall. The car park was originally constructed by the former Penarth Urban District Council in 1963 and has since been the subject of increasing controversy.

It became unusable for parking when the supports which kept the whole structure above tide level began to erode. It was closed in the late 1990s. The contract is being carried out by Cardiff Demolition and managed by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

Vale Council Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee chairman Cllr Anthony Ernest said: "I am certain that few will shed a tear at the passing of this ugly structure which has blighted Penarth's delightful seafront for 40 years."