Disgusted (From Penarth Times)

Disgusted

I was disgusted to read the lead article in Penarth Times (Thursday, June 5), about proposals for a new luxury development on what was described as a 'waterfront eyesore', consisting of the old Penarth baths and the car park behind it.

Have we not got enough 'luxury developments' in Penarth?

I have lived in Penarth for most of my life, and have seen it turn, with unseemly haste, into a ghetto for the well-endowed.

The old Victorian streets (now laughably referred to as the 'conservation area' by real estate wide-boys) have long been home to the middle-classes, and Marine Parade was always where the really wealthy lived. The rest lived everywhere else. Nowadays you have to have a jewel-encrusted platinum card to afford a 'starter home'.

Am I the only one to long for the days when Penarth contained an eclectic mix of individuals and families, from a variety of class brackets?

OK, it was never Brixton, but it did have more character than now! As to the seafront, I don't consider the old baths an 'eyesore' nor, incidentally, was the old Esplanade Hotel before it, mysteriously burnt down and replaced by an ugly, modern 'luxury' block.

In my humble opinion, Penarth would be far better served by: a) the return of Tony's to the seafront - the only decent, affordable eating establishment to have graced these shores, and, b) the restoration of the Commodore on the pier, which could then be used for general benefit - perhaps a referendum to decide?

Amanda Lyons Ivy Street Penarth