'It reminds me of old Soviet days' (From Penarth Times)

'It reminds me of old Soviet days'

A DELEGATION of Russian government officials and businessmen visited Penarth this week - and compared the Esplanade to an'old area under Soviet rule' where buildings were left'in disrepair'.

Mark Proskourine, head of the delegation, said: "Penarth seems a very nice place, but clearly the Esplanade needs sorting out.

"It reminds me of some of the old areas under Soviet rule, where lack of investment meant buildings fell into disrepair."

The Russians were in Penarth to see for themselves plans to develop the Esplanade into a new caf quarter.

The planned development could become a blueprint for a similar scheme planned for the Black Sea area.

Property developer Stephen Fear spoke to the delegation about his plans to transform the Esplan-ade, as his company - the Decourcey Group - is looking at a similar project on the Black Sea coast.

The Penarth project involves the renovation of the old swimming baths into three houses and a luxury apartment, together with an additional 15 apartments on what used to be a car park.

The Decourcey Group has also applied to demolish and rebuild the Beachcliff buildings, with flats above a caf and restaurant-lined walkway.

Mr Fear said: "I was asked by the Russian delegation to speak on the subject of regeneration because of a development that we are considering on the Black sea coast.