AS A Victorian/Edwardian town with its later housing estates Penarth remained relatively unchanged until about 20 years ago. Then the large gardens invited infill developments (although there had been some development of this sort before) and once highly-regarded villas suddenly developed serious faults necessitating demolition and replacement with modern pastiche.

Land had become a valuable commodity and changes in the town became noticeable, especially in the prime seafront conservation area where apartment blocks had already appeared. But now the elegant villas were disappearing in piles of rubble and the whole character of the area was changing.

The town centre too was being redesigned with wide pavements and a new traffic system – a plan that had first been mooted during the Millennium year.

As a follow-on to the County Treasures Project these changes are to be recorded for inclusion in the archives. We are inviting photographs with named location and short description if possible, together with date or approximate date of the development, to be presented on A4 sheets in the following categories:

a) Entirely new development (please specify if infill).

b) Replacement building involving demolition of the original.

c) New extension to original building.

d) Changes to the external appearance of the original building – to include shop fronts.

e) Buildings where there has been internal/external alteration for change of use.

Please provide your name and contact details on the back of the sheet.

Penarth Heritage Centre at South Lodge, Windsor Gardens, will be open between 12.30 and 1.30pm on Friday, October 9 to receive your photographs. Penarth Heritage Centre at South Lodge, Windsor Gardens, will be open between 11.30 am and 12.30pm on Friday 9 October to receive your photographs. Further opening days will follow as it is intended that this project will be ongoing, helping to bring the story of the evolution of Penarth up to date.

Exhibitions will be arranged from time to time as material is gathered.

Audrey Poole

Trustee Penarth Civic Society