Developers Agreed to Complete Barry Waterfront Facilities After Council Legal Action

No more homes can be sold at a major Barry housing development until overdue facilities are delivered there.
Vale of Glamorgan Council today announced that it had secured a legal agreement with the developers behind the Barry Waterfront housing scheme to make sure that work on landscaping, road surfacing and open spaces was completed.
Barry Waterfront Consortium, made up of major developers Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt, has been meeting with the council regularly since the local authority threatened legal action in August, 2023.
The leader of the council, Cllr Lis Burnett, said she was pleased an agreement had been reached, while one local councillor for the area said he hoped it gives the developers a “wake up call”.
“I think it is an important step, but frankly it has taken far too long,” said Cllr Mark Hooper, who is also a resident at the site.
“I think people generally really like living on the waterfront. They think it is somewhere that will be a really nice place to live and for [their] family to grow up in.
“It is almost as if people are missing out on the lives they could have lived if it was all finished. You have got the water and you have got nice parks for people to use, but not all of them are finished.”
Residents have also raised complaints with the council about the empty retail units at a commercial development on site known as The District Centre.
Cllr Hooper said some residents had been waiting between two and three years for facilities to be delivered at Barry Waterfront.
He added: “Most people will see this as a belated, but welcome move.”
Vale of Glamorgan Council said meetings between its officers and Barry Waterfront Consortium would continue until all of the required infrastructure is finished.
As part of the agreement that limits house-selling activity, called a consent order, the consortium also has to pay the council £10,000 to cover legal fees.
Cllr Lis Burnett said: “I’m pleased an agreement has been reached to finally deliver all the outstanding community facilities that have long been promised to the residents of Barry Waterfront.
“Through regular meetings, we have made our strength of feeling clear to the developers in no uncertain terms and we have been determined to hold them accountable.
“The council remains committed to ensuring that all community aspects of the Waterfront Development are completed and will consider all action available to ensure this happens.”
The council initially sought to obtain an injunction to ensure delivery of the public open space on the site, however, the agreed consent order achieves the same outcome without the need for further court action. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​