Bargoed’s Christmas roller rink will not be returning after injuries and criticism

The roller-skating rink which formed the centrepiece of Bargoed’s Christmas celebrations will not be returning after it received a lukewarm reception from the public.

A woman and a nine-year-old boy were also injured on the attraction, which was built at a cost of £24,000 in the car park of the town’s Morrisons.

Town councillors discussed the rink, and the town’s wider Christmas and Winter Fair, at two different meetings last month and decided changes were needed for this year.

At a full Bargoed Town council meeting on January 25, Deputy Town Mayor Reg Carroll, who represents Park, revealed details of how people were injured at the rink, which operated between December 7 and 11.

He said: “A nine-year-old boy broke his leg before his birthday,” and added, “a woman had a back injury and needed to be taken to hospital.”

Cllr Carroll highlighted the lack of uptake at the roller rink at a meeting of the town council’s events committee on January 12 and said: “It wasn’t very well received.”

The rink was funded by Caerphilly County Borough Council and Bargoed Town Council with both contributing around £12,000.

Additional safety concerns were raised after some roads were not closed off during the Winter Food and Craft Fair.

Town councillors decided that funds allocated for the roller rink in 2022 would be better used as part of a bigger and better winter fair, if possible.

‘A lot of discord’

The Winter Food and Craft Fair, held on on December 10, was also problematic, according to councillors – despite having more than 7,000 visitors. 

Caerphilly County Borough Council deemed the event, which it funded at a cost of £7,000, a “huge success”.

Businesses such as Hancox Pies praised the event and said: “The Bargoed event for us was, as with all other events, perfect. It was cheerful, with lots of customers – especially when the entertainers stopped in front of our stall.”

However, issues were raised relating to road safety. Events committee chairwoman Cllr Dianne Price, who is also a county councillor, said: “The feedback I had wasn’t good. 

“There was a lot of discord because all of our town wasn’t closed.”

Although the road from Wood Street to West Street was closed, as in 2021, other areas remained open – including roads past West Street.  

This had a negative impact on businesses in the north of Bargoed. The unapproved minutes of the committee meeting noted that feedback from “businesses [from] the north of the town centre was not positive at all,” as they felt they were “forgotten”.

Cllr Carroll received complaints from business owners about the road set-up, particularly those who operate in the “bottom end” of Bargoed.

“I had multiple emails from businesses,” said Cllr Caroll at the meeting on January 12, “they were absolutely appalled.”

In response, councillors called for a total closure of roads for such events in the future as in 2018. 

“We want the road closed,” added Cllr Price, “from top to bottom.”

A spokesperson for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “The road closure was from Wood Street to West Street as per the previous year’s event and appropriate safety measures including the placement of crowd control barriers and appropriate signage were in place on the pathway past West Street to inform the public that the road in this area was not closed.

“We are in discussions with the town council to look at the possibility of shutting the whole of the road running through the town centre for the 2023 event.”

Despite these criticisms, some council members still wanted to highlight the positives of the fair.

“It was a good day,” said Cllr Peter Collins who represents Aberbargoed at the committee meeting.

Though plans are very much still a work in progress the intent is to make things better – and safer- for 2023. 

“We need to do things far, far better,” said Cllr Price,  “we want [people] to come here.”