Editing Cardiff Bay (section)

==Development==
{{Main|Cardiff Bay Development Corporation}}
[[File:Cardiff Bay prior to the building of the Cardiff Bay Barrage.jpg|thumb|right|Cardiff Bay before the construction of the [[Cardiff Bay Barrage]]]]The [[Cardiff Bay Development Corporation]] (CBDC) was created in 1987 to stimulate the redevelopment of 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) of derelict land.<ref>{{Citation | title = Cardiff Bay Economic Development |date = April 2005 | page = 8 | place = Cardiff | publisher = Cardiff Council }}</ref> The Development Corporation aimed to attract private capital by spending public money to improve the area. Despite opposition by [[environmentalist]]s and wildlife organisations, the [[mudflat]]s at the mouths of the River Taff and River Ely were inundated, with loss of habitat for [[wading birds]]. The Barrage has created several new habitats for freshwater species with the [[Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve|wetlands]] to the south of the Hamadryad Park.

When the Development Corporation was wound up in on 31 March 2000, it had achieved many of its objectives. The whole area was unrecognisable from ten years before. Much private land was now open to the public, particularly around the inner harbour and the north side of Roath basin. Work is progressing to complete a 13 kilometre walkway around the bay.  In addition, the development has enabled land in the [[Cardiff city centre|city centre]] to be redeveloped for higher-value uses.<ref>Esys Consulting Ltd, Evaluation of Regeneration in Cardiff Bay. A report for the Welsh Assembly Government, December 2004</ref>

[[Image:Cardiff Bay Aerial View.JPG|thumb|left|Cardiff Bay in 2008]]

Connecting the bay area to the centre of Cardiff was a primary goal when plans to develop the docklands were first mooted. Original plans included a grand boulevard (similar to where [[Lloyd George Avenue]] is located now) with high-density commercial and residential units straddling both sides. This would have created significant demand for quality public transport provisions facilitating connections to the new Bay area but public transport was often of poor quality and, but there are now much-improved connections through the [[Cardiff Bus]] [[BayCar]] service and rail service from [[Cardiff Queen Street]] to [[Cardiff Bay railway station]].

On 30 January 2013 the planning consultant, Adrian Jones, stated that Cardiff Bay was a contender for the "worst example of waterside regeneration in Britain".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-40681940|title=30 years of Cardiff Bay redevelopment|last=Crockett|first=Natalie|date=2017-08-13|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-11-05|language=en-GB}}</ref>