Cwmbran Centre Reviews Summary

Shop Variety

Pros:

• "It has a big variety of shops and is always clean."
• "A great shopping area. Plenty of variety."
• "Good selection of shops including Primark Asda Peacocks Matalan Costa Boots Claires accessories Mankind Starbucks Boswells cafe Deichman Super drug WH Smith Iceland Greggs Jewellers Bon Marche New Look Specsavers Yours Plus the usual travel agents building societies phone shops."
• "This was a brilliant shopping centre, nice range shops from big names too independent shops & a nice range of cafes and coffee shops in here too."
• "A fine selection of charity shops, cafes catering for all tastes, bargain and high-end shops."
• "A great place to shop. Good range of popular stores - House of Fraser, M&S, Primark, Asda, Sainsburys, Wilko, Home Bargains, Morrisons, Tiger, Boots etc."
• "A large shopping centre with plenty of shops."

Cons:

• "Too many caterers with very little thought about a diverse portfolio from the centre owners i.e. 3 Gregg's?."
• "All shops seem the same, for a relatively small shopping centre there are 3 greggs, 4 opticians, not much variety in clothes shops."
• "Most shops are cheap looking, dated or closed down."
• "Sum Cwmbran Town centre in one word 'Boring' there is nothing in the town no more no clothes shops just all cafe or food places or charity shops or now gyms."
• "Really gone donehill, since houseof fraser, m&s, Bodyshop ect closed down."
• "Sad to see all the empty shops considering Cwmbran town, it used to be one of the best town to go shopping in all of Wales."
• "Our nearest shopping mall has suffered massive retailer losses and is poorer for it."

Parking

Pros:

• "Parking is free which is a bonus."
• "FREE PARKING FREE PARKING sadly quite a few stores have closed now M&S being a recent one after House of Frazer."
• "Plenty of underground parking free for visitors, and up to 4hrs max stay."
• "Free parking, good range of shops in a concentrated area, great for people with limited mobility or pushchairs due to being mostly on one level and lifts available."
• "One of the very few places where parking is free."
• "The free parking is an added bonus and the amount of eateries it's definitely a plus!"
• "Free parking for four hours in the Llewelyn multi-storey beneath the Cwmbrân Centre."

Cons:

• "The parking is insanely difficult! People come from a long way, so the lack of spaces is very apparent."
• "Parking can be a bit of a nightmare on popular shopping days but the fact you can park for free is great."
• "The car parks are awfully tight and small."
• "The carparks near McDonald's and the John Fielding are almost impossible to park in not because of shoppers but because of delivery drivers filling up all of the carparks, they even block the disabled access spaces."
• "Parking spaces are a bit tight and at peak times are hard to find."
• "It's big, busy and a nightmare to park with children out of all the spaces there's only 6 child and parent parking spaces."
• "For parking you will need a lot of patience, you can easily spend a whole day here."

Cleanliness and Maintenance

Pros:

• "It's always clean and pleasant."
• "What impressed us most apart from the huge amount of shops was how clean everywhere was with cleaners cleaning floors walls & even lamposts."
• "It's also well maintained and litter free."
• "I noticed several council staff maintaining the high levels of cleanliness throughout."
• "Spacious and well laid out. A great array of shops and free parking too."
• "It's clean, feels safe and has clean toilets and a regular bus service."
• "A great verity of shops and cafe your spoilt for choice."

Cons:

• "Not bad overall for a small town shopping centre... a bit dirty in places."
• "The overall maintenance and upkeep is very poor."
• "Cwmbran really gone down hill since closure of house of Fraser, bodyshop etc."
• "Lots of the centre looks tired and could do with some attention."
• "The centre itself is fine. Like similar places around the country. Could do with a tidy."
• "Cwmbran is concrete and lacks character completely."
• "Full of rubbish and nothing else special about the area."

Accessibility

Pros:

• "Accessibility is good for wheelchair users and the only upper floor gallery of shops is served by a lift."
• "A great experience for shoppers. With lots of free car parking."
• "Such a popular place to shop. The bus station is in the heart of the town. Much of it is under cover too so perfect for wet days."
• "Best place to visit for miles around tons of good quality shops, go by car or bus, easy to get around, especially for disabled people as flat and spacey."
• "Easily accessible for disabled patrons with disabled spaces in both covered and open aired parking areas."
• "The centre is fully pedestrianised."
• "Also having the bus station within makes it easy for those without their own transport."

Cons:

• "Its definitely not easy if you need facilities for baby changing or for disabled needs."
• "Very disappointing disabled parking allowance."
• "The centre was not very easy to get around in the wheelchair."
• "Steep slope inside the centre and a lack of wheelchairs mean that it's not very friendly to the elderly and disabled."
• "The toilets are wholly unacceptable, out of date and difficult to access."
• "Other than the disabled parking is always full and the wheel chair hire is more or less 30 minutes walk for me the shopping centre is pretty good."
• "One of the two main lifts that takes you from the car park up to the shopping level by costa coffee, Iceland has been out of commission for the past 8+ weeks."