Empire - Ground Zero

Both these photos were taken from the same spot

Over the weekend the Empire columns - the entrance pillars, have tumbled (right).  It is Neath's ground zero - except that this was sanctioned by councillors with no vision - say many residents.
It coincided with the government saying they are going to spend £10million on youth organisations, like scouts, sea cadets and the like.  This is being done with last year's city riots in mind.   The Empire would have been a great place for youngsters and the youth groups - sadly it is all too late.
That is two opportunities lost, two opportunties for government grants - first, the Olympic training programme and now government sponsored youth movements.

The Plaza cinema in Port Talbot (pictured right) is still there and will no doubt benefit from these schemes - but Neath, the poor relation with the larger population, will miss out - thanks to the lack of vision of those concerned. 

PS  If any youngsters in Neath want to know what a world war 2 bomb site looked like - just look at the Empire building (or whats left of it) today.   This building survived the 1939-1945 war but not the NPT CBC in 2012.