CLOSE to £1 million is to be spent on improving a Neath street at the heart of the town’s nightlife.

Neath Port Talbot Council will invest the cash on brightening up The Parade, said to be in a dreadful state and giving a poor impression to people enjoying an evening out in its bars and restaurants.

Work on upgrading The Parade is set to start within the next few months and is likely to take until the autumn to complete.

Council chiefs admit there will be some disruption which they will try to keep to a minimum.

Head of property and regeneration Gareth Nutt confirmed around £900,000 worth of work, including upgrading the pedestrian area and parking bays, would be carried out along the stretch from Neath’s railway station to Croft Road.

“It will set the scene for Neath as a market town and improve the environment of that particular area,” Mr Nutt said.

“If you go out on a Saturday night you will see that the quality of the area does need to be improved, and this scheme is designed to do that.

“We have it all designed up, and we will be going out to tender in February. We want to be on-site in March, with a view to completion around the autumn.”

The upgrade is part of the previously-announced £14 million package of improvements for Neath and Port Talbot town centres and the Afan Valley village of Croeserw.

Mr Nutt said Neath Port Talbot would be consulting traders and other businesses in the area.

“We will be trying to cause as little disruption as possible but inevitably there will be some issues,” he added.

“We will be wanting to get on with that work over the summer.”

Neath North councillor Alan Lockyer, whose ward includes The Parade, said his father ran a business there in the 60s and it had gone down since then.

“But it is coming back again,” he said. “It’s going to put Neath back on the map.

“When The Bluebell was enhanced it was great but I thought the area around it was dreadful.

“I wondered why people would want to stay there when the area around it was so appalling.”

paul.lewis@swwmedia.co.uk