Porthcawl Waterfront Regeneration: A bright new future for The Buccaneer
Friday 02 October 2026
- Historic Porthcawl seafront venue ‘The Buccaneer’ has been saved from demolition.
- Over almost 100 years, the building has served as a café, ice cream parlour, nightclub and bar.
- Now the Porthcawl Waterfront Regeneration is bringing the 1930s venue back into public use.
- Heritage-led transformation will restore and re-establish the building as an iconic local landmark.
- Announcement comes as other demolition work begins to clear the way for further regeneration.
Bridgend County Borough Council has announced that an iconic and well-known Porthcawl building with a hundred-year-old history is to be given a fresh lease of life.
The Buccaneer, which commands impressive coastal views from the corner where Mackworth Road joins the seafront at Sandy Bay, was set to be knocked down and replaced with new development after its previous owner applied for planning permission to demolish the building.
Instead, plans are moving ahead to carefully reinstate the building’s original 1930s architectural features and to remove mismatched modern additions in favour of restoring its ‘ocean liner’ design and capitalising upon its stunning views of the beach and sea.
Ideas for how a refurbished Buccaneer could be used in future are still in the early stages, but initial suggestions include opportunities for establishing a new restaurant or café as well as space for fresh shops and kiosks to make the most of its seafront location.
The building began life in the 1930s as the Continental Café before becoming Sidoli’s Ice Cream Parlour after the First World War. This lasted up until the mid-1950s when it was transformed into a notable live music venue called the Rising Sun that featured a popular upper-floor nightclub, the Pagoda Rooms.
The building survived in this guise and played a major role as a centre of youth and music culture until the late 1970s when it was renamed The Buccaneer and re-launched, this time as a much-loved local bar. Once described as being ‘the beating heart of the community’, the building closed entirely in 2024 after its former owner sought permission to demolish it to make way for new development.
The building was then acquired by Welsh Government so that the site could be used within the waterfront regeneration plans drawn up by Bridgend County Borough Council.
The Buccaneer has had a long and colourful association with Porthcawl, and we want that to continue with the venue once more becoming an iconic seafront landmark and a stand-out part of our plans to regenerate the waterfront area. The way in which the council and Welsh Government want to bring The Buccaneer back into public life as a high-quality heritage restoration offers a taste of how we are approaching the overall waterfront regeneration. Whether it is housing and infrastructure or leisure and community facilities, we intend to deliver the highest standards of quality at all levels. Retaining and restoring this building to its former glory can only be a positive move for Porthcawl, and I am looking forward to seeing how The Buccaneer will be used in its new lease of life.
As part of the ongoing regeneration, demolition that was postponed from earlier in the year to avoid causing inconvenience during the summer season will also resume. This will focus largely on the former funfair and Beachcomber site and will include the removal of the former Wimpy building, which will ensure the revitalised Buccaneer has unobstructed views of the beach and sea.
While this demolition work is taking place, every effort will be made to minimise inconvenience, keep the area open, and ensure that pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, parents with pushchairs and more can continue to use and enjoy the seafront.
Plans are also in place to provide various interim seafront leisure facilities ranging from padel courts and crazy golf to beachfront yoga and surf schools, and to ensure they remain available while the regeneration work is underway – look out for more news on this very soon.