Cardiff Bay settled in neighbourhoods close to the docks, known as Tiger Bay, and communities from up to 45 different nationalities, including Norwegian, Somali, Yemeni, Spanish, Italian, Caribbean and Irish helped create the unique multicultural character of the area. After the Second World War most of the industry closed down and became derelict. But, in 1999, new life was injected into the area by the building of the Cardiff Bay Barrage, one of the most controversial building projects of the day but also one of the most successful. The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC) was created in 1987 to stimulate the redevelopment
Cardiff Bay Barrage Penarth who had always supported the scheme. However, as Cardiff Council would not accommodate the installation of a commemorative plaque on their land, the ceremony had to be performed and the plaque unveiled on land owned by the adjacent local authority, the Vale of Glamorgan Council at the Penarth end of the barrage. That was also the site chosen for the installation of a 7-foot tall bronze figure of a mermaid – which was the logo of Cardiff Bay Development Corporation. (The logo had been designed by Cardiff graphics artist Roger Fickling.) The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was wound up