Butetown housing decades before the Bay development

Former city councillor Betty Campbell said residents had initially welcomed investment in Cardiff Bay.

Her comments came after a report revealed that Butetown - formerly the heartland of the docks area of Cardiff - was the most deprived area in Wales.

But now, she said, the area was being "squeezed" on both sides by luxury apartments.

"I would say in 20 years time there won't be a Butetown," she said.

DEPRIVATION INDEX TOP TEN Butetown, Cardiff Rhyl West 2 Penrhiwceber Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil Castle, Swansea Penderry, Swansea Townhill, Swansea Queensway, Wrexham Rhyl West 1

A new index of poverty statistics released by the Welsh Assembly Government put the area ahead of parts of the seaside town of Rhyl in north Wales and the former mining town of Penrhiwceiber in the Cynon Valley.

The 2005 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation is more detailed than previous studies, and there are hopes that the table of results will help the areas get the financial support they need.

The report focuses on income, housing, employment, education, health, services, and the physical environment.

It divides Wales up into smaller areas than a similar study in 2000 and the assembly government said this would better help it identify pockets of deprivation.

Merthyr Tydfil remains the local authority with the highest proportion of the most deprived areas.

The 2005 index includes a new element, assessing the quality of people's environment.

After the 2000 index was published, the hundred most deprived wards in Wales were given extra resources.

The section of Butetown at the top of the 2005 deprivation index did not figure as highly in the 2000 study, because it is right next door to the affluent Cardiff Bay.

'Dust and dirt'

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Ms Campbell - who has lived in Butetown for 70 years - said the redevelopment of the area had worked against the community.

Residents had originally supported development plans, thinking they would be part of the regeneration.

But, she added: "All we had was all the noise, dust and dirt that went on to make the area around Butetown a really nice area," she said

"But inside Butetown we've had flats boarded up for 10 years and the shopping centre looks like Beirut. It's a disaster.

"People who live in the area will have been persuaded or bribed to move to other parts of the city.

"We are now sitting on prime land and it won't be long before the council wants to grab that."

Fellow Butetown resident James Commander said he was upset by the way the area had been treated.

He said: "I was born here in 1941, like all my family. We had a community and everybody looked after each other. They've treated us like rubbish."

Social Justice and Regeneration Minister Edwina Hart said dividing Wales into a larger number of areas addressed one of the main criticisms of the 2000 index.

"In the larger areas, there was a possibility of pockets of deprivation being sometimes masked by a higher level of affluence in other parts of the area," the minister said.

"The new index will give us a clearer picture across more comparative areas."