The long running saga of Colwyn Bay Pier

[Michael]

  I have mentioned this before. I fail to understand this cost of pulling down.Now I read that a floating pontoon is suggested. In case any of you do not know at low tide the pier is completely out of the sea.
   Compare that to the old Rhos pier. The end section of that was well and truly in the sea all the time. But no pontoon there to help pulling it down. And the puller downer PAID a tidy sum of money for the privilege of being allowed to scrap it.
   I know that was around fifty years ago but, have things changed that much?

[bigbadhenry]

What a right shower of Sh??te we have on ccbc ,do they reckon that is the way they get round the listed building thing leaving the stantions there .

It's a daft enough idea that could only have come from CBCC.

[DaveR]

The final results for the Poll we carried out regarding the future of Colwyn Bay Pier were:

Demolish it   -  32.6%
Carry out basic renovation (spend up to £5m)  -   13%
Carry out comprehensive renovation, including all buildings (spend up to £10m)  -   54.3%

Therefore, the votes in favour of demolition amounted to 32.6%, whilst the votes in favour of retention/refurbishment amounted to 67.3%

[SteveH]

  I have mentioned this before. I fail to understand this cost of pulling down.Now I read that a floating pontoon is suggested. In case any of you do not know at low tide the pier is completely out of the sea.
   Compare that to the old Rhos pier. The end section of that was well and truly in the sea all the time. But no pontoon there to help pulling it down. And the puller downer PAID a tidy sum of money for the privilege of being allowed to scrap it.
   I know that was around fifty years ago but, have things changed that much?

I agree Mike, the price of scrap these days, they should pay us.
The cost of demolition is now being quoted at £2 million?....the way CCBC handle things, it could be cheaper to keep it.
I hope everybody has one last push left in them....

[SteveH]

Colwyn Bay Pier: Trust vow to fight on despite Heritage Lottery setback

THE trust looking to restore the derelict Victoria Pier have vowed to fight on despite their recent setback.
A £9.6million proposal to restore the Colwyn Bay pier was refused by Heritage Lottery Fund officials last month due to a lack of strong support from Conwy County Council, who have applied to de-list and demolish the structure.
Despite the setback, members of the Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust are now working on submitting a second bid in November.
Pat Owen, director at the trust, said: “We are not dead yet, and there is still plenty we can do to try and save the pier.
“We are looking for talks to continue in the hope common sense prevails and we can find a solution to what has been an ongoing problem.

“We are urging members of the public who support our bid to lobby your councillor and encourage them to hold a public meeting.
"It takes five councillors to propose a meeting for one to be arranged and we hope to have enough support to make this happen.”

For the council to go ahead with demolition, they must seek permission to de-list from Cadw and win the long-running ownership battle with businessman Steven Hunt.

A statement from Mr Hunt, said: “Conwy council refused to support the very good bid made by Colwyn Bay Town Council and the trust.

“This latest bid was a most professional application led by the team who have successfully restored Hastings Pier, which was in a far worse condition.

“The only body and documentation which confirms ownership of land in England and Wales is HM Land Registry, which at May 20 confirms I remain the legal registered owner of the pier.”

Cllr Dilwyn Roberts, leader at Conwy council, said: “We have had continued dialogue with the trust and town council, and would welcome talking to them further about proposals for legacy.
“As the application was unsuccessful, the Council’s application to demolish the pier will continue through the planning process.”

A large crowd is expected at the trust’s Annual General Meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, July 1 at Princes Drive Baptist Church from 7pm.

[SteveH]

Plans for substantial demolition of Colwyn Bay pier to be discussed at Conwy County Council planning meeting  today.

[DaveR]

Even if demolition plans are approved, CCBC will then have to seek approval from CADW. CADW will be reluctant to approve any demolition of a Listed Building unless it can be shown that all avenues to save it have been exhausted and this clearly isn't the case, as CCBC have not tried to offer the pier for sale, for example.

[SteveH]

Plans for substantial demolition of Colwyn Bay pier to be discussed at Conwy County Council planning meeting  today.

The planning meeting available on Webcam..........

This webcast is scheduled for Wed, 10th Jun 2015 - 2:00 pm.
It will start automatically.

http://www.conwy.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/179094

[SteveH]

Colwyn Bay pier demolition is a step closer. Planners backed granting conditional permission to demolish it & will now seek Cadw's consent. Ref David Powell DPost

[DaveR]

Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier demolition a step closer
18:27, 10 JUNE 2015
BY DAVID POWELL

Cadw still to decide what to do next over the once popular tourist attraction

Demolition of Colwyn Bay’s Victoria Pier moved a step closer yesterday.

Conwy Council planning committee voted to allow it to be pulled down.

But it does not have the power to demolish a Grade II listed building.

So councillors at Bodlondeb also voted to ask Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, for listed building consent to demolish it.
 
It is expected that the future of the 115-year-old structure will be decided by Welsh ministers with Cadw’s advice.

Estimates on the cost of demolition range from £800,000 to £2m, and it could take up to nine months to fully complete the work.

However, the pier is still the subject of an ownership battle. Steven James Hunt owns it, according to Land Registry records.

In yesterday’s committee meeting, Conwy Council’s consultant Edward Nash called for demolition except for 76 stanchions.

He told councillors that 73% of the pier “decking support members” have failed. The structure is “distorted” and “unsafe” and it could continue to “blight the bay for many years.”

But Cllr Abdul Khan argued the pier could still create “work, trade, a place for social life and an attraction for our children.”

Others disagreed.

Cllr Peter Lewis told members: “This is becoming something of a soap opera. The pier is haemorrhaging money on a daily basis. Yesterday it seemed to have deteriorated even more.”

Cllr Sue Lloyd Roberts said it was a “sad day” and she was very disappointed to reach this point. And Cllr Ifor Lloyd said keeping stanchions would create “a scar more than a remembrance”.

Conwy planning committee voted to grant conditional planning permission to demolish the pier.

Conditions include: demolition and restoration statements, an investigation into whether it is feasible to keep murals from the 1930s and 1940s, a full photographic record of the pier and how long the work will take.

The plans come after Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust failed in a bid to win Heritage Lottery Fund cash last month, with the funding organisation intimating a lack of support from the county council affected the decision.

Victoria Pier is one of only 31 surviving open-structure piers with iron columns in the UK.

A vision of what could be put in its place was revealed last year when the council floated the idea of projecting an image of what the pier looked like in the early 1900s onto netting suspended above the sea wall.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/colwyn-bay-victoria-pier-demolition-9429473

[norman08]

Cllr peter Lewis says the pier is haemorrhaging money so it has to go ,so when will they get rid of the skip ,that place will never make money .

[Fester]

Hemorrhaging money?   I haven't noticed any being spent on it?
They are probably counting all the exhorbitant business lunches, travel expenses and catering fees spent on the interminable meetings that they have on the subject.
Every meeting leans towards being DESTRUCTIVE,   when will our public servants try something CONSTRUCTIVE??

[SteveH]

Plans for substantial demolition of Colwyn Bay pier to be discussed at Conwy County Council planning meeting  today.

I watched the Webcam meeting yesterday,.....One point that stood out was the viability of the project, long term, bearing in mind maintenance and insurance costs of £200.000 pa it was felt this was beyond the trusts reach?
Could they generate enough rent with their present plan?  (this was brought up by HLF.)
I think this is a major issue for the trust to address .

My thoughts after watching the meeting, ...there will be no support from the council, there were a lot of bowed heads........

This also came to mind....Quote from Ians NHS thread today Re Bullying.
"I suspect this is a peculiarly North Wales issue. The denizens of this area are, on the whole pleasant, easy-going and, above all, non confrontational. That last has often meant that people are reluctant to speak out about what they really believe and, instead, mutter about it in dark corners."

[Michael]

  Your last paragraph. Correct.
   Now I will go to read the original version by Ian

[DaveR]

Petition to request that CADW refuse Conwy Council's request to demolish Colwyn Bay Pier:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/902/418/666/cadw-kate-clark-please-refuse-conwy-county-councils-application-to-demolish-the-victoria-pier/