The long running saga of Colwyn Bay Pier

[SteveH]

Colwyn Bay Pier: Campaigners hopeful ahead of special council meeting

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Colwyn Bay Pier from demolition are calling for “common sense” from councillors.
A special council meeting will see councillors come face to face with members of the Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust, looking to redevelop the Grade II listed structure despite having a £9.6million Heritage Lottery Fund bid rejected.

Pat Owen, director of the Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust, whose members succeeded in lobbying five Conwy councillors to propose the meeting, said: “This is good news for us and it will give us an opportunity to get our side of the story across to councillors who may not be aware of all the facts.

“The costs to demolish the pier are significant and Conwy council have freely admitted that they do not have the necessary funds to do this, so we are hoping that common sense will prevail and we can find a solution to an ongoing problem.”
Councillors granted conditional permission for the demolition of the pier to be determined by Welsh Government ministers at a planning committee earlier this month, at a cost of around £2million.

Conwy council have also applied to Cadw for partial de-listing of the site, and trust members have set up a petition to urge the Welsh heritage organisation to reject this request.

The five councillors who have requested the special meeting taking place on Tuesday, June 30 at 6pm, are Abdul Khan, Bob Squire, Keith Eeles, Bill Darwin and Susan Shotter at the request of Cllr Cheryl Carlisle.
Cllr Squire, said: “It would be ridiculous to demolish the pier and just leave the structures, and I think if the money is there then we must find a way to get it.
"I was disappointed to hear the reasons behind the HLF rejection and it was not nice to see that the council were blamed, so hopefully this meeting with give the trust another chance to have their say.”

The trust have been encouraged to make a second bid by the HLF provided they can gain more support from the council to progress the plans.
Conwy council remains in an ownership dispute with businessman Steven Hunt.

A large crowd is expected at the trust’s Annual General Meeting, on Wednesday, July 1 at Princes Drive Baptist Church from 7pm.
Those wishing to sign the petition can do so here.

http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/149475/colwyn-bay-pier-campaigners-hopeful-ahead-of-special-council-meeting.aspx

[SteveH]

SPECIAL MEETING: A special meeting of council has been convened for 6pm (tomorrow) Tuesday at Bodlondeb, Conwy. They will discuss Colwyn Bay Pier after five councillors called for further discussion on the issueREFDP

[SteveH]

Bangor Pier lottery bid may have failed because it was in 'too good a condition'

“The HLF were not convinced about areas of (structural) concerns at the pier, and if urgent work had to be done they may have approved our application.
“The logic here being that we should let it decay like Colwyn Bay.

“If we do the work, are we going to be worse off next time (we apply for funding)?”   

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/bangor-pier-lottery-bid-failed-9584102

[SteveH]

Colwyn Bay Official Guide.....Scan of Pier..Not sure the year...quite a few on the pier...

[Fester]

Never seen CB Pier from that angle, obviously an aerial view... it looks fantastic.
Why would anyone object to restoring such a great thing?

[white rabbit]

great photo Steve H  I remember it well!!

[BMD]

Consent to demolish Colwyn Bay Pier refused by Welsh Government:

http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/154053/consent-to-demolish-colwyn-bay-pier-refused-by-welsh-government.aspx

Key quote:

In the conclusion of his report, Mr Sargeant said: "It is my view that the proposed demolition has not been fully justified while there remains the unexplored possibility of retaining more of the pier structure than currently proposed.

"Notwithstanding the dispute over the ownership of the site, the Conwy County Borough Council has assumed responsibility over the pier.

"Being a public body, they are under a duty to act in the public interest . This status also allows it to access funding routes not normally available to commercial operators."

[DaveR]

Consent to demolish Colwyn Bay Pier refused by Welsh Government:

http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/154053/consent-to-demolish-colwyn-bay-pier-refused-by-welsh-government.aspx

Key quote:

In the conclusion of his report, Mr Sargeant said: "It is my view that the proposed demolition has not been fully justified while there remains the unexplored possibility of retaining more of the pier structure than currently proposed.

"Notwithstanding the dispute over the ownership of the site, the Conwy County Borough Council has assumed responsibility over the pier.

"Being a public body, they are under a duty to act in the public interest . This status also allows it to access funding routes not normally available to commercial operators."

Now CCBC really has a problem on their hands, and it's one which many people predicted would happen. They are liable to repair the Pier as its owner, so they need to work with the Pier Trust to obtain Lottery funding. Something that they should have done in the first place!

[Dave]

What a mess !

[DaveR]

The final bit of the mess would be if the High Court decided that Steve Hunt was the rightful owner of the pier.... 

[Fester]

Some poignant pictures in this article of Birnbeck Pier, in Weston-Super Mare.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-35083010

Colwyn Bay Pier is much easier to renovate than this, but it shows just how bad these structures get if left unattended.
Apparently Birnbeck is being assessed to possibly be renovated!

[DaveR]

We walked along Colwyn Bay Prom the other day and I was thinking how dull the seafront would look without the pier. I can't help but think that future generations will scratch their heads in disbelief that we allowed the pier to be demolished, whilst at the same time spending many millions on building a white elephant like Porth Eirias.

[Daihardwelshman]

I have to say that i have been to Porth Eirias for a meal a couple of times and have come away with my wallet a lot lighter and a bit... well underwhelmed!!!!

However following a very wet and expensive shopping trip to Liverpool on saturday, we finished off having a mexican meal at Wahaca which is the chain of restaurants started by
Thomasina Myers the winner from masterchef a few years ago.

It was absolutely superb and very well priced.

www.wahaca.co.uk

It just showed me how overpriced  our eating establishments have become locally, especially Bryn Williams at Porth Eirias.

[DaveR]

I've had Porth Eirias Bistro on our list to visit for a while now but we've never been quite motivated enough to actually book it, as I've not heard anyone raving about the food there.

[BMD]

We walked along Colwyn Bay Prom the other day and I was thinking how dull the seafront would look without the pier. I can't help but think that future generations will scratch their heads in disbelief that we allowed the pier to be demolished, whilst at the same time spending many millions on building a white elephant like Porth Eirias.

Yes, totally agree with that. It'd lose the character of what makes that stretch of the seafront unique. And part of Colwyn Bay's identity. And the irony is that the council know that a "focal point" is needed in that location. But whenever I try to imagine what they'd put up in its place, I get some quite depressing images appearing in my head.