A nice, helpful chap gave me a tour of the Waterfront building this morning.
The large zinc-clad section pointing out to sea contains changing rooms & toilets... and, er, that seems to be about it. I mentioned to him that this seemed odd planning, particularly as this section was originally designed as glass-clad. He replied that, to his mind, they were "two completely different buildings" (ie the original design & the actual built version) - but, that (to quote him), "I'm not allowed to say much about that... and I don't know too much about it myself".
So, the largest, ugliest section of the building - which now dominates the promenade - contains nothing that really has to have a prominent position (or be that size, particularly in height).
There are two conference areas - one small, and one fairly large (under the pier-facing ramp). This is a public building set on a beach - is it really the place for conference rooms? (Colwyn Bay is full of empty & underused buildings as it is). I wonder how often they'll be used, and by whom.
Aside from the positives (it'll be nice to have a cafe, and I like steps down to the beach), I think this is one of the most ill-conceived uses of expensive, prominently-positioned building space I've ever seen.