At the beginning of the, long drawn out, pier saga I was one of those that fought to keep it and still would if it was handled correctly. Unfortunately I do not believe that Shore Thing is the right answer and that it will only be a matter of time before it’s upkeep , once again, will fall on the tax payers of Conwy.
The waterfront design, as ugly as it is, is here to stay and is more to do with coastal erosion than it is to do with anything else. The serious issue of the sea eating it’s way under the road and railway had to be addressed and this was the best answer they could come up with.
I do not believe that any serious thought was put into combining the two problems, the pier and the erosion, they could both of been dealt with together and enhanced the seafront and made it, once again, a place that people would visit.
Just off our shores we have some of the deepest water for miles; if we allowed one of the big power companies to build an underwater wall from Rhos Point to Llanddulas Point in which they could put turbines that worked on the rise and fall of the tide (not the in and out tidal motion) generating electricity, guaranteed, twice a day they, in return, would pay for our sea defences and extending the pier. Once the pier is extended we put a pontoon marina at the end of it, the marina and the shoreline will be protected by the underwater wall making it the only non-tidal marina in North Wales. We allow one of the big gaming companies to build a casino on the pier in return for their responsibility of it’s, the piers, maintenance, we build shops and accommodation along the pier, allow for cafes, bistros and restaurants to be built so that people using the marina have places to go. The town, the hotels and the people of Colwyn Bay all benefit from it, the creation of jobs, both on the pier and the turbine project, will help with employment and it would do more to safeguard the future of the town than turning it into a Civic Centre, which is something I have always said is the Councils’ intentions. It doesn’t take a genius to work these things out.....just a bit of forethought and care about the town.