Everything to do with Colwyn Bay

[Bri Roberts]

Council buys town centre property

Conwy County Borough Council has bought a prominent town centre property to secure accommodation for employment and help deliver its Masterplan for the regeneration ofColwyn Bay.

The Council has purchased the property at 2 Coed Pella Road and 45-47 Conway Road....

Currently the Colwyn Bay base for DWP and HMRC, this large imposing building is identified in the Masterplan as a strategic site in the town. Coleg Llandrillo and commercial businesses also occupy the ground floor of the property.

The existing tenants have leases which will remain in place and the continuing rental income will help the Council meet the capital cost of buying the building.

The purchase is intended as a long-term investment, allowing the Council to control the future of the site, to protect employment opportunities and support regeneration in the town; it also has potential as a good location for Council offices.

Conwy Council Leader, Cllr Dilwyn Roberts, said, “This is the latest piece in the regeneration jigsaw for the town. As owners of this building we will have control of a key site, which will be invaluable in our work to deliver the Masterplan.”

The Council confirmed that owning the building will:

•   maximise the value of existing Council assets adjoining the property;
•   provide a range of opportunities to achieve the Council’s office accommodation strategy;
•   provide short, medium or long term options for regeneration of an important town centre site.

As an integral part of the BayLife+ Programme and Colwyn Bay Masterplan, the future redevelopment of the site would provide further job opportunities and inward investment.

Retention of the site and the offices occupied by DWP and HMRC will provide the potential for both local and central Government staff to be retained in the centre of Colwyn Bay.

[FatAndy]

Council buys town centre propertyCurrently the Colwyn Bay base for DWP and HMRC, this large imposing building is identified in the Masterplan as a strategic site in the town. Coleg Llandrillo and commercial businesses also occupy the ground floor of the property.

Not any more they don't.  The One Stop convenience shop closed down a couple of months ago and the shop that was briefly occupied by a firm of ambulance chasing lawyers has been repossessed.

[DaveR]

How has the Council money (presumably a million or two) to buy this building, whilst at the same time cutting public services due to an apparent lack of funding?

The reasons given for the acquisition are weak, to say the least. 

[viv]

The Council will be getting rent from the shops and the Civil services that will remain for some time. They will also move Housing Benefit from the old Bank and that will be taken over by Cartrefi Conwy who share occupation at present. Also they will be able to save money on the rental and overheads at the Dinerth Road site (owned by Welsh Govt), and possible also the Civic Centre. So the initial cost should be recovered in savings elsewhere.It also means that the whole building will be occupied by people with decent paid jobs who will wander into town in their lunchbreaks and spend some of their hard-earned!

[Bri Roberts]

and enjoy ample free parking for staff at the rear.

[Hugo]

That building and the car park were listed in the LocaL  Development Plan for CCBC so it would be ironic if the CCBC had to vacate the premises in the future because of their own guidlines

[DaveR]

The Council will be getting rent from the shops and the Civil services that will remain for some time. They will also move Housing Benefit from the old Bank and that will be taken over by Cartrefi Conwy who share occupation at present. Also they will be able to save money on the rental and overheads at the Dinerth Road site (owned by Welsh Govt), and possible also the Civic Centre. So the initial cost should be recovered in savings elsewhere.It also means that the whole building will be occupied by people with decent paid jobs who will wander into town in their lunchbreaks and spend some of their hard-earned!

The shops all closed down ages ago. 

[FatAndy]

The Council will be getting rent from the shops and the Civil services that will remain for some time. They will also move Housing Benefit from the old Bank and that will be taken over by Cartrefi Conwy who share occupation at present. Also they will be able to save money on the rental and overheads at the Dinerth Road site (owned by Welsh Govt), and possible also the Civic Centre. So the initial cost should be recovered in savings elsewhere.It also means that the whole building will be occupied by people with decent paid jobs who will wander into town in their lunchbreaks and spend some of their hard-earned!

This was pretty much what I was going to say.  There's talk of the tax office closing with the loss of 81 jobs so if that does happen there should be plenty of space for the council to centralise some of their departments there and it would also offset the loss to the Colwyn Bay economy.  The question of what to do with the shops is a tricky one, I'd assume that the Job Centre and Coleg Llandrillo will be staying put but finding occupants for the other two units might be easier said than done given the number of empty shops elsewhere in the Bay.

[Bri Roberts]

That building is now quite old.

One cannot rule out knocking the whole place down and rebuilding a new purpose-built corporate HQ for CCBC or CCBC/DenbCC on that site with reduced parking spaces for cars.

[DaveR]

Built in the early 1970s, I think. It does now look very tired.

It makes me chuckle a little when I hear talk of council jobs coming to the town. All they are doing, of course, is just recycling the council tax money back into the local economy via their wages. The point is...we need to attract private employers that actually bring NEW money into the area or Colwyn Bay will never drag itself out of its decline.

It's telling that CCBC can only see such a large site in terms of usage for themselves instead of trying to attract a large new employer to occupy the building, as a lot of local authorities would.

[Hugo]

The lease is expiring about March 2015 anyway and the jobs for HMRC will have gone by then.
The plans I saw in the Civic Offices were for shops in Conwy Road and residential properties behind them ( I can't remember the exact figure but I think there were 16 )
It was not outline planning just the LDP so it could change again especially if CCBC are involved

[Bri Roberts]

If your surname is Jones then you will be granted FREE entry to this afternoon's rugby match at Parc Eirias for RGC 1404 v Narberth.

Kick-off: 2.30pm

I suggest you take your passport or photo driving licence along with you as proof of identity.

[Jack]

This is a brilliant initiative from RGC. Everyone with the same surname of the man of the match from the previous game gets free entry at the next home game. 

[Yorkie]

This is a brilliant initiative from RGC. Everyone with the same surname of the man of the match from the previous game gets free entry at the next home game. 

Brilliant yes, but only for those lucky buggers with the same surname as one of the players!  Somewhat unfair and less than sportsmanlike me thinks!

Fortunately i am not  a fan of Rugby, or Football.   

[Bigmurph]

That is a great idea by RGc I just hope they get a really good crowd for today's match, they have had some decent results this season and have shown they can compete with the South Wales teams.