Re: Llandudno's Pier Pavilion redevelopment site

[SteveH]

A QC has called amendments passed by councillors to the controversial £20m Llandudno Pier Pavilion site “unlawful” in a tense planning meeting.

Mr Gregory Jones QC, who is being instructed by Llandudno Pier Ltd, made the comments after councillors approved changes to the scheme at Conwy county council’s planning committee on Tuesday.

Applicant Alan Waldron had come back to members to amend the original scheme, approved in 2018.

He wanted to add four more apartments, change access and layout to the building at the Grade-II* listed site on North Parade, amend internal vehicle access and change the “restaurant arrangement”.


The committee heard a noise assessment, looking to see how residents would be affected by sounds from the Pier, had been carried out before Easter, during restrictions on movement, when most of the town was locked down.

A must read  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19312775.qc-calls-llandudnos-pier-pavilion-decision-unlawful/

[Blongb]

This is going to cost the rate payers an absolute fortune WHEN this goes to court. The same corrupt people keep pushing it through planning meetings whilst others members of the committee are very conspicuous by their absence every time there is a vote on the Pavilion Site Development. The most eminent Planning QC in the country informed the Members there actions would be illegal and yet they still had the bare faced gall to vote to approve it. This truly beggars belief. I just hope that when it does go to court those officials and Councillors who are acting so unlawfully will be held to account and their corrupt actions will be laid bare, for all to see.

[Ian]

This might be something Private Eye would be interested in. If we knew of specific individuals, then PE will investigate.

[Helig]

I have been a Private Eye reader for more years than I care to admit. There has been some contact with them over the years too. I am not sure if Conwy Borough Council has ever featured in the Rotten Boroughs section. The same can be said for Aberconwy Council when it was in existence too. It would be strange if these haven't been mentioned at some time.

The whole saga of the Pier Pavilion site stinks.

It may be brown envelopes, or other "incentives". When I lived in North East Wales there was opposition to an incinerator being built on Deeside. Some councillors were against it, others supported it. A friend was chatting to two councillors (man and wife) one day when they said they were off on a three month world cruise on one of the world's most luxurious cruise liners. My friend asked if this was to do with council business and the looks on their faces said it all.

The trouble with pursuing court action is the local authority can run up massive legal costs which are all paid by the Council Tax payers. There should be some way of making them personally liable if their conduct was unlawful.

Helig

[norman08]

Not one of them councilors on that committee are from Llandudno, they are all as bad as Waldron.

[norman08]

Another thought on this issue where does Jfs and Millar sit on this, big friends with Adam Williams & Waldron 🤔 Interesting.

[Hugo]

I read the report of the Court hearing in today's NWWN and the last paragraph refers to affordable housing payments.      Waltron previously applied for permission to increase the number of apartments from 50 to 54.      Waldron then agreed to pay £70K towards affordable housing but this £70K is based only on the 4 extra apartments and not on the 54 he wants to build
I had already raised this matter with the CCBC prior to the latest application and the reply from the CCBC was that Waldron was not asked to pay anything on the 50 apartments as it was not "viable"    He also didn't pay anything towards the site in Glan Conwy either

Not viable to who exactly?   All I can say is that the matter stinks and thank goodness that Adam Williams has the money and determination to oppose this matter

[norman08]

Hugo this guy Waldron was involved at one time with Oldham fc say no more about the mess he made there, the people in them houses in g Conwy are not happy according to some people, the pavilion site is very interesting with Jfs & Robin Millar they are torn between Adam Williams & Waldron,  Adams QC is showing how bad Ccbc are,   I'm sure it's been thought of and sorted but when the pier owners sold the pavilion did the land it's on go with it 🤔 Or looking back would the pier still own the land.

[Blongb]

when the pier owners sold the pavilion did the land it's on go with it 🤔 Or looking back would the pier still own the land.

The Pavilion was sold Freehold Norman

[Hugo]

DaveR sent me the map and the details of the freehold many years ago and I said at the time that there would be problems with the access on to the pier
The present debacle of the Pier Pavilion is just one of the many THAT CAN BE  attributed to CCBC

[SteveH]

Pier Pavilion development call-in request as pier owner says 'biggest decision in its history'
Welsh ministers have been asked to intervene to halt the £20m development on Llandudno's seafront

The approval of the amended plans for the controversial Pier Pavilion site in Llandudno has been placed on hold after a call in request to Welsh Government - as the owner of the town’s pier issues a warning over the £20m scheme.

The developer behind the 50 apartment and restaurant scheme on the site of Llandudno’s former seafront pavilion originally secured planning permission in 2018.

But Alan Waldron then submitted amended plans for four more apartments, changes to the access and layout to the building at the Grade-II* listed site on North Parade, as well to the internal vehicle access and the “restaurant arrangement”.

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pier-pavilion-development-call-request-20825532?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Blongb]

Pier Pavilion development call-in request as pier owner says 'biggest decision in its history'
Welsh ministers have been asked to intervene to halt the £20m development on Llandudno's seafront
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pier-pavilion-development-call-request-20825532?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

A glimmer of hope, now the glaring illegality of what CCBC Planners have been up to, will hopefully be exposed for all to see. Their blatant disregard for the application of planning law in this day and age has been truly beyond belief. You expect some small amount of corruption in public office, but the scale to which these public servants have stooped is utterly staggering. Not fit for public office, the lot of them, when even the committee members who were opposed to the development, didn't even bother to turn up to the planning meeting, that knowingly voted to illegally approve the development. When the dust settle's I would like to see the whole lot of them being permanently disqualified from ever holding public office, ever again.     

[Edith Perry]

The Welsh Government are very limited in what they can look at. They can only get involved with the application if the issue is deemed to be of national, rather than simply local importance. Williams has some leverage here as the pier is obviously a historic and important carry-over from the past, but it all depends on how they interpret it. They won't be looking at the legality of the decisions by the planning committee at all, it's not their purview. The only option I can think of other than the Welsh Government getting involved would be a judicial review, which would look at the legality of the decision and whether the council had acted in accordance with its own laws and guidelines. That could be incredibly costly however and I doubt it's a financially viable option for Mr Williams.

[Blongb]

The only option I can think of other than the Welsh Government getting involved would be a judicial review, which would look at the legality of the decision and whether the council had acted in accordance with its own laws and guidelines. That could be incredibly costly however and I doubt it's a financially viable option for Mr Williams.

Mr. Williams did mention the sum of £400,000 for starters, during a conversation I had with him recently. How do you go about organising a Crowd Funding scheme, to help raise the money?  so we can all help with the incredibly expensive process of getting locales justice

[Hugo]

I was looking at a copy of the deeds of the Pavilion that DaveR kindly sent me a while ago and noticed the actual boundary of the Pavilion site and the boundary by the Grand Hotel is strange to say the least.
Unfortunately I haven't seen the front elevation of the proposed plans and don't know if Waldron has shown them as being attached to the Grand Hotel.
Obviously he can't do that as the Grand own part of the boundary and it would be an Act of Trespass if he encroached on it.   
It's complicated to say the least and there are also other issues too.       
CCBC has a lot to answer for