Re: Llandudno's Pier Pavilion redevelopment site

[Fester]

Strange how it is a listed building........ seeing as there has BEEN NO building for the last 18 years!

[Blongb]

Walked past this am. two men cutting down bushes on the perimeter-- and throwing all the branches and trimmings over the fence--- more rubbish !

If the 2 men who were privately funded had taken the cuttings away at the end of the job it would have been possable to accuse them of theft. By leaving the cuttings which are the property of Warwickshire Property Services Ltd. on site, no theft has occurred and we have one neatly trimmed hedge. Shame on Conwy Council for not cutting it themselves and back charging the site owners

[DaveR]

That's an interesting legal point. Being pedantic, I know...but can someone who is not the owner carry out work on a property? I imagine CCBC would be able to do it as the owner of the public land bordering the Pavilion but someone else...? 

[Fester]

I was involved in a darts match in the RAOB club on Madoc St tonight... and our noble Lord Mayor, Mr Robbins happened to wander in.

I thought, what a great opportunity to ask him for an update on the Pier Pavilion site, which after all, was promised as the pinnacle of his greatness, and the legacy of his Mayoral reign.

But as I excitedly approached him, it suddenly dawned on me that it was a complete waste of my time.  Whats the point?

[Blongb]

That's an interesting legal point. Being pedantic, I know...but can someone who is not the owner carry out work on a property? I imagine CCBC would be able to do it as the owner of the public land bordering the Pavilion but someone else...? 

Yes Dave Conwy do have the power under the Town and Country Planning Act but choose not to use it. In consequence we on the top half of North Parade have to live with the result of their dereliction of duty or ...!

[DaveR]

CCBC have used their Compulsory Purchase powers to buy the Market Hall in Colwyn Bay and will sell it on to a Private Developer. No reason why they can't do the same with the Pier Pavilion site. Everything I've highlighted in bold applies equally, if not more so, to the Pier Pavilion site....


15/03/12 - Council takes ownership of Market Hall

Conwy County Borough Council is pleased to announce it has taken ownership of the former Market Hall building in Colwyn Bay.

As part of the Bay Life+ regeneration of Colwyn Bay, the Council and Welsh Government have made a number of property purchases that are of strategic significance to the town.

The former Market Hall building and neighbouring properties on Princes Drive are part of that programme.  The site is an integral part of the Masterplan to regenerate the town because it's in an important and prominent location between the Station Square and Penrhyn Road. Ultimately the site will be redeveloped.

Cllr Goronwy Edwards, Conwy's Cabinet Member for Communities said, "This site has been a blight on the town for many years. It's taken many months of legal work and negotiation but today, at last, we've received confirmation that it is finally in the Council's ownership."

Rob Dix, Regeneration Area Programme Manager said, "The Market Hall site is an important site to see redeveloped. Not only does its rundown condition visually detract from the town, but the various ownerships on the site made it very difficult for a private investor to redevelop the site. Today we have managed to bring the whole site into single ownership - making future redevelopment possible."

Conwy County Borough Council will be looking to assist the remaining tenants in their relocation.   The buildings will then be demolished and the site sold for redevelopment in accordance with the development and design briefs agreed by Cabinet.

[wrex]

All is quiet on the Mr Taylor saga.

[DaveR]

Just more prevarication from CCBC. A CPO is the only way forward....

[Hugo]

Just more prevarication from CCBC. A CPO is the only way forward....

It would be better late than never but a CPO should have been done many,many years ago.

[craigollerton]

I vividly remember attending a meeting where Rob Dix was present concerning the purchase of the pavilion site which I stated would be in the interests of the townspeople. He asked me where did I think the money would come from, the same coffers the money come from to pay for the swimming pool I told him, next thing he got all irrate and touchy on the subject and pushed back my questioning onto someone else. It's a joke, thats what it is, nothing but an absolute disgrace to this town. No progress will ever be made until that site is brought back into local ownership of the borough council who can then call the shots. The impression I got by the way the rob dix was speaking was that it was a 'sensitive, and delicate' matter, forget sympathy and treading carefully, they need to come down like a tonne of bricks and use some bloody authority to get this sorted once and for all. I've ranted on this one before, it's a joke, joke joke!

[Fester]

Its been my biggest bug-bear for years...  and a CPO is well overdue.

I am certain that if a local consortium proposed a sensible project on that site, then CCBC could be persuaded to buy it and flip it over to that group.   Very much like the Colwyn Bay Pier situation, but with a much more valuable asset.

[Blongb]

The last price I heard quoted just to buy the site was £5.8 million. Then there is the cost of rebuilding whatever is proposed for the site. Then you can bet your bottom dollar there will be a High Court Case brought by the current owner of the hole against CCBC because he has not been allowed to develop what he wanted on the site. And you wonder why CCBC has not applied for a compulsory purchase order. A lot of the delay was caused by the zoning requirements of the site. In the latest LDP it was re-zoned into the Hotel Habitation Zone, which if approved will clear an awful lot of the restrictions and make redevelopment possible. Then we might get a brand new 5 star Hotel which we don't need (with all windows double glazed of course) to help ensure a whole load of struggling smaller hotels go out of business. 

[DaveR]

The price for a CPO is dependent on the market value of the site based on its current zoning. CPOs happen on a regular basis all round the country, the Pier Pavilion site need be no different.

[Fester]

BlongB, rest assured, a hotel development is not what is required on that site.

Instead, a purpose built indoor leisure facility, a multi-purpose all weather attraction is a must.

[Blongb]

BlongB, rest assured, a hotel development is not what is required on that site.

Instead, a purpose built indoor leisure facility, a multi-purpose all weather attraction is a must.

I wish I was as sure as you are Fester, because if that was the case there would have been no need to re-zone it, in the last LDP, unless of course you get a lot more money for a site that's cleared for Hotel building