What's Llandudno Like Right Now?

[Hugo]

Hundreds take Boxing Day plunge in chilly North Wales seas to raise charity cash
Whether in trunks or fancy dress, many turned up to brave the cold waves
It was a warm December day today but still too cold for me to take a dip       


https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/hundreds-take-boxing-day-plunge-28350466

[Hugo]

Eerie tunnels beneath Llandudno leading out to sea
Explorers are opening up an unexplored section of Llandudno's Ty Gwyn Copper Mine

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/explorers-open-up-hidden-world-25802398


The Great Orme Exploration Society has a fantastic web site for anyone interested in the  history of the Great Orme.     The Society also has many good walks arranged during the year

https://www.goes.org.uk/

[Hugo]

Storm Gerrit is out in force at the moment with winds of over 50 mph predicted for this afternoon.     The weather is too bad to venture out unless you have to but at least I can see the West Shore on the web cam


http://www.westshorebeachcafe.com/webcam-in-llandudno/

[SteveH]

CONWY'S planning committee backed plans to transform Llandudno?s former Marks & Spencer building into a three-floor mixed-use leisure hub ? but there were concerns raised about what could go there.

Llandudno landowner Mostyn Estates were granted permission for the building?s use to be changed from retail and ancillary to a mixed-use building comprising a mix of retail, food and beverage, and indoor leisure.

The change of use will allow Mostyn Estates to market the future use of the building more widely.

But a planning report revealed that footfall in the town centre had dropped significantly since M&S had left Mostyn Street.

Since M&S moved to Parc Llandudno in March 2022, the nearby multistorey car park had seen a 40% decline in the number of cars parked.

Data from people counters on Mostyn Street also confirmed a reduction in footfall since M&S relocated.

Cllr Antony Bertola proposed councillors voted in favour of the change of use, which was seconded by Cllr Chris Cater.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24010244.plan-transform-llandudnos-former-marks-spencer-building-approved/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

From Gogarth Councilors news letter.........

Many people will have seen in the media that Mostyn Estates have made an application for the redevelopment and change of use of the former Marks & Spencer building on Mostyn Street.  This is a hugely important development for the town, and I'm pleased to see the project has been supported with positive words from council officer Elen Edwards, Head of Economic Development.

However, such is the importance of the project that I believe it needs to be properly debated upon by those that represent the local public, and therefore I have 'Called-in' the planning application.  To 'Call-in' is a legal mechanism that requires the application to be decided by elected representatives rather than council planning officers.  I look forward to this application being debated.

[SteveH]

Llandudno's 'little and large' jetties that have survived against the odds
One is a 'feat of engineering' but it was very nearly lost a decade ago

When the first Victorian visitors arrived in Llandudno, they had to be carried ashore. Paddle steamers were tied up to a buoy anchored on North Shore beach, and small boats would ferry passengers closer to the shoreline. The remaining few yards were more problematic.

Sketches from the time show burly crew members wading through the surf giving piggybacks to gentlemen in hats. Also hitched aloft were parasol-clutching ladies in petticoats and dresses.........................read more below

Cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/llandudnos-little-large-jetties-survived-28362561?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

Just one vote decided the fate of the jetty, that's how close the decision was.       I wonder how close the vote was to put all that quarry waste on the North Shore?

[SteveH]

A NEW sign at Happy Valley has been heavily criticised by residents.

The sign reminds people not to swim in the stream and states 'no swimming, no paddling, no access.'

Conwy County Borough Council put the sign in place following risk assessments of all open spaces sites that have water, ponds and streams, but a lot of residents have termed the sign as "ugly" and a "waste of money."

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24026205.residents-slam-ugly-warning-sign-happy-valley/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

A mum cried as the Scout Association finally admitted responsibility for her son's cliff-fall death, more than five years after it happened. Ben Leonard's mum Jackie tearfully told an inquest: "It's five-and-a-half years too late. That's all we wanted from the beginning."

Ms Leonard said she felt "disgusted" by the way her family had been treated since Ben's death while on a trip to north Wales in 2018. She said it had felt "like we don't matter and like Ben didn't matter."

Ben suffered a serious head injury when he fell 200ft from the Great Orme in Llandudno on August 26, 2018. He was on a trip with the Reddish Explorer Scouts from Stockport, where he lived. Jim Ageros KC - a lawyer representing The Scout Association - told an inquest in Manchester that the organisation "accepts it was at fault for Ben's death".

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/scouts-admit-were-at-fault-28393666?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589
cont

[SteveH]

Go-ahead to tap the hidden waters of the Great Orme for new venture
Applicant wanted to bottle spring water from the giant headland

A plan to once again use of the hidden waters of the Great Orme headland to quench of the thirst of Llandudno has been approved. The land mass once provided vital supplies for the growing town it towered over - with nine springs alone on the Great Orme.

Llandudno started to develop more radidly and reservoirs were needed to avoid the ?water famines? that had almost occurred as the population grew. Llandudno?s Fach reservoir came to the rescue while an open reservoir capable of holding 3,500,000 gallons was completed on land near St Tudno?s Church on the Great Orme.

Last month month North Wales Live revealed that a proposal had been put forward for mineral water to be extracted from a spring on the Great Orme to be bottled for sale or used for the water to make Penderyn's Welsh whisky at its Llandudno distillery.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/go-ahead-tap-hidden-waters-28393181?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

That's an interesting article but one thing struck me about Penderyn extracting water from a spring on the Great Orme and it's this:-
Penderyn must have to pay someone for the water they have extracted, but who will they have to pay?      Will it be the Country Park Dwr Cymru  or the landowner,  if I was a betting man I know who my money would be on

[Hugo]

Croquet club's plan for new building, but it seems that not everyone is bowled over by the idea        
 

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/croquet-clubs-plan-new-building-28391792

[SteveH]

MOSTYN STREET in Llandudno was closed for several hours yesterday evening (January 11) after a crash between a bus and car.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 6pm, with North Wales Police and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service in attendance.

After freeing the occupants of the car, and clearing the vehicles, the road was reopened just after 9pm.

Nobody is thought to have been injured in the crash.   ref pioneer

[DVT]

20 mph

[norman08]

The local rag. ( pioneer ) says nobody was injured,,, so why was the poor bus driver still in hospital this afternoon.   

[SteveH]

How Llandudno?s goats helped turn novelty train into hit tourism attraction
They often gather to watch people passing by in the resort?s ?goats train?

On hour-long train trips around the headland, the driver likes to play spot-the-goat with passengers. It?s not hard. On some outings, it even feels like the game is reciprocated.

As Llandudno s Land Train rounds the Great Orme, troops of the goggle-eyed animals mass on cliff ledges as if to welcome the resort?s visitors as they pass by. Invariably, the train slows and, for a short while, the stupendous views play second fiddle to a bunch of unruly Kashmiri goats.

cont / photo  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/trips-breaks/how-llandudnos-goats-helped-turn-28442524?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589