Watch: Angry Llandudno residents confront lorries delivering stones to beach too earlyApr 09, 2014 18:31 By Rhodri Barker
People say the stones will ruin the beach and deter holidaymakers and have been confronting lorries turning up earlier than 8am to deliver them
Angry residents have confronted trucks which turned up too early to make controversial deliveries of stones to a beach.
They include a hotelier who says the lorries working on Llandudno promenade woke his guests.
Lorries have spent weeks delivering stones to the beach after defences were damaged during winter storms.
The move has caused outrage among residents who fear the stones will ruin the beach and deter holidaymakers.
Geoff Lofthouse, general manager of the Imperial Hotel, said he staged his “one-man protest” after several guests complained that they were woken by the noise of the deliveries on Friday.
He said: “They started work at 7.20am, which is totally unacceptable. Guests complained not only at my hotel, but at the hotel next door too.
“They said they could start at 7.30, so I went and stood in front of the trucks for 10 minutes.
“Guests pay extra for front-facing rooms, but some said they would have stayed in rooms at the back if they’d known about this. Emptying the stones out of a metal truck on to more stones makes a horrendous noise.”
Mr Lofthouse said that, following his protest, the council told him that work would start at 8am in future.
However, this morning, Ian Turner, chairman of a newly formed action group aimed at restoring Llandudno’s North Shore to its “former glory”, was on the promenade to complain that deliveries were being made before 8am.
He stood in front of a truck owned by Porthmadog firm O J Jones & Son and claims it carried on moving, hitting his shoulder and arm.
A video posted on Facebook by Mr Turner shows him gesturing towards the vehicle and saying: “You hit me with this wagon.”
Mr Turner filmed several lorries driving on to the prom while complaining that it was not yet 8am. In the video, his watch shows the time is a few minutes before 8am.
A driver in a lorry belonging to Staffordshire firm N S Clarke Transport is seen showing Mr Turner the V-sign.
Mr Turner said: “I stood my ground in front of a wagon and shouted it wasn't eight o’clock yet, but he drove into me hitting my arm and shoulder with a glancing blow.
“I continued to shout at him saying he’d hit me as I was really shocked and shaken up by it. I was there on a point of principle as one of the people who is objecting to the way our North Shore beach is being ruined by stones.”
O J Jones & Son declined to comment when approached by the Daily Post.
Asked about the driver who showed Mr Turner the V-sign, a spokesman for N S Clarke Transport said: “We are looking into it and will speak to the driver. The driver should not have done it and we have apologised to Mr Turner, who called us to complain.”
A county council spokeswoman said: “Trucks arrived on site prior to work starting at 8am. However, we can confirm no tipping of material has been carried out before 8am in order to minimise impact on local businesses.”
Iwan Davies, Conwy’s chief executive, answered critics of the work at a cabinet meeting this week.
He said: “What we're currently doing in Llandudno is putting the coastal defences back to their 2002 state - nothing more, just reinstating the existing defences. Keeping Llandudno safe has to be the overriding aim.
“I would rather be criticised for lack of sand on the beach than the council being held responsible in due course for failing to protect Llandudno's residents and businesses from flooding.”
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/watch-angry-llandudno-residents-confront-6943488
