Colwyn Bay Pier: Campaigners hopeful ahead of special council meeting
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Colwyn Bay Pier from demolition are calling for “common sense” from councillors.
A special council meeting will see councillors come face to face with members of the Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust, looking to redevelop the Grade II listed structure despite having a £9.6million Heritage Lottery Fund bid rejected.
Pat Owen, director of the Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust, whose members succeeded in lobbying five Conwy councillors to propose the meeting, said: “This is good news for us and it will give us an opportunity to get our side of the story across to councillors who may not be aware of all the facts.
“The costs to demolish the pier are significant and Conwy council have freely admitted that they do not have the necessary funds to do this, so we are hoping that common sense will prevail and we can find a solution to an ongoing problem.”
Councillors granted conditional permission for the demolition of the pier to be determined by Welsh Government ministers at a planning committee earlier this month, at a cost of around £2million.
Conwy council have also applied to Cadw for partial de-listing of the site, and trust members have set up a petition to urge the Welsh heritage organisation to reject this request.
The five councillors who have requested the special meeting taking place on Tuesday, June 30 at 6pm, are Abdul Khan, Bob Squire, Keith Eeles, Bill Darwin and Susan Shotter at the request of Cllr Cheryl Carlisle.
Cllr Squire, said: “It would be ridiculous to demolish the pier and just leave the structures, and I think if the money is there then we must find a way to get it.
"I was disappointed to hear the reasons behind the HLF rejection and it was not nice to see that the council were blamed, so hopefully this meeting with give the trust another chance to have their say.”
The trust have been encouraged to make a second bid by the HLF provided they can gain more support from the council to progress the plans.
Conwy council remains in an ownership dispute with businessman Steven Hunt.
A large crowd is expected at the trust’s Annual General Meeting, on Wednesday, July 1 at Princes Drive Baptist Church from 7pm.
Those wishing to sign the petition can do so here.
http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/149475/colwyn-bay-pier-campaigners-hopeful-ahead-of-special-council-meeting.aspx