Kava Café, Llandudno

Kava is one of Llandudno's best cafes/restaurants, in my view. You'll find it at 104 Mostyn Street (just look for the windmill seen in the photo above). Formerly located within the Clarence Hotel on Gloddaeth Street, Kava moved around the corner into their own premises on Mostyn Street (formerly the Moulin Rouge cafe) a couple of years ago and have established a firm reputation for great food and drink in pleasant surroundings. The owner, Kenan, makes everyone feel very welcome and really values your custom; it's always a pleasure to visit.On a sunny day, it's great to just sit outside and sip a Latte as you watch the world go by. If you're feeling peckish, the English breakfast is excellent. Highly Recommended.

(Photo Credit)

Information:
Kava Café
104 Mostyn Street, Llandudno, Conwy
LL30 2SW

Telephone:
01492 875378

Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday 9.00am till 6.00pm
Saturday 9.00am till 6.00pm
Sundays 9.00am till 6.00pm
(I believe they may close a little earlier during the Winter)

Children are welcome at all times
Kava Café & Restaurant is licensed to sell alcohol

http://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/llandudno/business-guide/feature/kava-cafe/71195

Oriel Mostyn

(Photo Credit)

The £5.1m renovation of Oriel Mostyn Art Gallery in Llandudno is nearing completion, with the reopening date schedued for 22nd May 2010.

The project, undertaken by R. L. Davies Builders, involves:

"....new galleries, a café, a hands-on education room a meeting room, a bigger and better shop, improved public facilities, and will make us fully accessible to all. We will also get some great architectural and design features: a large new gallery using a ‘saw-tooth’ roof to bring in natural light; oak floors in all the galleries; landmark gold-coloured metal tiles on the building’s spire and part of its rear façade; the striking use of concrete in ‘the Tube’ – the new circulation area linking the entrance with the exhibition galleries and the stairway linking the first and second floors. Concerned about the building and what will happen to it? Don’t be! The plans include the complete refurbishment of the original 1901 façade, canopy and existing galleries and the sympathetic integration with them of the new areas"

There has been some criticism of the amount of money spent on this project - I can understand that but my view is...if this money isn't spent in Llandudno, then it will be spent in Swansea or Cardiff instead, so we may as well take full advantage of the funding that is available. Besides that, the expansion of Oriel Mostyn will give us a first-class Arts facility - probably the finest in North Wales. Isn't this the sort of thing we should be encouraging in Llandudno?

I'm looking forward to the Opening Day!

Oriel Mostyn Website:
http://www.mostyn.org

Facebook Group:
Oriel Mostyn

How it looked in 2005 (Photo Credit)

The People Have Spoken - Part II

I can't recall a time that an issue aroused as much interest locally as the fate of Colwyn Bay Pier. It's now speculated that as many as 500 people tried to attend the public meeting at the Town Hall, Colwyn Bay, last night (only about 200 were able to squeeze in) and the local blogosphere has been full of nothing else for the last few days. A Facebook Group that was only set up a couple of days ago now has 920 members - if you're on Facebook, please join and contribute to the discussions!

Update: The Facebook Group now has 1,023 members; please join and show your support if you haven't already done so.

Local Blogs worth a read:
David Jones, MP
Oscar
Cllr. Jason Weyman
Cllr. John Oddy
Carneades

Media Coverage:
BBC Wales Today (Video Clip)
BBC News Website
ITV Wales News (Video Clip)
Daily Post
North Wales Pioneer

Facebook Group:
Save Colwyn Bay Pier

Pier Website:
www.victoriapier.com

The People Have Spoken!

I was astonished (and thrilled) tonight at the number of people who turned up to the meeting to discuss the future of Colwyn Bay Pier at the Town Hall in Colwyn Bay. The large Council Chamber was packed to the brim (approx 150-200 people) and I'm told that there were another 200 people outside the building who were unable to gain entry.

David Jones MP chaired the meeting and made a good job of it, allowing a wide cross-section of views on the Pier's future from those in attendence. One thing was very apparent - there was very little support, practically none in fact, for any plan to demolish the pier - the consensus was that it should be restored and it had a large role to play in the revitalised Colwyn Bay waterfront. A Town Councillor even suggested that he would put forward a referendum amongst the Town Council voters to see if they would like the Town Council to take back the Pier into public ownership and pay for the cost of renovation. It was also apparent that there was a groundswell of local people both prepared to donate money towards a renovation project and also prepared to assist with the physical renovation work.

To my mind, a key question was what form the future ownership of the Pier should take. Time and time again, the issue of a Charitable Trust was brought up and the feedback from people standing around me was that they were somewhat uneasy at the thought of donating time, labour, money etc if the Pier remained in private hands. This is, to my mind, a very important (and understandable) point. No-one doubts Steve Hunt's commitment to the Pier but it is an issue which must be resolved for any restoration project to receive full public support.

The meeting concluded with David Jones MP summing up the current situation by saying that the ownership/bankruptcy dispute between the council and Mr Hunt etc needed to be resolved immediately and he would be insisting on a meeting with Conwy Council Chief Executive Byron Davies in which he would ask that the current impasse be broken and the legal wranglings resolved, so that the situation could move forward and the real issue of how the pier can be renovated etc can then be addressed.

Let Battle Commence

A thriving Colwyn Bay Pier in the 1970s (Photo Credit)


Colwyn Bay Pier in 2009 (Photo Credit)

The Public Meeting on Friday 22nd January at 6pm in the Town Hall in Colwyn Bay should prove to be a watershed for the fortunes of Colwyn Bay Pier...for better or worse.

The meeting was called by local MP, David Jones, in a bid to ascertain local peoples thoughts about the Pier's future. The Pier's condition has deteriorated sharply during its period of closure and something needs to be done soon. Should it be renovated, demolished, extended, shortened? Should it be privately or publicly owned? What facilities should be provided if it is renovated?

I understand that consultants from DPP Shape (who are responsible for the Colwyn Bay Masterplan) will be attending the meeting in order to take note of residents' opinions. Sadly, it would seem that no-one from Conwy County Council will be attending - which seems somewhat odd?

Update: Space at the venue is very limited and, due to the immense interest, only people that have pre-registered with David Jones' office will be able to attend. I understand that there's only a few places left, so if you'd like to attend, please contact David Jones' office on 01492 535845 or email owenj@parliament.uk quickly!

I will be there!

A matter of convenience....

St. Tudno's Church, Great Orme, Llandudno (Photo Credit)

It may not be the prettiest building in the world, but if you're out walking on the Great Orme headland in Llandudno and have been 'caught short', then the public toilet block by St. Tudno's Church (just out of sight to the left in the above photo) has always been a welcome sight. Similarly, worshippers at St. Tudnos and visitors to the graveyards have also made regular use of the facility.

Unfortunately, cutbacks by Conwy Council have meant that the Toilets at St Tudnos (along with many others in the County) are scheduled for closure, unless another organisation can be found to take over their management. Personally, I'd cut back on the penpushers in Bodlondeb and keep all the public toilets open but that's another story...

Anyway, Conwy Council recently published their Appraisal of Public Toilets here and I was interested to see that, true to form, they have made an error in the Methodology that has resulted in the St Tudnos Toilets being given a low ranking in importance for being kept open.

Page 56 of the document lists Footfall (usage) for the various Toilets in the County. St Tudnos (or Great Orme Cemetary to give it its correct title) is allocated a usage of 0 visitors per year. Why? Because:

"0 assumed in absence of recorded data; however anecdotal evidence suggests that very little footfall traffic exists at public conveniences within a cemetery."

So, not only did they not bother to actually record how many people used it, they also assumed no-one used it because it was 'within a cemetery'. As we all know, this is incorrect, its actually on a public road near to a small car park outside the Church/cemetery and is well used by both worshippers at St Tudnos and ramblers/visitors to the Great Orme.

The Public Toilets at St. Tudno's

I understand that, following representations from the Parish of Llandudno, a Working Party has been set up by Llandudno Town Council to look at the problem. Let's hope that the Town Council overcome their usual timidity and seize this opportunity to maintain a very valuable public service. While they're about it, how about reopening the Public Toilets on Happy Valley Road (opposite the Grand Hotel) that have been closed for a couple of years?

A concidence to chew over...

Regular blogwatchers will remember a post from myself on the 30th December, commenting on the amount of chewing gum on Llandudno's streets and what a poor sight it presented:

http://llandudnoandcolwynbay.blogspot.com/2009/12/chewing-gum.html

In that post, I promised to email the Cabinet Member responsible for the Environment, Mike Priestley, and ask him what action could be taken to deal with this problem. I'm pleased to say that I have now received a response from Mr. Priestley, in which he says..

"I think you raise a fair point regarding Mostyn Street and I totally agree with you that it is a mess. I would however, at this point like to state that chewing gum on pavements is a national problem. I have been looking at this problem and ways to tackle it for some time now and have seen a number of chewing gum removal equipment demonstrations. I have to say, only one has caught my eye. This year I will be looking to purchase some equipment to address the chewing gum problem and will be seeking the best and most efficient system. The biggest problem I see is the length of time it will take to clear a particular road or street of chewing gum. My department is looking into this with a view to working with partners. I can also look to place a business case to have a one-off cleanse followed by our staff keeping on top of the problem.

I am also looking at a three prong attack on this

Education in schools and the media pointing out all the problems this causes

Enforcement – catching and fining those responsible

Cleaning – implementing a cleansing schedule which includes the removal of gum from our pavements

The above, I believe, can make a difference to our streets and pavements and this is an issue I want to tackle."

I'm pleased with Mr. Priestley's response and look forward to hearing what action is to be taken to deal with this sticky problem.

Snow in Llandudno

Llandudno woke up to its first real dusting of snow in the recent cold snap this morning. Doesn't look like its going to last long though, it's already melting away.

Chilly

A family bereavement has meant that I've not been able to post much lately but here are two mobile phone photos of a chilly Llandudno today. It was actually a lovely day for a walk, as long as you were wrapped up properly.