Don't Miss It!

A reminder that the second Meeting to discuss the future of Colwyn Bay Pier is tonight (Friday 26th March) at 6pm in St. Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay. I will be there.

Colwyn Bay Pier - Second Meeting

(Photo Credit)

Following the sell-out first public meeting to discuss the fate of Colwyn Bay Pier, local MP David Jones has announced a second meeting, to take place in the far larger St. Pauls Church:

Mr Jones said: “I now want to report back to the meeting on options for the future of the pier and also to suggest that a steering committee be formed to explore the possibility of establishing a charitable trust to take over the pier and seek to restore it. A number of people have already said that they would be willing to serve on the committee.”

It will be interesting to see how many people turn out for the second meeting and are willing to get involved.

The meeting will take place at St Paul’s Church on Abergele Road at 6pm on March 26

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!