An application to demolish a 115-year-old pier has been submitted by a council, even though a lottery fund could still back a £9m redevelopment.
Conwy council announced today that it has “submitted and registered” a planning application and listed building consent application for permission to demolish Colwyn Bay’s Victoria Pier.
The applications seek permission to remove all the decks, the balustrading, support structures and the pavilion, but to leave 66% of the cast iron columns which support the pier in place.
A wider programme of community engagement and involvement to mark the history of the pier is also proposed, “so as to help mitigate its loss”.
However, Colwyn Victoria Pier Trust has submitted a £9m grant bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to help turn the structure into a £12m health and education hub.
HLF staff are expected to visit Colwyn Bay on February 27, and a decision is expected in March or April.
Cllr Dilwyn Roberts, leader of Conwy council, said: “We know that the Pier Trust hopes to restore the pier and has submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, but we also have to prepare for the worst.
“The pier is a danger to the public and a significant drain on scarce public resources, so we have submitted our application now in parallel with the Pier Trust/Town Council HLF application.
“The planning application and listed building consent application have been formally registered and will be subject to the usual planning process.”
The listed building consent application will be submitted to Cadw once the application has been considered and assessed by the council. The listed building consent decision will be made by a Welsh Government minister advised by Cadw.
Meanwhile, the ownership of the pier remains the subject of dispute, with Steven Hunt hoping to win ownership back in a court case in coming weeks.
Mr Hunt said: "Conwy council cannot comply with the requirements of the relevant planning process because they do not own the pier. If they owned the pier, the matter would not be in the High Court as I would have no case. It is that simple.
"The forthcoming three-day hearing in the High Court will bring an end to this farce. Demolition of the pier will achieve only one thing: a substantial increase in the amount of compensation the council will ultimately have to pay me."
To view the council’s application, visit conwy.gov.uk/planning.
No comments:
Post a Comment