Clwyd West’s Member of Parliament, David Jones, is dismayed at the rejection by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) of a £4.9 million application from Conwy County Borough Council for a grant to help fund the restoration of Colwyn Bay’s Grade II listed Victoria Pier.
The news that the bid was turned down comes less than a week after the Council announced that it had bought the freehold interest in the pier from the Crown Estate.
In a statement, the HLF said:
“This month’s HLF Board meeting was very over-subscribed. The quality of bids was exceptionally high and, regretfully, we just didn’t have enough money to support all the applications we looked at on the day. We will be meeting with representatives from the Council shortly to discuss the best way forward for their project.”
David Jones MP commented:
“I am dismayed at this news. The pier is a worsening eyesore, which is disfiguring the Colwyn Bay seafront.
“I hope that the Council will now urgently improve its funding bid and resubmit it to HLF as quickly as reasonably possible.
“However, it is clear that there is a lot of competition for HLF support, so it is important that the bid is as strong as possible.
“The Council should therefore seek input from a wide range of local people; many people in the town have innovative ideas as to how the pier can be made to pay, so as to provide a sustainable income stream.
“The whole of the county now has a vested interest in the pier, so local people should be allowed to have their say.
“I am personally keen to work very closely with the Council in the weeks ahead and will continue to give the bid all my support.
“However, I do have major concerns about the way this issue has been handled by the Council.
“In the first place, it must be questioned whether it was wise to buy the freehold before funding was confirmed. The HLF have told me that it was not necessary to do so before the final funding stage was reached, later on in the year.
“Given that the pier is a listed building, the Council, as its owner, now has a liability to restore it, which would be an expensive exercise – estimates of £10 million have been made. Even if it decided to demolish it, the cost would be around £1 million. All such costs would have to be paid by the council taxpayers of Conwy.
“Why did the Council think it was sensible to take on that liability without any guarantee of funding?
“Secondly, the Council does not yet appear to have given much thought to where the rest of the cost of restoration will come from. Even if HLF funding is ultimately obtained, it will not be enough to pay for all the work. Have further funding sources been identified and, if so, what are they?
“The Council has also not been in any sense transparent in the way it has dealt with its proposals for the pier. Its consideration of the issue has taken place in private, with no opportunity for the public to hear the arguments for and against restoration, or to learn what costs are involved.
“That secrecy is unacceptable and should not continue. The people of Conwy have a right to know the commitments that the Council is entering into on their behalf.
“Most people in Colwyn Bay would very much like the pier to be restored if possible. But everyone agrees that the project has to be sustainable.
“The Council should now invite all interested parties to work closely with it in order to find a sustainable future for the pier and should get on with that exercise as quickly as possible.”
