Seaside town's unfinished promenade car park 'looks dreadful'
Conwy Council announced over a year ago that the free car park at Llanfairfechan, along with several others across the county, would see parking charges introduced with charges of 80p for one hour, £1.60 for two, £3.60 for up to four hours, £5 for over four hours, and £6.20 for 24 hours. Drivers will be charged £1.20 to park overnight.
The council said the improvement works would include improving the drainage, installing EV charging points, and adding 18 grasscrete car park spaces in the overflow section. They said at the time: 'The improved car park will have car parking charges, which will contribute towards the cost.' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox.
But the work has continually been delayed, with several residents, as well as Llanfairfechan Town Council and county councillors, writing to Conwy asking for updates on the delay, some with flooding concerns. 'We are now growing concerned that the unfinished part of the car park will be left in the state it's currently in over the summer months,' said one concerned resident.
'I have checked the planning portal, and even to someone who isn't an expert in flood management, it seems that without the other flood defences being in place or in the planning stages, it is highly unlikely that NRW (Natural Resources Wales) will approve the grasscrete.'
They added: 'I do hope you are not planning on leaving this section of car park unfinished until the flood defences are in place. It looks dreadful.' The council's planning officers said in a letter to residents the council had been prevented from completing the work, due to a dispute with Natural Resources Wales not being resolved.
A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council added: 'The majority of the improvement work to the car park area has been completed and parking is available.
'The work has included resurfacing, re-marking, the creation of disabled parking bays, and the inclusion of infrastructure to facilitate the future installation of EV chargers. The Traffic Regulation Order process for pay-and-display machines is currently underway.'
She added: 'Work on the remaining section of the car park is due to begin next week. We are also going through the planning application process to convert the grassed area near the car park into additional parking spaces."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Live
2 hours ago
- North Wales Live
The 10 most prolific speed cameras in North Wales as councillors told to ask for more
A chairwoman of a police panel encouraged councillors to ask their local authorities to install more fixed speeding cameras to catch drivers exceeding 20mph. The North Wales Police and Crime Panel met for their June meeting at Conwy 's Coed Pella HQ and heard how drivers had been caught driving at 51mph, 61mph, and 83mph in 20mph zones. The panel were given a presentation on road policing by Supt Simon Barrasford in which members were briefed on speeding figures since the 20mph default speed limit was introduced in Wales. The panel were told the police face challenges enforcing the limit due to many drivers and holidaymakers crossing the border from England where the default 30mph speed limit still applies. But when it was revealed that all the 'top five fixed camera locations' were all in Flintshire, Supt Barrasford told the panel that councillors could request more in their area, which could be funded by Welsh Government. Panel's chairwoman Patricia Astbury said: "In Flintshire, you've got a series of fixed cameras. Is that a local authority request? Is it historical? Has it come from Flintshire? Does that still apply? Can you still have these requests for fixed cameras?' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. Supt Barrasford replied: 'Absolutely. Any local authority can liaise with Welsh Government for funding and put static cameras in. We've seen them on the strategic road network with great effect on Rhuallt Hill, for example. 'So that is another example. It can be done at any time. Flintshire, to be fair, are progressing potentially a similar scheme on one of the coast roads. So any local authority can progress that.' Ms Astbury said: 'It is interesting then that just Flintshire have, and others haven't.' Supt Barrasford nodded. Mrs Astbury added: 'Which is why, Chris (Cllr Bithell), you made a comment the other day about more prosecutions (in Flintshire than other North Wales counties). It is because of that presumably. I thought it might have been because of being on the border with England, but looking at it, no, it is probably because of that (the fixed cameras), isn't it? 'So maybe some of the elected members need to go away and think about having some fixed cameras… I'm certainly going to ask elected members for one on my road.' Cllr Chris Bithell then said some of the Flintshire cameras had been put in some years ago, including the one at Pontybodkin, 'which catches everybody'. The top five fixed camera locations in North Wales, all in Flintshire, were revealed to be at the A5104, Pontybodkin; the A548, Oakenholt; the B5129, Pentre; the A5119, Northop Road, Sychdyn; and the A550 on Gladstone Way. During the meeting, Supt Barrasford briefed the panel on the Welsh Government-funded 'Operation Ugain', a campaign to offer drivers exceeding the 20mph speed limit safety advice rather than penalty points. The police revealed that 126,640 vehicles had passed a Ugain team. 2,840 of those vehicles were stopped due to exceeding the 20mph speed limit, with 2,826 engaging with the advice. 14 drivers were given a traffic offence report or a court summons. Supt Barrasford said the highest speed at a fixed static camera site was 83mph at Mynydd Isa. The driver got a six-month disqualification and substantial fines and costs. The superintendent said the highest recorded speed within a 20mph zone recorded by a staffed speed camera van was on Russell Road, Rhyl. The vehicle was travelling 51mph 'at 11am in the morning on a very busy road', but the case is still going through the judicial process. Another community speed watch camera also caught a driver going 61mph in a 20mph zone. Supt Barrasford also revealed the top five non-fixed speed camera locations were Glan y Mor Road to Marine Drive in Penrhyn Bay in Conwy; the 5A525 Trefnant in Denbighshire; the A548 Russell Road, Rhyl, Denbighshire; the A494 Bala, Gwynedd; and the A5025 Amlwch Road/ Bangor Road, Benllech, Anglesey. North Wales Police hailed the success of the 20mph speed limit, insisting it had resulted in a notable downward trend of accidents. Supt Barrasford said both minor and serious injuries had reduced in both 20mph and 30mph areas since the implementation. He added a 12-month comparison between before and after the legislation change saw serious injuries down by 19.4% and slight injuries down by 43.9%. Whilst fatalities had increased on these roads by 200% (from two to six, one being a double motorcycle fatality), the police said speed couldn't be attributed to have played a part at the time of the briefing, as investigations were ongoing. Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman concluded: 'Collisions happen for all sorts of reasons, as we know. It is not just about speed on the road, is it? 'Sometimes it's young drivers, sometimes age-related, sometimes mechanical defects, and that's why it is being so difficult to be able to (explain) when you've asked me when I've been here previously (to explain) what difference is it making. There are so many factors that we really have to work our way through. 'Reporting in the (news)paper is sometimes very hit and miss. Some things get picked up. Some things don't. It is really difficult to be able to put that tangible response in relation to it.' The chief constable went on to say the force had done a huge amount of work through schools, educating around 2,000 children. This work centred around 'Olivia's Story' and schoolgirl Olivia Alkir, who was tragically killed on the B5105 in Ruthin in June 2019, after a serious collision while out on a road trip with friends. The chief constable also said the force had done a lot of work around motorcycle fatalities in the Eryri National Park, but police were unable to talk about in detail due to ongoing investigations and coronial processes. She added police had to collate and examine the facts so enforcement action could be taken but also warned tourists and visitors from England not adhering to the speed limit. She said: 'I know we have visitors, but the roads are signposted really clearly, and it is an individual responsibility of anyone that gets behind the wheel of their car to have a look at what the road signage says.'
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
New driveway rule in force from today as motorists are warned
The new price cap comes into effect from tomorrow morning, so if you haven't already, it might be worth checking to see if you could save money by switching to a fixed-term deal now Major changes to UK driveways are set to kick off from today, with a stark warning for over a million electric vehicle (EV) owners. Those who charge their EVs at home need to be aware of the new Ofgem price cap that are now in effect. David Watson, CEO of Ohme, a company specialising in smart home chargers for EVs, said: "Charging at home will always be the most affordable place for EV drivers to charge their cars and this lower electricity price is great news to help them reduce their running costs. READ MORE: Pet owners rush to claim free flea treatment as UK heatwave sees pests rise "However, any EV driver charging at home should look at switching to one of the wide range of energy tariffs that drop those costs still further to help save them even more money." Ofgem, the industry regulator, has announced that starting from 1 July 2025, the price cap for the average dual-fuel household paying bills by Direct Debit will be £1,720. This rate represents a £129 (or 7%) reduction from the current annual rate of £1,849. Yet, it's important to note that this new cap is still 34% above the rates before the energy crisis. Therefore, while the reduction is welcome, it must be viewed within the broader context, reports Yorkshire Live. Additionally, since July 2024, when the cap was lowered to £1,568 – the lowest point since the onset of the crisis – there hasn't been a further decrease. Ben Gallizzi, senior content editor at Uswitch, said: "The price cap will drop by 7% in July, but customers can start saving now by fixing their deal. "There are deals available to switch to that can save around £250 a year against the price cap. If you have the option of getting off a standard variable tariff and ditching the price cap, it's worth doing that now." In October 2022, when Ofgem's price cap level was expected to rocket to £4,279 by January 2023, the government intervened with the Energy Price Guarantee as a buffer for households grappling with escalating energy costs. Designed as a "safety" price cap, it was initially pegged at £2,500 annually (subsidised by the government) for an average use dual fuel customer. Come May 2023, Ofgem and government officials announced that the Energy Price Guarantee would be hiked to £3,000. This measure has since been scrapped entirely.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- BBC News
UK's biggest EV battery factory construction starts in Somerset
Bosses behind the UK's biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery plant said they had reached a "major milestone" in its first steel frames on the site at Puriton, near Bridgwater, Somerset, are now in Tata Group's global battery business, is investing £4bn in the former Royal Ordnance Factory site just off junction 23 of the M5. Construction is expected to take two years, with about 500 people on site by the end of 2025, and going up to 2,000 in 2026. The company said the steel structure was being erected in phases, with the build beginning at the north of the is the start of more visible construction work on the site and comes after 17,000 piles were driven down into the ground to stabilise the building's said all the steel used for the build was being sourced from British Wiggins, vice president of manufacturing operations at Agratas, said it was "a proud moment". "It is the start of a new chapter where our vision for a world-leading facility starts to visibly take shape," Mr Wiggins said. The company has promised to use sound-reduced equipment, electric plant if possible, and said no cutting or grinding works will take place on Sundays, to try and minimise the impact on local residents. Bosses revealed in April that the main building will now be 84 metres (279 ft) shorter than originally proposed, and the first factory building will not open until 2027 - a year later than previously said 1,500 operational jobs would be created when it opens in 2027, with 4,000 jobs on offer once they expand across the whole site.
