WORK on sea defences at Rhyl could cause a traffic “nightmare”.
The planned £10.6m scheme aimed at reducing the risk of flooding in West Rhyl has angered residents and councillors who question the timing of the work and fear traffic diversions will see the area’s residential streets turned into rat runs.
Rhyl West councillor Joan Butterfield, who chaired a meeting over the scheme which is expected to last two years, said: “The delays are coming during the busiest time for Rhyl, it’s going to be an absolute nightmare.
“It’s going to be a rat run, and it’ll have a knock-on effect for the rest of Rhyl.
“When all the materials and hard rock are going onto the site, they’ll be coming over the the blue bridge and wil be driving over every 10 minutes of every working day.
“All this material coming over the bridge will be coming to the closed down area on the promenade, which is closed as far as Sydenam Avenue, which is a very narrow road and is a very contentious road to provide access to the promenade.
The timing of the works has also angered Cllr Ian Armstrong.
He said: “The sea wall has got to go up but why I they starting work in June just ahead of the summer.
“Why they could’nt have started in late September I don’t know.”
Existing defences along the Rhyl coast are up to 110 years old and according to experts are already displaying signs of fatigue.
The scheme is receiving funding from the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Assembly Government.for a Strategic Flood and Coastal Risk Management Project.
Cllr Butterfield questioned the level of consultion ahead of work starting saying:
“We’re very annoyed as we havn’t been consulted on this. It’s been too quiet for too long, we should have been consulted on this weeks ago and had it all sorted. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “There has been a lot of consultation on the proposals for the West Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme, including public exhibitions in and around the town on numerous occasions, including exhibitions at the White Rose Centre and Rhyl Library.
“We also consulted on the plans during an exhibition on the new Foryd Harbour bridge, and there was also full consultation as part of the planning application to determine the scheme.”