IMPORTANT PLANS for the future of a seaside attraction were put up for the public's scrutiny.
A public display of the group's proposals for the pier was held at the Bay View shopping centre for two days, beginning yesterday (Tuesday).
The plans included the division of the pier into four distinct promenade, commercial, entertainment and learning zones. Funding for the overall project would cost about £10million, £2.1million of which would go to the restoration of the structure of the pier. The rest would go into funding for work on the pier's separate zones, and other costs such as consultancies, design and inflation.
An application for funding for the work will be presented to the Heritage Lottery Fund before the end of the month - who have agreed to extend the deadline for the overall application until February, to provide organisers with the time to resolve the issue of its ownership.
Jay Martin, chairman of Shore Thing, the social enterprise who are looking to restore the pier, said it was essential that the public demonstrated their support for restoration efforts as this would be key when it came to applying for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. and solving the issue of the pier's ownership with the Crown Estates.
He said: “I would like to see 800 plus people turn up - but up to 1000 would be a good result. We've tried to promote it as much as possible, but it is something that has attracted a lot of attention.
“It’s a community led project, and we see the pier as a community asset, so we really want to that community to have its say in the development.”
Mr Martin added: “If we can demonstrate overwhelming public support for this development and this concept, then that serves to strengthen our case to the Crown Estate.”
Yesterday’s event was followed by a presentation for the young people of Colwyn Bay, which involved youth clubs in the area. A presentation for stakeholders, including councillors, the police, potential business partners and other groups, will be held this evening at the Bay Learning Centre from 6:30pm until 9pm.