A FLAGSHIP project to change the face of Rhyl’s West Parade is to be dramatically scaled back.
The £85m Ocean Plaza project, on the site of Rhyl’s funfair, was set to bring sophisticated European-style living to the town with bars, cafes, restaurants, a hotel, 234 seafront apartments, gym, shopping outlets and supermarket.
But the owners of the ailing project, Scarborough Development Group, revealed the ambitious plans unveiled in 2007, are likely to be ripped up.
In a bleak assessment, Mark Jackson, chief executive of the Scarborough Development Group, which took charge of the project two years ago after original developers Modus Properties Limited went into administration, said: “I can appreciate people in Rhyl will be frustrated to see nothing happening, but cutting your way through these tough times is difficult,” said Mr Jackson.
“I don’t see four or five blocks of flats flying at the moment,” Mr Jackson said.
“There’s no point building a load of flats that nobody can buy, or cheap as chips ones that create a load of empty shops. We need occupants that are going to be of benefit for Rhyl. There’s no point in building a supermarket and then saying “who wants it?”.
Despite Mr Jackson’s downbeat forecast he he was confident that work would progress on the vacant site within the next six months, and suggested that a new project could be built in stages to help cover development costs.
He also revealed plans for a 95,000 sq ft supermarket would remain a cornerstone of any redrafted plans and provide a jobs boost.
“We’ve made progress with the key site holder, and we need to sit down with the council and make sure they’re happy,” he said.
“We’re still looking at a big supermarket which would bring a lot of jobs. The problem is working through the timing of it.”