Traders have been left delighted after a seafront road has opened after a year of closures.

Rhos on Sea retailers have witnessed a drop off in sales of between 25 and 50 per cent during the past 12 months according to Mrs Maggie Bradley, Chairman of Rhos on Sea Traders Association with Conwy County Borough Council’s Colwyn Bay Waterfront project.

She said: “We are really pleased, that hopefully we can now get back to normal trading, even though there was slippage of three week’s in the council’s programme, which hit this year’s high season.

“We want people to come along and enjoy the beach, and visit the collection of quirky shops, cafes, art gallery, independent businesses and other attractions we have here,” said Mrs Bradley, who runs he Red 16 Cafe.

“Frankly I’m over the moon.”

She noted that during the 12 month period 10 local businesses had closed but was unsure how much of that could be attributed to the road works.

A little less than a mile of the seafront was affected by the work, which included raising sections of the promenade and highway to increase resilience to flooding; widening the promenade; construction of a beach access ramp; refurbishment of toilets and replacement of hand railings, street lighting and furniture.

Conwy County Borough Council claimed ground conditions encountered on this part of the site delayed the laying of the new highway surface along this section of promenade.