PLANS to revitalise Colwyn Bay have been celebrated by councillors.
Urban regeneration firm DPP Shape has presented council officials with a detailed masterplan, highlighting numerous improvements aimed at attracting residents, businesses and tourists into the town.
Mick Timpson, director and architect for DPP Shape, said: “We have linked all of its assets together: a re-modelled shopping centre, linking the town to the beach, a new town square and station - [to give] a much needed sense of arrival - new features in Eirias Park to strengthen Colwyn Bay’s offer to residents and visitors, and plans to manage housing areas in need of renewal.
“We have an opportunity to bring Colwyn Bay back to being a special seaside town. It has everything it needs but has got disconnected from its very reason for existing - the sea. The masterplan gives the direction of travel for the town over the next 10-15 years.”
Major changes in the proposal include the redevelopment of the station combined with Prince’s Drive being shifted to create a large, pedestrianised square at the base of Station Road. Connecting the beach to the town centre through a series of walkways and bridges is also included in the plans.
Colwyn Bay has already been named a strategic regeneration area (SRA) allowing access to around £30 million of Welsh Assembly funding.
Cllr Glyn Jones said he was “excited” by the ideas suggested.
He said: “Obviously it’s a long term plan – it’s not something which can happen overnight [but] parts of it we can do very quickly. The town centre is important in attracting new people to Colwyn Bay.
“What we need really is commercial interests to come and invest in Colwyn Bay. This masterplan addresses that and hopefully it will attract new investors as well as new people. Nothing will happen just because of the Town Council or the County Council. We must have faith it will provide investors too.”
Cllr Jones believed the masterplan “grabbed the imagination” of what residents wanted, but warned action must be taken “quite quickly” to ensure the enthusiasm for the project did not wane over time.
He added: “We must not allow the plans to gather dust on some shelf. We’ve had plans before which are still gathering dust somewhere. We must push forward and make sure Colwyn Bay sees some progress.”
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What do you think of the plans for Colwyn Bay? Is there anything you would like to see in the town? Have your say by commenting below.