LLANDUDNO’S West Shore beach has been stripped of its blue flag status after failing a stringent water quality test.
Poor recent weather conditions have been blamed for the water quality on the West Shore to be lowered.
The news comes as a major blow to the resort, as the beach will now be unable to qualify for a Blue Flag next year, with the 2011 awards based on this year’s water quality results. The beach is a magnet for water sports enthusiasts including kite-surfing.
Cllr Billy Evans, chairman of Llandudno’s Community Services and Tourism Committee, said it was a real concern to lose the accolade.
“It’s a real shame, the West Shore is usually clogged with tourists no matter what the weather, there’s always familes and children on the beach.” he said.
“It’s a major concern for us and a tremendous shame.”
Llandudno Town Councillor John Boyle said he was disappointed to hear the beach’s Blue Flag had been rescinded.
“It’s very sad to hear. I don’t know what to say, we’ve had it this year and we had hoped to keep it,” he said.
“I would say it’s lucky it’s the end of the season, but this can never be good news at any time of year.
He also indicated that the recently formed Friends of West Shore group, who are looking to rejuvenate the area, will look into methods of bringing back the award.
Wynne Williams, co-ordinator for the Blue Flag awards for Keep Wales Tidy, said that he felt sorry for the loss of the award after the hard work Conwy County Council put in to regain the honour.
“I have every sympathy for the local authority on the water quality results, which is totally out of their control.”
“In my experience, it’s often due to heavy rainfall, and we have suffered a lot of rainfall during August which has probably had an effect.
The beach regained its Blue Flag status in March this year, and is one of three sites in North Wales to lose it’s award.
Beaches at Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan also lost their awards in the round of tests, which were carried out as a part of the regular monitoring of all Blue Flag sites.
Llandudno’s North Shore has been unaffected and will continue to hold its Blue Flag award.