A temporary mortuary will not be mothballed as health chiefs try to make sure they are prepared for any potential second wave of the coronavirus.

Conwy council offered industrial units on Mochdre Commerce Park Back in April to use as a temporary mortuary to ease the pressure on hospitals ahead of any potential surge in deaths due to Covid-19.

The mortuary, which services all local authorities in North Wales, had been left on standby as the crisis eased.

There was speculation it might be stood down but it will stay for time being after it emerged recently the region’s three Rainbow Hospitals will be retained in case there’s a second wave of infections.

When asked how long the mortuary would stay in commission a spokeswoman for Conwy county council said: “We are continuing to monitor the situation across the region and, as such, no specific timescale can be confirmed at present.

“Whilst we’re all hoping for the best, we must plan for the worst case scenario, which includes the potential for a second wave, and keeping this facility is part of those arrangements.

“The decision to stand down will be made by the Strategic Co-ordinating Group (SCG) or the Recovery Co-ordinating Group, whoever has primacy at the time, based on information from the relevant agencies and services.”

The SCG is a top level committee convened for planning responses to modern environmental emergencies, terrorism, infectious diseases or major industrial accidents.

It includes North Wales’ most senior police officers, local authority chief executives and senior health officials.

As the threat from the pandemic officially passes this group will essentially become the Recovery Coordinating Group (RCG) and it will be this or the SCG that makes the final decision on standing down all emergency facilities, such as the mortuary.

Wales has not suffered as high a ratio of deaths and infections in its population as England during the pandemic.

Much of that is attributed to a comparatively more cautious approach to easing restrictions by Welsh Government and the country’s’ relative rurality, with fewer large communities than across the border.

However fears still persist a second wave could hit the nation as lockdown is relaxed, so facilities like the Rainbow Hospitals and the temporary mortuary are being kept in commission until the threat has passed.

The units used for the temporary morgue are being leased by Conwy council and have been dogged by controversy.

They were deemed unusable for their original purpose of housing the county’s HGV equipment because the floors couldn’t take the weight.

It meant the unused units, for which the council pays more than £240,000 a year in rent, service charges and VAT, had amassed a bill of almost £1m just before Covid-19 struck.