THE owner of Llandudno Pier has said plans to improve the Victorian landmark are being held up by a pending decision to call-in plans for nearby luxury apartments.

Adam Williams said now that the buzz of the summer season is quietening down he would normally look to make refurbishments to the popular tourist attraction, but the Pavilion site has put “a big spanner in the works”.

Welsh Government ministers are currently reviewing whether to call-in developer Alan Waldron’s £20million plan for 50 apartments, after changes to approved proposals from 2018 were controversially given the green light by Conwy councillors in June this year.

“Now is when we would start investing and rebuilding during winter-time, but we can’t invest anything like we normally do as we won’t have security,” said Mr Williams.

“The Welsh Government have been very quiet and I hope that’s a good thing, that they’re looking at it properly. But it is horrendously frustrating; as a business we can’t move on with Pier in a way that we would like to with this cloud over our heads.

“We can’t go out and spend lots of money on development and maintenance without knowing that income is going to be stable in near and far future.”

Mr Williams, who last month opened a £1million Ferris wheel on the pier, said other plans he would like to carry out include renovation of the old Golden Goose attraction, reinstating lighting along the pier and modernising the landing bay for 21st century ships.

“The Ferris wheel done its job to regenerate the night-time economy, and it is doing so out of season, but the wheel could be moved to a different location and it is a sellable commodity, whereas a bricks and mortar on the Pier doesn’t,” he said.

“All conversations run back to whether work on the Pavilion goes ahead. We have had to deal with Covid and then it could be two or three years of the build.

“There is nothing worse than being closed but it could be worse to have to pay staff with less income and no furlough to fall back on, and potential court cases over noise complaints to fight - which won’t be cheap. After pandemic you just don’t know what’s round the corner.”

“I would like to think we would hear back [from the Welsh Government] over the next few months, but the longer this goes on, the longer we can’t start investing.”

Mr Waldron has been approached for comment.