Conwy County Borough Council Approves the new Llandudno Beach Management Plan
Llandudno Coastal Forum is delighted to announce that 100% approval has been given by CCBC’s Economy and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting of 28th September, 2017, and CCBC’s Cabinet Meeting of 10th October, 2017, to support the request made by CCBC’s Department of Environment, Roads and Facilities, to develop the beach management options that are considered for Llandudno, in the new Llandudno Beach Management Plan.
Specifically, this means that Conwy’s Department of Environment, Roads and Facilities will now seek funding through the Coastal Risk Management Programme to commission a consultant to produce an Outline Business Case for scheme approval, and investment.
A range of options for sea defences for Llandudno’s North and West Shores are considered within the Beach Management Plan, and the Outline Business Case will consider each option in more detail from a strategic, economic, commercial, financial, and management perspective. This is the Welsh Government’s process for assessing, in a structured way, the case for proceeding with a project, or the project’s viability. Based upon these findings, a shorter list of options will then be offered to the public for consultation.
This next piece of work is projected to take 12 months to complete. So by October 2018, we expect to be in a position to offer the general public an opportunity to select their preferred choice of new sea defences for Llandudno, which will hopefully protect the Town from flooding by the sea for the next 100 years.
Cllr Donald Milne, CCBC Cabinet Member – Portfolio Holder for Environment, Roads, and Facilities, and Forum Member, says,
‘The Beach Management Report highlights the excellent progress achieved by the coastal forum over the last three years. I am pleased to support the Forum moving on to the next stage of commissioning the production of an Outline Business Case for the options presented in the report. I look forward to discussing the proposals at the forthcoming public drop-in session in Llandudno’.
Public Viewing and Feedback of the new Llandudno Beach Management Plan
An online version of the new Llandudno Beach Management Plan is available for people to view on the Llandudno Coastal Forum Website. There is an executive summary of the document available as well. Both Documents list the sea defence options being considered for both of the Town’s beaches.
There may be questions that people have about the new Llandudno Beach Management Plan, so an informal two day public engagement ‘drop-in’ event is being organised by Aecom Consultancy who produced the document, CCBC, and Llandudno Coastal Forum Members.
The two day public engagement ‘drop-in’ event will be held in the Victoria Centre, Llandudno, on Friday 24th November, and Saturday 25th November, 2017. More details about this event will be published nearer the time.
The Full Llandudno Beach Management Plan and Executive Summary are available on the Llandudno Coastal Forum website, or by selecting the link below.
Next Steps for Llandudno Coastal Forum
It is usual to seek funding from Welsh Government through the Coastal Risk Management Programme to carry out sea defence work along the Welsh coastline. However, Welsh Government will only fund 75% of project costs. That means the extra 25% of money will need to be sourced from alternative means.
The Llandudno Coastal Forum will now work alongside officers from CCBC’s Community Development Services to discuss and explore additional funding for recreational, beach, amenity, and tourism opportunities etc. that could help supplement coastal defence funding that is available through Welsh Government’s Coastal Risk Management Programme.
Llandudno Coastal Forum Members and Conwy’s Community Development Services Officers have already started working on this next step. Coastal Forum Members and CDS Officers met on 19th September, 2017, and again on 12th October, 2017 to explore options. A further meeting has been arranged for 16th November, 2017, to progress initial ideas.
Llandudno Hospitality Association Chairman / Llandudno Coastal Forum Member, Mr Berin Jones says,
‘Our Members are delighted to see that the process of developing an effective Beach Management Plan, that will also provide the opportunity for improved amenity value, has taken a further step forward with this decision by the Council. I am confident that after the work we have done in parallel with Conwy and Llandudno Town Councils and the Members of the Llandudno Coastal Forum over the last three years, that we have a united approach to delivering a change that will serve as a protection for the town as well as an enhancement for the quality of living, and ensure the sustainability of the town as Britain’s favourite seaside resort. We remain committed to participating in this Forum to achieve its goals’.