Development plan to save Dolgarrog

Jun 11 2009 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

A DEVELOPMENT company has vowed to help change the fortunes of a village when decisions are made over what to do with an iconic factory.

Owners of the former Dolgarrog Aluminium factory are now in the final stages of analysing public feedback on its future, with leisure and tourism facilities, affordable housing and sustainable jobs top of the list.

Once a decision is made plans could be submitted as early as next year.

A mixed use development on the land has been favoured by locals, with a theme park, ice rink, prison, allotments or cinema.

People are keen to keep the history and heritage of the village intact, but a quarter of those surveyed said they do not see themselves living in the area in four years time.

Ainscough Johnston director Nigel McGurk said he wanted to make sure any development improve the region.

“The whole approach of the survey was to find out people’s likes and dislikes and what they wanted to see change in the future,” he said.

“It’s not just the factory site our redevelopment affects, it’s the whole area.

“We aim to produce a flexible planning application for the site by 2010.

“We’re now looking to formulate a community-run group of people as soon as possible who will help form and control the planning application with the assistance of Duggan Planning.

“We are hoping this group will be formed by July or August and will meet on a monthly basis. They will help roll out the findings of the survey to the community and gather contributions to the final decision-making process.”

Endaf Griffiths of Wavehill Consulting added: “Over 1,416 homes in the Dolgarrog area were targeted and a group of local volunteers assisted in the design and development of the questionnaires, helping to undertake over 290 interviews during the consultation process.

“The main findings of the public survey were that local people want sustainable jobs and a mixed approach to redevelopment of the site.

“Local consensus also stated that there is a distinct lack of amenities, employment and attractive buildings in Dolgarrog, but the majority of residents and businesses said the heritage and history of the village was very important.”

Dolgarrog Aluminium was the only fully integrated casting and rolling aluminium mill in the UK. It employed 170 people and had a turnover of £19m.

KPMG Restructuring was appointed as administrator to Dolgarrog Aluminium in August 2007.

The site was bought by Ainscough Johnston in July 2008.

The survey findings and feedback can be seen at dolgarrogregeneration.com