Colwyn Bay pier owner will not sell landmark for £1

Sep 4 2008 by Richard Evans, North Wales Weekly News

THE owner of Colwyn Bay pier has told the council: “You’re not getting the pier for a pound!”

A public meeting will be held to discuss the future of the Victoria Pier following the structure’s owner Steve Hunt being declared bankrupt on July 17 after failing to pay council tax and business rates amounting to £5,145.

But Mr Hunt has instructed lawyers to seek to annul the bankruptcy, claiming he has been billed incorrectly and has made a number of unsuccessful applications to do so.

Addressing the town council this week Clwyd West MP David Jones called for a public meeting on the matter at the end of the month and said it was important the pier’s future was safeguarded as a matter of national heritage.

Mr Jones drew parallels to the success had by Bangor Pier, which faced demolition but was then bought by the city council for a nominal fee and reopened in 1988 following community support and funding.

The MP also claimed Mr Hunt’s repeated applications to get his bankruptcy annulled was stalling any move to save the pier.

But Steve Hunt, who wasn’t at the council meeting, has vowed not to lose control of the structure despite Manchester-based creditor Royce Peeling Green managing his assets.

“The council will not be getting the pier for £1. The council have been plotting this for years,” he claimed.

David Jones said it was only when Mr Hunt had accepted defeat and stopped submitting applications to have the bankruptcy annulled that the future of the pier could be sorted out. The MP said in its current state Victoria Pier may be a negative asset.

“There comes a point when applications need to stop being made,” said Mr Jones. “I think when we arrive at that point it is a tremendous asset. Unfortunately in the present condition it can’t be said to be an asset at all. The pier is sticking out like a sore thumb in the sea.

“There should be a public meeting in this town. I feel the pier is an issue that has run for very many years.”

Cllr Chris Perry feared that in the meantime the pier may not be structurally safe.

“People walk on that pier and very soon it is going to be a health safety issue,” he said. “We’ve got autumn approaching, high winds and high seas.”

Cllr Gwyn Hughes said a structural report 15 years ago had deemed the pier safe.

A public meeting to discuss the matter is now being arranged for late September. The town council will also hold a special meeting to discuss both the pier and regeneration in October.

richard.evans