Colwyn Bay shopkeepers fear road works

Mar 11 2010 by Richard Evans, North Wales Weekly News

Penrhyn Road, Colwyn Bay

SHOPKEEPERS on a busy Colwyn Bay high street fear they could be put out of business by a council pavement improvement scheme due to last five months.

The project is the third phase of works taking place in the town centre which started on Penrhyn Road last week in a bid to use millions of Assembly cash to spruce up the town.

The work will include new pavements, trees, street furniture, bins, signposts and improved lighting and CCTV.

However after large scale disruption on the first and second phases of the work in the last two years, traders in the town fear a similar scenario to that which cost traders on Seaview Road and Station Road thousands.

Shopkeepers say they would prefer the money was spent on something more worthwhile – and they fear that any disruption or access problems could put them out of business.

Gavin Davies runs Printing.com on Penrhyn Road and complained: “It is a waste of money, an absolute waste of money, it is not going to bring anybody into the town.

“It is not going to bring any business to the traders and if it slows us down any more, I will go out of business, I will tell you that now. I fear it could put people out of business and it is not only me, I’ve been talking to others on Penrhyn Road and they feel the same: the work doesn’t need to be done. They’ve done similar work on Station Road and it looks plain: like a desert now.”

Derek and Christine Kershaw run Music Makers on the street and say the work is a waste of time and money.

“We don’t see the point really in widening the pavement, if it restricts parking then it is going to be detrimental,” said Christine.

“The fact that it is decreasing road space, how can it be an improvement? It doesn’t mean because the pavement is wider you will get more people on it. I don’t see the necessity in doing it in the first place: the money could have put to better use, like the pier. We are an established business so I hope people will still continue to come: the problem is people won’t be able to park while they are doing the work.”

Another business woman didn’t want to be named but added: “I just hope we survive this work which will go on for months, it is work which most people don’t want, why do they insist on doing these things when they are putting people’s livelihoods at risk?”

Already a similar programme of controversial works has been completed on both Seaview Road and Station Road against many traders’ wishes. Shopkeepers in the town centre complained as the work’s completion was delayed months as shoppers struggled through mazes of wire fencing and in the pollution of noise and dust, which several businesses cited the work as the cause of damage to shop windows.

The colour of Station Road’s new paving slabs has also led to some complaining the new surface is scruffy and prone to stains and unsightly marks.

A council spokeswoman said the funds for the work had come from the Assembly’s strategic regeneration area and European convergence funding, meaning it could not be put to any other use.

She added: “The work will be phased to minimise disruption, starting at the western end corner of Abergele Road / Penrhyn Road and each phase will work down towards Prince’s Drive. The work is expected take in the region of 20 weeks.”

richard.evans