Wasteland next to Conwy Castle walls causing anger

Apr 14 2011 by Mari Jones, North Wales Weekly News

THERE are calls to clear a wasteland in Conwy which is covered in rubble and debris.

The piece of unadopted land, next to the Conwy castle walls, behind the houses in Upper Gate Street and Newborough Terrace, has caused frustration to the people who live there for years.

Gwen Jones, who has lived on Upper Gate Street for 35 years, has spent thousands of pounds of her own money to try and keep the half an acre site tidy.

Gwen, who is in her 70s, said: “I’ve had to live with this horrible view of rubble, and rubbish for years.

“I’ve paid to get the area strimmed, as it’s covered in trees and bushes.

“Teenagers used to come in and drink on the land so I’ve had to put up a gate to stop them. Some tourists drop their litter from the castle walls and the area looks unsightly.

“I’d like to see Cadw and Conwy County Council do something, as it looks terrible to people walking around the walls.”

Tanya Morgan, who has a house on Newborough Terrace, said: “I’m raging about the mess on this land.

“The old Aberconwy council had agreed to do it up 20 years ago. I’ve tried to contact a range of people at Conwy County Council to try and get them to do something, but none have got back to me.”

Conwy councillor Joan Vaughan said: “Lord Newborough who built the terrace, gave the land to those who live in Upper Gate Street and Newborough Terrace so that they could put washing lines there and so on but it was never formally adopted.

“The houses on Watkin Street have been extended onto the land, and the rubble of the old wall has just been left there. In the past residents kept the land tidy, but now most of the houses in the area are holiday lets or rented houses so don’t care.

“Gwen tries her best to keep it tidy but it would be nice to get it properly maintained, but for that we will have to have grants.”

A Conwy County Council spokeswoman said: “The land is privately owned.

“The council’s street scene manager met Cllr Tony Tobin on site last week to discuss the problem.”