Llanfairfechan jetty ‘could kill someone’

Apr 21 2011 North Wales Weekly News

Clifford Rose

CHILDREN could be seriously injured unless a local jetty is repaired immediately, a resident has warned.

Clifford Rose from the Promenade in Llanfairfechan says youngsters are at risk from plunging down a five-foot drop on the rocks below if vital upgrades are not taken.

County councillors say that £110,000 improvements to the town’s jetty were approved last year and an application made for funding – but the cash wasn’t available from external sources.

Mr Rose, a member of the Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr promenade consultative group, said: “Someone could get killed on the jetty because there’s a five-foot drop there,” he said.

“It’s dangerous and quite a few other people think it is as well. A child could fall on the rocks below.

“Bits of the jetty are crumbling because nothing has been done on it for 40 years.”

Now, a sign has been erected on the jetty warning people of the dangers of using it, but Mr Rose believes this is not adequate.

Upgrades to the jetty would include widening it to make it safer for boats to be launched and making the five-foot drop shorter for safety reasons.

But Conwy Council were refused the cash boost by Visit Wales and European funding bodies after they were told by the funding bodies that repairs to the jetty wouldn’t provide a sufficient tourism benefit to the area.

Mr Rose added that the dangerous jetty could also be affecting tourism whilst people would hesitate to use it.

“If the council don’t repair this, it’s affecting tourism,” he said.

“We’ve already lost our blue flag award for the town. I think this is more dangerous than our flooding problem.”

Now town councillors have also backed calls for upgrades to the jetty which they believe is vital for tourism.

Town and county councillor Andrew Hinchliffe said: “ It is damaging the town to not get young people launch their boats from Llanfairfechan and rather do it from Penmaenmawr,” he said.

“It should’ve been done 20 years ago and it’s a worry, but I’m still hoping it’s going to happen.”

Harbour master for Conwy County Tony Mead said that the repair work to the jetty was of highest priority and they hoped the work to be taken on before the end of the summer. He said: “It badly needs improving and the benefits to tourism are definitely there,” he said.

“It could certainly facilitate much better access to the beach for the general public. It will provide launching facilities for tourists and their boats, it also serves as a disabled access to the beach so the tourism impact is there.

“The application for the funding, needed to show the benefits that the improved structure would bring to tourism, it wasn’t anything technically wrong with the jetty. It depends on the funding now but we’re optimistic.”