'Too much power to too few hands'

COUNCILLOR QUERIES AUTHORITY'S ASSET SALES POLICY WITH FOCUS ON FORMER CIVIC CENTRE

- By RICHARD EVANS Local Democracy Reporter

AN Old Colwyn councillor has claimed Conwy County Council is putting “too much power” in the “hands of too few” after the sale of former council offices.

Council staff left the Grade II-listed Civic Centre in Colwyn Bay in 2018 when officers relocated to the new Coed Pella offices in the town.

The authority then sold the Civic Centre in late 2022 to Llandudno hotelier Ian Robbins of Parc Eirias Hotel Ltd. But the multi-million-pound plans to convert the building into a four-star hotel became “unviable” causing the building to fall into disrepair.

The council then served a Section 215 notice, taking enforcement action due to the building's condition, fining the owner £1,050.

Businessman Robin Brookes then bought the building last summer, claiming his company, Eirias Coastal Park Hotel Ltd, has begun preparatory work on a new “apart-hotel” and car park for electric vehicles.