CLOSURE TURNED MENAI BRIDGE INTO 'GHOST TOWN'

THE sudden closure of the Menai Suspension Bridge has had an “unbelievable” impact on local businesses and turned one of Anglesey's busiest high streets into a “ghost town”.

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Thomas Telford's 199-year-old bridge had to shut in the middle of Storm Amy last weekend after engineers uncovered degraded bolts on the structure that would need replacing.

To compound the impact, Britannia Bridge was closed to high vehicles for a time during the weekend storm accidents, leaving Anglesey almost adrift from the mainland.

First Minister Eluned Morgan this week acknowledged the “massive inconvenience” caused by the closure. Plaid Cymru's leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, who lives on and represents the island, said the closure highlights the “shortsighted” decision in 2023 to scrap plans for a third bridge.

The crossing is expected to reopen any day but that is little comfort to the businesses on Menai Bridge who have had to endure days of reduced footfall in the run-up to Halloween, and with Christmas looming just over the horizon

Wyn Williams, who owns the Menai Deli Sandwich Bar, outlined the extent of the impact of the closure.

He said: “It's had a dramatic effect because the reduction in footfall has been unbelievable.