Developer of £100m marina ‘disappointed’ with waterfront delays
A DEVELOPER behind a £100m marina project on Anglesey has slammed Anglesey council for the 25 month wait for a decision on whether the scheme will face a public enquiry.
Conygar Stena Line want to build 326 homes, a 500-berth marina, retail, leisure, restaurants, hotel and office space, on Newry Beach, Holyhead.
The £100m project received planning permission in 2012 but opponents from the Waterfront Action Group submitted a ‘village green’ application for the seafront site to Anglesey council in February 2014.
If successful it would prevent any building taking place and kill off the project.
Anglesey council said in November that it expected to be in a position to review the matter in early December.
But last Wednesday - 25 months after the initial submission - they said they were still awaiting expert legal advice on the merits of the case.
If the application does go to public enquiry this would mean additional months of delay for the scheme.
A spokesman for Conygar Stena Line said: “We are very disappointed by the continuing delay in receiving a decision in respect of the Village Green application which was submitted some two years ago and surely that is long enough to decide the matter.
“There are outstanding estate issues that need to be resolved with some of the tenants on the land affected by the application which cannot be done until a decision is taken and we therefore ask the Council to give all parties at least an indication of when that might be so they can plan accordingly.”
An Isle of Anglesey County Council spokesperson said: “The County Council, as Registration Authority, is still awaiting expert legal advice on the merits of the case following a period for submission of representations by the interested parties.
“Once we have received this advice, we will require a short period of time to consider its implications before making an announcement of how the Registration Authority then proposes to deal with the application.”
Stena Line said that they now needed an answer on whether the village green application would need a public enquiry.
Supporters of the project believe the waterfront scheme will help regenerate the port town while opponents say it will wreck the waterfront for local people.
The harbour is already home to the separately owned Holyhead Marina.