Colwyn Bay...'Ghost town' fears for once prosperous seaside resort as four retail chains pull out in quick succession

The sad thing here is that they sacrificed Colwyn Bay for the motorway, and then the council just allowed all of the stunning hotels to be demolished, allowed swathes of social housing to be built in the town, destroyed the Pier and have so far failed to link the town and beach.

A small tram along the prom bringing people in to the town, covered walkways outside shops, more restoration and history about the town should be displayed, it is such a shame as there is a lovely community in Colwyn Bay.

A rash of shop closures in a Conwy seaside town has fuelled fears for its future. Already this month four retail chains have announced they are withdrawing from Colwyn Bay, often with no warnings ahead of the shutters coming down.

Latest to close, last week, was the town’s Costcutter store, just days after the adjacent Subway shut its doors. With Poundland due to close early next month, and Boots next April, it’s a series of crippling blows for a town that has lost brands like WHSmith and Peacocks in recent years.

Some residents complain Colwyn Bay is fast becoming a town of “nail bars and hairdressers” and little else. One shopkeeper said trade was now so poor that she has resorted to drastic measures.

“Footfall is so bad that the last few months I have worked from home because I can’t afford to heat a shop that nobody comes into,” she said on social media. “It’s already like a ghost town.”

The latest round of shop closures prompted several residents to write the town’s obituary. Some people trace the malaise back to the 1980s, when the new A55 Expressway split the town centre from its popular beach and promenade. Other believe the loss of Woolworths in 2008 ripped the retail heart from Colwyn Bay.

It’s prompted a call on Facebook to present Conwy Council with a list of grievances highlighting their "anger and frustration over the decline of our town”. One resident wrote: “They’re literally closing everywhere. At this rate Colwyn Bay will be known as a ghost town with just charity shops and few pubs along with the homeless on the streets.”

Following news the town's Boot store is to close, Clwyd West MP David Jones pressed the local authority to depedestrianise Station Road to facilitate "car-borne shoppers". He believes car-free streets "sterilises" shopping centres, and are "unnecessary with modern traffic-calming methods". It is understood the MP will be meeting the council on Thursday to see what can be done to stem the closures.

Regneration plans for Colwyn Bay will see Penrhyn Road made narrower and parking spaces removed to accomodate trees and a cyclepath. Similar measures are proposed for other streets to promote active travel (Image: Conwy Council)

Current nervousness has been further fuelled by Conwy Council proposals to redesign parts of the town centre to increase footfall and encourage inward investment. Under the plans, roads will be narrowed, parking spaces restricted and road space reallocated for walking and cycling.

“That will be the final nail in the coffin,” said one resident. Another blamed the Welsh Government’s “green agenda". “Taking away parking spaces, removing road space for cycling lanes etc is not what people want,” she said.

“Greedy” landlords are being blamed for hiking rents and there have been calls for Conwy Council to cut business rates and slash promenade parking charges for visitors.

But many residents accept Colwyn Bay is not alone in suffering retail woes. As well as the dominance of online shopping, the cost-of-living crisis has left people with too little money in their pockets to sustain what was once a prosperous seaside resort.

“Put some blame on ourselves,” said a local man. “We have grown accustomed to online services and the high street has been dying for decades because of it.”

One solution, not endorsed by everyone in the town, is for people to reduce their reliance on online shopping and support local stores instead. “It’s sad that all these businesses are closing,” said one woman.

“I think if everyone local shopped local at least a little bit, it would definitely make a difference. But the fact is, online shopping is most people's go-to and it’s killing the towns.”

Colwyn Bay's beach and promenade was once dubbed the 'North Wales Riviera'. But they were cut adrift from the town centre when the A55 was built (Image: Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

While Conwy Council’s town centre proposals have their detractors, there are others who believe improving the townscape is a potential lifeline. As well as repurposing redundant stores, there are moves to convert above-shop premises for housing to improve Colwyn Bay’s social appeal.

More charging points for electric vehicles are being proposed in the council’s regeneration plan but there is scepticism over the numbers involved. Some residents say they are desperately needed, complaining it is “almost impossible” to charge their electric cars in the town: one motorist often travels to Flint Mountain to charge his vehicle.

Creating an abundance of EV chargers would give people a “reason to stop” in the town, suggested a resident. “Offer a voucher to spend in the shops here while their car is charging,” he added.

This way, the A55 could be an opportunity as much as a hindrance to the resort’s revival – providing investment was made in attractions to replace those lost. One resident said: “Colwyn Bay and area has something Rhyl and Llandudno haven’t. Easy access from the A55 straight into the centre of town. So why is the area dying? It should be thriving.”

Conwy Council was approached for a comment.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/ghost-town-fears-once-prosperous-28318967