A BOLD vision to re-establish Rhyl as a tourist hotspot and eliminate some of its most deprived areas has been laid out.
Council chiefs behind the five-year Rhyl Going Forward Plan want a new Sun Centre, an entertainment hub made of a re-developed Children’s Village with a national restaurant chain and expanded fun fair attractions next to a 60-bedroom hotel on the former Honey Club site.
Work on Rhyl Harbour, the £16 million Welsh Government funding of a public 1.4 acre ‘green space’ on Gronant Street and Aquarium Street with refurbished housing along with the Ocean Plaza site are all part of the plan to radically change the face of the resort.
Tom Booty, Rhyl Going Forward project manager, said: “The problems in Rhyl have built up over decades.
“The difference now is that there is a real corporate commitment by Denbighshire Council.
“They have recognised getting Rhyl working better is important not just to Rhyl but to the whole of Denbighshire.
“I am not sure that was there before.”
At the heart of the plan is the West Rhyl Housing Improvement plan which will see refurbished houses on Abbey Street, John Street, Gronant Street and Aquarium Street.
Properties would be split between Clwyd Alyn Housing Association and the council working with private developers.
More than 60 properties will be refurbished or built in the area with some offered on the open market and others through the housing association.
Mr Booty, 47, who has previously worked on re-development projects in Rochdale, said: “The houses around the park we will be re-modelling to provide front and rear gardens where possible, decent waste storage facilities and dedicated parking where possible.
“We want to create houses that families and young professionals will find attractive.
“Because it is such a built up area, the only opportunity to create a green space is by acquiring properties and demolishing them. That is what we plan to do to create this new open park not dissimilar to an Victorian or Edwardian square.”
No private developer has been found for the project, which would include a mixed use development on empty space on the corner of John Street and West Parade.
“We have funding for the next two-and-a-half-years,” said Mr Booty.
“We aim to deliver it in that time and hopefully we will have a developer on board building new homes.
“No matter what the park will definitely go ahead.
“We don’t have a private sector partner at the moment. We are trying to create more owner occupation in the area, that is dependent on the partner.
“I know it is a difficult market but we have funding to help enable the financial viability.”
Sarah Baldwin, development officer with Clwyd Alyn, said: “We want to refurbish homes sensitively, bringing back some of the historic grandeur which has been lost over the years at the same as homes which meet the needs of modern living.
“Some of the properties have existing features which we are keen to retain, others clearly need to be modified. We’ll be replacing steep unsafe staircases, for example, with modern open plan living areas. Historic bay windows will be re-instated into some homes, and on others the space will be re-worked to provide individual back gardens and yards.
“It’s about creating a sense of space and community that people will feel proud to be part of.”
Work is also underway to create more visitor attractions to the resort.
Mr Booty said: “We are looking at an entertainment hub with the cinema, attractions and food outlets. It has to work for the local community first and be attractive to visitors.
“Having a fun fair is a key part of that experience. The council was not involved {in the descion to close the fun fair five years ago} that was a commercial decision.
“We are talking to fair operators about how we can fit them in with the future plans so we do retain the fun fair and enhance that.
“There will be a requirement for some public investment for a new Sun Centre to work.
“We don’t know where the funding will come from.
“It is early days. It is not a cheap thing to do. A public/private partnership is the sort of model we would be looking at.
“I am confident there will be money available.”
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