Well done to Darren Millar, but the council should be sued! Online the community is suggesting that the council is turning down or delaying developments so that the owners will be forced to sell and that the councils Housing association chums like Cartrefi Conwy and Wales and West etc will have a nice bit of land just like the refusal at Guys Cliff in the West End that wants to turn two original houses that were converted into a nursing home, back to two family homes, yet the council refused that application with a Housing Association drawing up plans for the site despite not owning it!
A COUNCIL is facing increasing pressure to step in and help a 100-year-old club
safeguard its future and pay off its debts.
Clwyd West MS Darren Millar is calling on Conwy County Borough Council to offer bridging finance to Colwyn Bay British Legion until a Section 106 Agreement is completed and the sale of the property completes.
The Colwyn Bay Legion, which has 400 members, was given permission in June to replace a bowling green and allotments with 12 homes at its site on Coed Pella Road.
It had hoped selling the land could pay off its debts and assure its future.
The application was passed subject to a 106 agreement being agreed, appearing to save the club from folding. A section 106 agreement is a condition agreed by developers and the council and often relates to a minimum number of affordable housing being agreed upon or a community asset being built, such as a playground.
But the Colwyn Bay Legion says a 106 agreement offer has not emerged from the council, and consequently the land has not been sold to raise the £20,000 the club needs to survive.
The land would have sold for in the region of quarter of a million pounds.
Mr Millar said: “In recent months I have been engaging with Colwyn Bay British Legion which has been patiently waiting to agree a Section 106 Agreement with the local authority in order to complete the sale of its property in Colwyn
Bay.
“The Club now faces voluntary liquidation due to the delays in securing a Section 106 Agreement with the Planning Department. The Agreement is necessary in order to complete the disposal of the property to a housing developer. This is an absolute tragedy for the town, the many members of this 100 year old Club and for the commemorative activity and veterans they support. It is also a tragedy for those who are desperate for housing in the locality.
“I have chased the local authority on numerous occasions in recent months to seek progress on the Section 106 Agreement but there appears to have been no or little progress. The Club, via its agents, has also been chasing to no avail. There has been no explanation as to the reason for these delays.
“Given the financial position of the Club and the reasons for its imminent collapse, I would urge the local authority to step in to rescue the situation by offering bridging finance to the Club until the Section 106 Agreement is completed and the sale of the property completes.”
Colwyn Bay Legion Club President Merfyn Thomas has blamed Conwy Council for being too slow to process the agreement. He confirmed that the club will now go into liquidation.
He said: "We got planning permission, but the contractor required the 106 agreement before they could pay us.
“So we were not able to complete the contract until the developer had got the agreement. Three months down the line, they still haven’t got the agreement. So we haven’t got any more money so we’ve gone into liquidation, which has meant six members of staff have lost their jobs and the loss of accommodation for the manageress and her family.
“We were told by professional surveyors and structural engineers that a 106 agreement shouldn’t take more than three days, and we are still waiting three months later.
"I’m disgusted by the lack of professional approach to this.
“We’ve gone into liquidation, end of story. Even if we got the 106 agreement today, we are unable to pay our bills because we’ve got no money. It is also down to the total inability of Conwy County Council. We haven’t got the money to pay our debtors.”
Conwy County Borough Council has been approached for comment about potentially offering 'bridging finance'.
They said last week in a statement: "Discussions are ongoing with the developer around the requirements for the provision of affordable housing and other matters. Once this has been resolved, the application can be progressed.”
From...https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23813304.council-pressure-save-colwyn-bay-club-closure/
Do the council care? No, They more than likely have Clwyd Alun or Cartrefi Conwy lined up for the site!
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