Flintshire Council: £20m levelling up fund bid for Deeside “limp and uninspiring” say Connah’s Quay councillors

A town council has called for an urgent meeting with Flintshire Council chiefs over a £20m levelling up fund bid that has been described as “limp and uninspiring.”

During a meeting of Connah’s Quay Town Council on Wednesday, elected members questioned the quality of the bid put forward by the Council which would see work carried out to tidy up the town’s docks.

The UK Government Levelling Up Fund scheme allows local authorities to make bids of up to £20m for individual parliamentary constituencies and proposals have been drawn up for both the Delyn and Alyn and Deeside areas.

Flintshire Council officials said the aim of the applications was to improve business conditions and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in deprived areas along the coast.

The Alyn and Deeside bid includes funding to support the ongoing restoration of the Grade-II listed John Summers Clock Tower and funds to regenerate the former Tata Steel sports and social club which is now owned by the charity Care & Repair Cymru.

There are also proposals for a new Sea Cadets building and parade area in Connah’s Quay.

The bid also includes improvements to public spaces and new CCTV cameras at Connah’s Quay dock.

The de-silting of the dock and a scheme to incentivise business owners on Dock Road to tidy up the fronts of their properties are also featured in the bid.

Golftyn ward member, Cllr Andy Dunbobbin said it was “good to see” the Alyn and Deeside levelling up bid include funds for the restoration of the iconic John Summers building and the sports and social club building off Rowleys Drive.

However, the Labour town councillor, who is also the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, said that when it comes to Connah’s Quay, the proposals are “limp.”

He questioned the use of a previous £1.5m Heritage Lottery Fund award handed to the Dock Road based Quay Watermans Association.

Cllr Dunbobbin said, “where has that money gone? I haven’t seen £1.5m worth of work being done.”

“Yes, they have started trips on boats to as far as Chester and some other good things, but where is that inspiration?”

He said, “go back to the late 1980s when Tarmac proposed to create a huge new waterfront area with retail units, nature park and marina.”

Cllr Dunbobbin said, “the Alyn and Deeside levelling up bid for the Quay, we’re told we can have the docks cleaned up and some businesses can have a new front.”

“What’s going on? I just think that there a real missed opportunity here?

He said: “When you look at waterfronts in Cardiff Bay, Salford and Liverpool, they are brilliant, why are we not aspiring to those in Connah’s Quay.”

“Why isn’t our aspiration not set to that level? It’s like when it comes to the Quay, be grateful for what you’ve got.”

“Improve the dock? Add some CCTV? The only reason why CCTV is going down there is because of the anti-social behaviour and drug dealing we know happens.” He said.

Deeside Partnership

Cllr Dunbobbin called for the reintroduction of The Deeside Partnership Forum which came to an end in 2017.

He said: “When we had all the EU money coming in, town councillors, county councillors and members of the Flintshire cabinet used to meet to discuss and agree on where money should be spent.”

Connah’s Quay Town Council leader, Cllr Bernie Attridge, said he was “deeply disappointed” with Connah’s Quay element of the Alyn and Deeside bid and echoed the call for the reintroduction of The Deeside Partnership.

The Central ward councillor said he was not involved in any discussion with Flintshire Council over the bid despite the Dock Road area being in his ward.

The Independent member said Cllr Dunbobbin and former councillor Paul Shotton had held discussions about the dock area with Flintshire Council officials even though the area is not in their ward.

Cllr Attridge said:  “When I received this [bid proposal] from our town council clerk I was horrified because I’m the elected member for the Central ward and this is the first time I have seen what they [Flintshire Council] want to give us.”

“If they [Flintshire Council] think that’s what we are worth in Connah’s Quay, then they are in for a big shock.”

Cllr Attridge said he has spoken to all the Flintshire county councillors in Connah’s Quay and “we are not going to accept what they want us to have, and we are all singing off the same hymn sheet.”

He proposed that “as a matter of urgency” a meeting is organised between the town council and Flintshire Council chiefs.

“We need to have a meeting with Flintshire Council officers, how dare they tell us what we want in our own blinking town.”

“We will tell them, we are the ones that go to the electorate, we’re answerable to them, Flintshire Council officers up in County Hall are not!” He said.

Cllr Attridge also reflected on the Connah’s Quay waterfront “Tarmac Plan” which was first proposed in 1987, he said it was “better than Cardiff Bay is now.”

“The proposals were on a par with the river at Chester with retail, food outlets, beautiful restaurants, scenery and heritage.”

Cllr Ian Dunbar said he has “emphasised many times” to make sure there is funding for a new Sea Cadets building in the bid and is pleased to see it.

However, the Labour member said the rest of the bid for Connah’s Quay is “pathetic, it gives no indication of what the town really wants.”

Cllr Dunbar also repeated calls for the Deeside Partnership Forum to be reintroduced.

1987 – That Tarmac Plan and Dolphins in Deeside…

Clwyd County Council, with assistance from the Welsh Development Agency, acquired over 500 acres of redundant land following the demise of Shotton Steel.

The County Council, together with Alyn and Deeside District Council, submitted the area as a location for holding the 1992 National Garden Festival but were unsuccessful.

Struggling to find a use for the land the councils invited private sector organisations to do a spot of ‘blue sky’ thinking and come up with ideas for an ‘attraction’ of national significance.

At the time, the construction of ‘out of town’ shopping centres was facilitated by the removal of regulations under the Thatcher government.

In some cases such as Meadowhall in Sheffield – which opened in 1990 – they were built because of available land and labour due to the demise of the steel industry in the area.

Similarly, the Metro Centre in Gateshead, Tyneside opened in the mid-1980s and was built on former swamp lands on the banks of the River Tyne.

The Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester was built on the surplus land belonging to the Manchester Ship Canal.

Tarmac submitted proposals for Connah’s Quay in 1987, they included a major 750,000sq ft shopping centre, around half the size of the Trafford Centre.

The shopping centre would have contained a department store plus a range of ‘city centre type shops’ and food outlets on the site.

The plans also included a 360 berth marina, waterfront housing and quayside apartments, a National Field Study Centre.

The retail park would have been linked by glass walkways to a huge leisure facility, it included an aqua park with water flumes – a theme experience and heritage centre based on York’s Jorvik Centre.

The development proposal also had an aquarium containing dolphins as well as bars, clubs restaurants and bistros, and to complete the ‘vision’ a hotel and conference centre.

Had the development progressed beyond the pipe dream stage, 750 construction jobs and 4,300 permanent jobs would have been created.

[Photo: Connah’s Quay Docks – dronepics.wales]