Plans revealed to replace former Dragon’s Rest Cafe with petrol station and ev hub
A former cafe once popular with holidaymakers and motoring enthusiasts for its excellent breakfasts is facing demolition.
The Dragon’s Rest Cafe off junction 31 of the A55 in Lloc, near Holywell, closed down in 2023 and has been empty ever since.
Now a screening request – a pre-application check to see if developers need to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment for their planning application – has been submitted to Flintshire County Council.
It details plans to knock down the Dragon’s Rest and build a brand new petrol station on the site.
A traditional welsh stone-built structure with a slate roof featuring a bright red Welsh Dragon and the word cafe whitewashed on it, the family-run Dragon’s Rest was for many years a popular stop for tourists on their way to Snowdonia or Anglesey and a meeting place for motorbike and car enthusiasts, offering an initial glimpse of the Clwydian Range.
Famed for its homemade cakes and hearty breakfasts made with local produce, it was also a great place to grab a memento of your time in North Wales thanks to its gift shop.
It even partnered with neighbouring businesses to offer customers a car valet to send them on their way sparkling.
“Love this place,” wrote one regular Sharon Pugh on the Dragon’s Rest’s Google reviews. “Their breakfasts are amazing. We always stop here on way to Llandudno and have a breakfast.”
Another regular visitor Neil Roberts wrote: “I always stop here on the way to Colwyn Bay. Excellent steak and Guinness pie when it’s on the specials.”
But after closing its doors for the final time two years ago the site has been deserted.
Now Rhyl-based Longacres Filling Station Ltd has detailed plans to level the building and replace it with a modern petrol filling station and shop with small cafe area and 39 parking spaces, including 10 electric vehicle charging points.
Officers are expected to issue a screening opinion on the proposals by September 17.
By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter
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