Llanrwst's Hollywood-style sign to be taken down

Residents hope the sign can stay in the area

A giant Hollywood-style sign installed to mark the National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst will be taken down next week.

Overlooking the Conwy Valley, the sign has been popular with residents and there are now calls for it to be re-erected on a permanent basis.

Councillor Aaron Wynne said the sign had been "fantastic" for the area.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the structure's permit had "sadly expired" and would be taken down on Monday.

Iwan Glyn Williams, who was part of the team that organised installing the sign, said it has been visited more than a million times since July.

"It's been great to see it on the hill since July, and I've lost count of the number of positive comments about it," he said.

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Nicola Maysmor, Senior Officer Land Management at NRW said: "The Hollywood-style Llanrwst sign installed for the Eisteddfod has been a huge success and we were thrilled to see it attract so much attention and visitors to the forest.

"While it has been extremely popular, the structure's permit has sadly expired.

"However, we are aware of how fond local residents and visitors are of the sign and future discussions will take place on the possibility of it becoming a permanent feature in Gwydir Forest."

Mr Wynne said: "I absolutely agree that it would be great to keep the sign in place, although I'm aware that this version was designed as a temporary structure so we'll be discussing with Natural Resource Wales and the National Park to see what's possible in the future.

The sign was erected in July

"Locals have adopted the sign and asked for it to stay."

But he said if the sign was to stay, it would need to be rebuilt with "more robust materials".

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The Snowdonia National Park Authority said planning permission was valid "until the last day of the year" and it had not "received a further request for planning permission".

"The authority deals with every application on an individual basis," a spokesman said.

Who did it best: Hollywood or Llanrwst?