Work to rebuild Colwyn Bay's Victorian pier starts

Work has begun to rebuild a Victorian pier that was demolished two years ago after a decade of neglect.

The £1.5m project will reinstate a smaller version of Colwyn Bay's pier, initially opened in 1900, with a view to completion in the spring of 2021.

The pier trust hopes the Conwy Council-backed project could attract 100,000 annual visitors and create 40 jobs.

"It can't just be something that grandparents remember," said Pat Owen of the Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier Trust.

"It's got to be something that is used in the future."

Work on the first phase of Colwyn Bay's new pier is set to finish in the new year

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The 120-year-old pier had previously been rebuilt twice following extensive damage from fires and its decline started in the late 1980s, when it was temporarily closed.

It finally shut in 2008 and the 750ft (229m) structure was dismantled in 2018, a year after it partially fell into the sea following storm damage.

Colwyn Bay's pier was a popular destination in its heyday

Colwyn Bay was - and still is - a popular tourist destination on the north Wales coast

The old pier has been extended numerous times so the new pier will be the same size as the one that originally opened in 1900.

It will retain its Grade II-listed status as workers will use "as many parts of the original pier that survived" in a "truncated" version that will be about 45m (148ft) long.

Work to refurbish the decorative ironwork was completed earlier this year and, of the 99 original panels taken from the old pier, contractors have refurbished 74 and these will be used on the new pier.

The ornate railings from the old pier are being renovated as the new pier retains its Grade II-listed status

The old Colwyn Bay pier fell into decline in the late 1980s

All the lamp columns and their bases have been recast "as per their original design".

The trust is working alongside the town and county councils and the National Piers Society to reinstate a "sustainable" pier with a "financially stable" future.

Brian Cossey, chairman of pier project board, said: "It's really pleasing to see everything coming together so well after so many weeks of enforced inactivity."

Foundations for the new decked area are being laid as part of phase one of the three-stage development.

Victoria Pier in Colwyn Bay has been closed since 2008

The final two phases, which is under consultation, is set to include a viewing platform, heritage hub and "small-scale attractions and facilities".

"We've been waiting 10 years for this to come into fruition," said the trust's vice chairman, Ms Owen.

"We have to make it sustainable, we have to make it something so that we use its memories but we also have to move into the future."