Gym, cafe, and water-sports hire centre plans get the go-ahead

A gym and well-being café will be built near Pensarn Pleasure Beach, together with a water sports hire centre. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

At a meeting at Bodlondeb, Conwy County Council’s planning committee granted Louis Jones permission to relocate his business, Pilgrim Fitness, from Pensarn Industrial Estate to the land in Abergele. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Mr Jones plans to move his gym’s demountable building to the new site between Sea Road and the railway. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The gym owner hopes to provide water sports equipment for hire as well as training and a new “well-being café”. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The tarmac site is currently heavily overgrown with brambles and weeds. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Nick Williams, owner of the Pantri Bach Café and The Beach Café, had expressed concerns to the council about pedestrians crossing a nearby road on a corner. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

But speaking at the meeting, Conwy’s planning officer Ceri Thomas said concerns had been eased. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

He said: “Welsh Water doesn’t have any objections in principle to the foul water drainage connection. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“The highway issue now appears to be satisfactorily resolved, so our recommendation is to grant conditional planning permission.” ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Cllr Ifor Loyd proposed councillors backed the plans and Cllr Trystan Lewis seconded the proposal, and the vote was unanimous. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The gym will be situated near the centre of the plot of land, measuring 12.2m by 7.3m with a height of approximately 5m at the eaves and 5.6m at the ridge. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The café will be built on the gym’s northern side with external seating beneath a canopy, together with a roof terrace. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The plans include a smaller building used for water sports hire, a toilet, showers, and a septic tank. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​