Improved facilities for Llanrwst junior footballers backed by councillors

Plans to improve facilities for junior footballers in Llanrwst were backed by Conwy County Council’s planning committee on Wednesday.

At a planning committee meeting at the authority’s Coed Pella HQ, councillors voted in favour of granting Llanrwst United Junior Football Club permission to improve its facilities on School Bank Road.

The application was brought before the committee as it related to a development on council-owned land.

Applicant Adam Jones applied to improve facilities for the club’s junior section by providing a tea hut and meeting room, as well as additional storage for football equipment and grounds maintenance machinery.

The proposal included two single portable toilet units and two repurposed shipping containers, which will now be used as a canteen and storage facility.

The vertically clad containers will now be positioned alongside an existing container near the site’s northern boundary.

Llanrwst councillor Aaron Wynne spoke in favour of the plans.

“The club’s volunteers do exceptional work engaging with the young people of the town and the wider valley as well,” he said.

“At present, the junior section has over 280 players and 20 teams. For a town of Llanrwst’s size, I think that is an outstanding achievement and is clear evidence of the important role the club plays in our community.

“It is heartening to see, as well, the significant increase and the number of girls playing football, with more and more taking advantage of the opportunities the club provides.

“The club and its volunteers have shown consistent commitment to maintaining and improving the facilities at School Bank Road.

“The pitch is always kept in good condition, and the club has shown an awareness of the needs and interests of its neighbours.”

He added: “This application builds on the club’s continued commitment to the town of Llanrwst and its young people, and this development will provide much-needed storage, equipment, shelter for parents and supporters attending the matches, and a dedicated area where club officials can meet and provide assistance to their young members.”

Cllr Austin Roberts proposed councillors backed the plans.

“I think this is a venture we should support,” he said.

“It encourages young people to take part in sports, and that is an important resource in our current times.”

Cllr Nia Wynne seconded the proposal, and the vote was unanimously supported.

The football playing fields are sited in the centre of the Llanrwst settlement boundaries, adjoining residential properties to the north and south, a railway line to the west, and School Bank Road to the east, beyond which is a health care centre.

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter