Flood-ridden car park ‘full of deep craters that could ruin a tank’
RESIDENTS FUME AT BEACH SITE ‘WITH FILTHIEST TOILETS IN WALES’
A “TANK trap” car park and the “dirtiest toilets in Wales” have been condemned by residents and visitors in a beautiful seaside resort.
People say they are fed up wading through water and using “smelly” loos when parking in Trearddur Bay to visit one of the best beaches on Anglesey.
Thousands of holidaymakers flock to the village every year and local people are keen to access its cafes and restaurants.
Trearddur Bay has three councilrun car parks and the largest, on Lon St Ffraid, is the only one with public toilets.
In recent years, residents and visitors have become increasingly frustrated with the car park and its “smelly” loos.
Most years the car park is resurfaced to remove its potholes but the car park quickly deteriorates and is often flooded.
After heavy rain and rough seas, locals say it resembles a lake with a small car park attached. The adjacent toilet block, one of four on Anglesey’s busiest beaches to benefit from a £248,000 upgrade in 2022, has an equally poor reputation.
Only its exterior was refurbished and visitors say the inside remains “damp and foul”, with toilets often blocked in the summer.
Moreover, the toilets only open seasonally, prompting complains that people are forced to squat in the sand dunes between November and midmarch.
Anglesey Council pointed out the car park is supposed to flood. Being part of the resort’s sea defences, it’s designed to catch water that might otherwise inundate local properties.
The local authority also revealed the funding has been secured to further upgrade the toilet block - and those at six other coastal sites on the island. Already it costs £250-£300 a week to operate Trearddur Bay’s toilets and this is set to rise this spring.
This week one man took to social media to vent his spleen over the state of the twin facilities. “What a dreadful and disgusting state the Trearddur Bay car park is,” he fumed. “Full of deep craters enough to ruin a tank, let alone a family car.
“The council uses the cheapest method to upgrade the car park and in less than a year it’s become a nightmare and a disaster for public use. There is a fee of £6 for four hours parking, where does the money go?
“Certainly not for the upkeep of the car park or toilets... definitely the dirtiest, filthiest and smelliest toilets in Wales. Visitors to our beautiful island are disgusted (as are the locals) with the substandard facilities.”
On February 27, mini diggers and rollers resurfaced Lon St Ffraid car park. At the time there was concern the flattened gravel would struggle to cope with sea spray and rain in an area bordered by water on two sides. For those with prams, dogs, bikes or watercraft, people have since said it remains a “pain in the butt”.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said a long-term solution was needed. While initial costs would be greater, an improved car park would be cheaper to maintain than annual resurfacing.
Fron Tywyn, another council-run car park on the promenade’s northern end - known locally as the “lake-free” car park - was a good example, she said. “It has a permeable surface, like they use on play areas to stop wear and tear on the grass. It’s exposed to the same rain and high tide sea spray, but doesn’t get flooded.”
Lack of drainage at Lon St Ffraid, and its uneven surface, means it’s often puddled deep even in the height of summer. In winter, large sections can flood, as another local discovered in February.
The woman, who also asked for anonymity, said: “It was really bad,” she said. “I couldn’t even walk around the edges (of the car park). I wasn’t able to get to the toilets on either path as the water would have been up to my knees. I saw elderly people giving up. In any case, the toilets smell and are always blocked when it’s busy at holiday times.
“Instead I had to use the Sea Shanty. A lot of people use the cafe just for its toilet and eventually they might put a stop to that. I’m a carer, and a few times I’ve gone to use the toilet on my rounds it’s been shut.
“We need the car park fixing as soon as possible. Last summer I had to carry my seven-year-old granddaughter across the car park as it was flooded and the water looked dirty. It’s bad for us going to the beach but it’s embarrassing when tourists visit too.”
Faced with winter storms and this year’s endless rain, many coastal car parks in Wales have struggled. For some, rudimentary facilities are synonymous with seaside trips and are even part of the fun. But most visitors now expect more and residents say a knee-deep car park is not what they pay their council taxes for.
But according to Anglesey Council, it’s a necessary evil. Huw Percy, head of highways, property and waste management, explained: “The main car park in Trearddur Bay forms an essential part of our flood alleviation measures required to protect local homes and businesses.
“Surface water - during excessive rainfall or especially when the sea wall is overtopped during storms - is stored in the car park and is allowed to drain away naturally, as opposed to flowing onto nearby Lon St Ffraid and flooding properties there. Surface water accumulating in the car park is an unfortunate but necessary trade-off to protect homes and businesses.
“As the water must naturally drain out of the car park, it damages the porous surface, and it is not possible to provide a conventional hard surface such as Tarmac.
“The potholes in the car park were recently filled but a combination of wet conditions, exceptionally high spring tides and regular use by vehicles has resulted in further potholes.
“Arrangements have been made to address this and to improve the surface of the car park - but we have no other alternatives to this flood prevention solution at present. We will continue to investigate alternative permanent solutions.”
Last year, after the toilet block’s exterior had been refurbished, some visitors were impressed, pointing out that very few public toilets were nice places to visit. But dissenting voices began creeping back in. On Tripadvisor, a Birmingham visitor cautioned: “The local public toilets aren’t great, so be prepared!”
Anglesey Council’s Huw Percy said operating costs for Trearddur Bay’s public toilets are around £250-£300 per week (£13,000-£15,600 yearly). For all of the island’s toilets, running costs are due to rise further.
Mr Percy said: “We’re pleased to have awarded a new contract for public toilets cleaning work on Ynys Môn for the next three years to a local firm, AE & AT Lewis, following a competitive tendering process.
“The cost of the new tender did exceed funding available in the budget. But the county council’s Executive supported an application to increase the budget, despite the current financial challenges, so no public toilets on Ynys Môn have had to be closed.”
In 2014, nine public toilets on the island shut because Anglesey Council couldn’t afford to keep them open. Those in Rhosneigr, Benllech and Beaumaris subsequently reopened when community organisations took over their running. To extend opening times at others over the winter, a similar community approach is now being sought.
In the meantime, the local authority has secured “significant funding” to upgrade public toilets at seven coastal sites. As well as Trearddur Bay, these are at Beaumaris, Rhosneigr, Traeth Bychan Moelfre, Benllech, Porth Swtan and Porth Dafarch.
Mr Percy added: “We are exploring all options as we look to continue maintaining and improving the 15 remaining toilets on the island during the 2024-25 financial year and beyond. We also intend to proactively engage with local communities and businesses to invite them to assist us in maintaining and keeping public toilets open for longer periods throughout the year.”
Lon St Ffraid car park sits on the narrowest part of Holy Island, where rising sea levels might one day divide the island in two.
Making it free-draining might have its challenges but for some residents, water-logging does have one benefit. One recalled: “Closest thing I ever got to ice skating in winters as a kid when it froze.”