Caernarfon Herald

Restaurant plan gives bank new lease of life

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APPLY now to become a Gwynedd Young Ambassador.

Are you a young person with an interest in sport and want the opportunit­y to lead and organise sessions with experience­d officers from Gwynedd Council’s Sport for Life team?

If so, the Council encourages you to apply to join the Gwynedd Young Ambassador­s for 2017-18.

Councillor Craig ab Iago, Member of the Gwynedd Council Cabinet for Healthy Gwynedd said: “The young ambassador­s are given the chance to consult with the officers from Gwynedd Sport for Life, School Sports Councils, Sport Wales, and other partners on new initiative­s and ideas, and act as a voice for the young people of Gwynedd.

“It’s a great chance for any young person who wants to develop their skills in the field, and I would encourage anyone who has the desire to do so to apply.”

The successful Young Ambassador­s will be given excellent opportunit­ies throughout the year including free qualificat­ions, entry into local events, as well as attendance at sports meetings and award ceremonies. They will also support the Sport for Life team’s developmen­t programme and have the chance to represent Gwynedd at the National Young Ambassador Conference.

For more informatio­n or to get an applicatio­n form to become a Gwynedd Young Ambassador, contact Hannah Hughes hannahmedi­hughes@ gwynedd.llyw.cymru or call 01286 677982.

The closing date for applicatio­ns is 6 September 2017. Best of luck! A FORMER Gwynedd bank that was controvers­ially closed by HSBC last year could now get a new lease of life.

There was community fury when the banking giant announced its Blaenau Ffestiniog branch was to shut - leaving the town without a bank.

Now an applicatio­n is in to transform the large site into a restaurant and living accommodat­ion.

The proposal from Mr and Mrs JT Jones says that the move will be positive for the town’s economy.

A statement to Gwynedd planners said: “The proposal will provide a good opportunit­y for a local person to create a new business that will in turn create jobs for local people and will also create a comfortabl­e family home.

“It will make good use of a building that would otherwise offer little to the town. The proposed developmen­t will enhance the site and generally benefit the immediate area aesthetica­lly.

“The proposal will have a beneficial effect on employment in the area in as much as the constructi­on work and the maintainin­g of the existing building thereafter along with local jobs the proposed restaurant will create.”

Campaigner­s last year accused HSBC of showing “no regard to the specific needs of rural communitie­s” in the row over branch closures.

The bank blamed a 40% reduction in footfall. The decision came less than a year after NatWest axed its branch in the town.

 ??  ?? The former HSBC Bank in Blaenau Ffestiniog
The former HSBC Bank in Blaenau Ffestiniog

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