RNLI station contract secured by local firm
A NORTH Wales contractor has been awarded a £2.4m contract to build a new lifeboat station at Pwllheli.
Wynne Construction of Bodelwyddan has started work at the site of the RNLI facility, located next to Plas Heli within the town’s marina.
Work on the structure, which has been designed by the coxswain at the station, will run until August 2020.
The building will feature a curved copper roof and incorporate as many local and sustainable materials as possible, including local timber boarding and stonework.
It will be fitted with ground source heating to heat water, and PV panels on the roof to generate electricity for lighting.
Together with new and improved facilities for the volunteer crew, the boathouse will include a souvenir outlet and a public viewing area for the lifeboat.
Wynne Construction contracts manager Steve Davies said: “We’re privileged to have been awarded the contract for this prestigious new resource for Pwllheli.
“We’re looking forward to working with the RNLI team again and delivering another successful boathouse project.”
The new building is located on the opposite bank of the marina to the present boathouse. It will house the station’s new Shannon class lifeboat, which is due to arrive in 2020, plus the RNLI’s existing D-Class Robert J Wright lifeboat.
The architect for the new boathouse, Clive Moore, is also coxswain at Pwhelli RNLI. He said: “I don’t think many coxswains get the privilege to design their own boathouse. I probably have a different outlook to an architect who has not worked for the RNLI, which I hope is helping to make the building as user-friendly as possible.”
The smaller existing boathouse, which has served the community for the last 120 years, has become less suitable over time, due to its size and a location that dictates mainly river launches for the lifeboat.