NATURE FORMER
ABEAUTIFUL Welsh nature reserve is to be relocated to a “toxic waste dump” to make way for a holiday park. English construction company Land and Lakes has secured planning permission from the council to build 500 chalets at Penrhos Coastal Park near Holyhead, Anglesey.
Penrhos is a conservation area dating back to the 1700s and parts of it are considered Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
The plans would see 27 acres of trees felled from the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), while the cherished reserve is relocated to Cae Glas, an area used for decades as a toxic waste dump.
The site has been an AONB since 1967 and is home to a variety of protected species, including red squirrels, bats, foxes, badgers and more. An array of beautiful flowers, trees and other forestry make up the habitat.
Hilary Paterson-Jones heads the Save Penrhos Coastal Park Holyhead campaign.
She explained what the area means to Holyhead.
She said: “I see people coming there from all over the world; it’s a massive tourist attraction.
“It’s heavenly, it’s got its own little white beach and with the history of the place, it’s crazy to think we’re going to lose it.
“I was there the other day and met two people from Canada who caught the ferry from Ireland who said they stop at Penrhos every time they take the trip, on the way and on the way back. There were also three people from Thailand walking there, as well as a lady from Australia.
“When people ask what’s going to happen there and you say: ‘There’s going to be lodges and a tropical swimming pool’, they look at you aghast and say they wouldn’t come here for that. They come here because they like to walk around and listen to the birds singing. It’s the nature they come for.”
And for the locals, 65-year-old Hilary said the forestry had literally saved lives during the coronavirus pandemic when people weren’t able to travel to see loved ones.
She said: “Holyhead is one of the most deprived places in Wales.
“From where I live, I can walk to Penrhos and over the last few years it has been used more than anywhere on this island.
“It’s been an absolute lifesaver. I’ve had people say to me: ‘ Thank god we’ve got this place to walk, because I don’t know what I’d do otherwise’.”
Anglesey council granted planning permission to Land and Lakes in 2016, subject to the signing of Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
The section commits Land and Lakes to make up for any loss or damage which is caused during the holiday village development.
In April 2021, Land and Lakes submitted three new planning applications to the council, seeking a discharge from the conditions attached to the 106 agreement.
The Senedd describes the order as: “S106 agreements are intended to mitigate the negative impacts of a development to make it acceptable in planning terms.
“They require developers to meet specified planning obligations when implementing planning permissions and are the result of negotiations on these matters between the parties.
“An agreement may be entered into to prescribe the nature of development, secure a contribution from a