The latest
A lime tree will be felled in Tan y Fynwent on Sunday, 24 February. Concern was raised about the health of the tree last year when other tree felling was carried out in Tan y Fynwent as part of the improvements to the garden. Unfortunately monitoring over the last twelve months has confirmed that the tree is diseased and its condition is deteriorating. Planning permission has now been granted to take down the tree.
The last major piece of work on the refurbishment of the toilets is almost complete, which will mean that the car park near to the library will shortly be re-opened. This car park now includes additional parking places for blue badge holders, following the removal of the non-conforming places at the bottom of Waterloo Street. A small amount of minor planting work etc will be carried out over the next few months.
Project background
Gwynedd Council was a successful partner in obtaining European funding to carry out physical regeneration in north Wales. Included in this funding was a Public Realm Strategy to enhance and improve Bangor city centre, in particular the High Street and the Tan y Fynwent area.
Taylor Young Consultants were appointed in 2009 to carry out the preparation of an Implementation Strategy. Workshops were held with various groups, including retailers, access groups and schools, to find out their areas of concern and what they would like to see in Bangor. The views presented at these workshops were used to create concept plans and two public exhibitions were held for us to hear your views on them.
The Implementation Plan prepared by Taylor Young in December 2009 contains suggestions for a programme of work to be carried out over a period of ten years. The current financial climate and the uncertainty of any future funding being available has meant a careful consideration of the scope of the works and the materials to be used (including the use of recycled materials) to ensure the best use of the funding opportunities currently available.
Gwynedd Consultancy (designers) and Dawnus Construction (contractors) have been appointed to carry out the infrastructure work over the next two years.
Options for the Bus Station area
Following a successful grant application to the Welsh Assembly Government, the Môn a Menai Sustainable Travel Area (STA) study was commissioned by Gwynedd Council in September 2010.
A key aspect of the study has been an examination of opportunities and the feasibility of moving the bus station to an alternative location in Bangor City Centre. In addition the work has looked at opportunities that could underpin improvements to the existing bus station facilities, with a particular emphasis on improving the environment for pedestrians and cyclists.
The first stage of the Môn a Menai Sustainable Travel Area (STA) study included an extensive consultation exercise in September 2010, involving face-to-face interviews with more than 1200 individuals in Bangor City Centre who represented a wide cross-section of the public.
The majority of the respondents said that they considered the existing location of the bus station to be best in terms of providing convenient access to shops, jobs and facilities in Bangor City Centre.
Please open the attachments below to see outline and detailed plans and the Bangor Public Realm Strategy document (December 2009).
The project is funded through the Assembly Government’s £38 million North Wales Regeneration Scheme delivered in partnership with Councils and is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the European Union’s Convergence programme and the Welsh Assembly Government’s Mon Menai Regeneration Area Initiative.
For further information, please call Gwynedd Council’s Bangor Public Realm Strategy Co-ordinator on 01286 679448 or email BangorPublicRealm@gwynedd.gov.uk
