Old lifeboat station could become holiday let
Dale Spridgeon Local Democracy Reporter
A striking 19th century former lifeboat station nestled in cliffs above the raging sea is being earmarked for holiday accommodation.
The seaside village’s old stone and slate station at Porth Nigwyl is being considered by Anglesey County Council planners in a ‘screening opinion’ to change it into a two-bed holiday let.
Planning documents describe proposals for the conversion of the former lifeboat station with associated works, including landscaping and infrastructure.
A screening opinion is a formal decision by a local planning authority on whether a proposed development needs a full Environmental Impact Assessment and comes ahead of a planning application.
The proposal describes the conversion and refurbishment of the Victorian stone single storey structure which was put up for auction, with a guide price of £95,000, last year.
The applicant is Urban Design and Construct Ltd, through the planning agent Jim Seymour.
The old station lies not far from a poignant statue to one of Moelfre’s most heroic RNLI lifeboatmen, the Coxswain Richard ‘Dic’ Evans, located at the nearby RNLI shop.
Moelfre has been well known down the centuries for its wild seas, historic ship-wrecks and heroic lifeboat rescues.
Dating from 1875, the old RNLI station was the second to be built in Moelfre, costing almost £159 (£15,566 today).
It served Anglesey’s east coast for about 34 years until being replaced by a larger facility along the coast.
In recent years the property was privately used as a boathouse, extending to around 66 sq metres with a small store room at the rear.
Plans describe the property, which only has pedestrian access, as primarily located at the side of the boathouse, via an access ramp to the coastal path.
It connects the boathouse to the car-park located adjacent to the Moelfre RNLI Shop, north west of the site, off the A5108.
Among the design plans for the building, a summary describes how the “existing lifeboat door on the front gable would become a large feature window to serve the living area of the proposed accommodation.
“Roof lights would be added to the roof planes of the building to allow light into the proposed accommodation at this level.
“All other external changes to the building would be minimised. A small external patio area is proposed to the east elevation along with enlarged opening to an existing window to allow access.”
“Internally the ground floor would be raised slightly above slipway level to protect the property from coastal flooding.
“A second floor would be added to provide additional floorspace/accommodation making use of the current high floor to ceiling internal space within the building.
“The second floor would be accessed internally via a spiral staircase.”
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What is ‘Urban’ about that place?
A holiday home for retired seafarers such as Mariners’ Park Wallasey or the Royal Alfred Seafarers Society, just a thought…
Would it not be better to renovate for local accommodation by the local construction firm rather than fit it out as a holiday let by a firm from Berkshire?
Standard for this area in afraid. Any old building gets converted to holiday homes. High prices means no other usage makes financial sense. Overall it’s a bit depressing if you live in the area. Molefre use to be quite a functioning small town but holiday homes are still growing
Why didn’t you buy it and hire the local construction firm?
What about utilities,article does not mention that?
Nor an open working bridge to connect to the mainland to Ireland…
I believe Drakeford and Waters were secretly digging a foot tunnel in preparation for the Pan Europe HGB* expressway linking the Ring of Kerry with the hill climbs of East Anglia via Harwich and the Rhine Canyons to the Danube Canal…
*Heavy Goods Bikeway…
This is ideal as a holiday rental business because it’s preserving a building that might otherwise keep rotting, and it’s not taking an ordinary family home out of use as a family home.
Same with all the Chapels saved to sell imported China Goods, just like the Manchester shops selling slave exchange goods at knockdown and carry off prices. A glut after Lord Penrhyn finally lost his Sugar coated slave empire…
It’s a sliding scale of harm. Losing heritage completely is the worst outcome, keeping it used as originally intended is the best. Unless it’s a Victorian “insane asylum” or a castle oppressing locals of course. Within these extremes there’s locals developing it to benefit locals, there’s outsiders developing it with some benefits for the community including a financial contribution, there’s any development that keeps it maintained, and finally there’s letting it rot in the hope one day a saviour will appear.
If planning permission is granted please ensure the slipway and surrounding coast is left open to the public where so many people have used it over the years.
Oof. Glass pane windows. Yeah one bad winter. Suddenly, no more glass panes and it’s not great access either.
I would be surprised if it gets approval, both on the wider development of the area (public access) and on safety grounds alone. Wouldn’t risk it myself. Instead, what I would do is tear it down and create a better access route to the coast (i.e. leave the slip road).
If there’s access to get to the coast without this property there’s access to a property. Tearing it down will deprive the council of council tax or visitor levy revenue, and local businesses of increased custom. And why would glass here be any more at risk than any other seaside property.