Welsh town council’s bid to keep lucrative car park which makes more than £100,000 a year has failed

Dale Spridgeon, Local democracy reporter

A town council’s bid to keep a lucrative car park which rakes in more than £100,000 a year has failed.

Anglesey County Council’s executive today threw out a bid by Beaumaris Town Council to secure an asset transfer of the resort’s Castle Car and Coach park.

The town council was originally granted the lease to run the car park from the county council for a period of five years in 2020.

It was then granted extra time to compensate for lost earnings during the Covid lockdown periods and to present a business plan.

Revenues raised from the car park were intended to help maintain the historic Beaumaris Gaol and Courthouse museums when the county council transferred the historic buildings to the town council.

The town council had previously said that losing income from the car park would put the future of the assets at risk.

But some councillors questioned how much money was spent on maintaining the tourist attractions, at the meeting in Llangefni today Beaumaris mayor Stan Zalot said previously that losing the parking revenue “may result in the closure of the Gaol and Courthouse and thus have a detrimental effect on tourism and local employment”.

He added: “It would require the council to raise the precept levied against its electorate and Cyngor Sir Ynys Mon by almost 200% for the 2026-27 financial year.”

But the county council rejected the transfer request, proposing to offer another lease, until March 31, 2026.

From April 1, 2026, the county council said it would create an “additional source of income” to fund projects across the island.

Cllr Ieuan Williams portfolio holder for waste and highways, said: “When the council transferred the gaol and court, we had consultants to see how much expenditure was needed to be spent on those two buildings, it was around, £600,000.

“We negotiated with the town council (that) they could lease the Castle car park for five years. The income generated was around £100,000 per year, and could cover the costs to upgrade the buildings.”

The proposal to extend the lease to the end of March would ensure the town council was “compensated for the Covid period,” he said.

Cllr Williams added: “We’ve treated the town council fairly, the reason for refusing is that it is contrary to our asset disposal policy.

“We’re supposed to secure value for money for every disposed asset. The asset generates over £100,000 a year.”

“So, we have been giving Beaumaris Town Council, £100,000 in revenue every year, for five years. That sets a precedent every town council on the island would want that.”

He went on to say that the town council’s business plan had “not mentioned” the gaol and court: “We don’t know how much they’ve spent on those buildings. The only thing set out in the business plan was that they wanted to keep the precept low.”

Head of highways, property and waste, Huw Percy, said town council figures showed that in the 24/25 financial year, income generated by the car park was £113,000.

Mr Percy said: “In that year, the direct cost for the town council was £48,000, quite high compared to what we spend on maintaining car parks.

“That led to a gross profit of £64,000, which had been invested as £25,000 in the car park (with no details), £13,000 for the gaol and court (the purpose of offering the lease), and a balance of £25,000 towards the town council’s precept.”

“Having reviewed the town council’s balances, they had increased from £419,000 in 2020, to £798,000 in 2025, a significant increase in balances and reserves.”

Cllr Carwyn Jones said: “As someone who helped students prepare business plans, as a business lecturer, I think it (the town council’s) is a weak business plan.

“I would have expected to see income for every year from the car park and how it was spent every year on the gaol and court. The only figures are the figures for 24/25.

“Just over 10% was spent on the gaol and court. We don’t know what that was spent on. We need a breakdown of income and expediture every year, and a plan for the next five years, how the money will be spent.”

He added there was “no correlation” between the business plan and the lease.

“It talks about building a new heritage centre on Happy Valley Pavilion but that’s nothing to do with the original lease purpose,” Cllr Jones said.

Anglesey County Council leader Cllr Gary Pritchard said the council had received a request from the town council for the decision not to be made today.

But he said, the town council has had “a fair opportunity to present its business case”.

“The lease ran out in July, 2025. I don’t think that there is any further reason to defer the decision”.

The committee approved recommending that the council refuse the request, presented in a business plan by Beaumaris Town Council to transfer the Castle Car Park, Beaumaris, to the Town Council, and instead offer them a lease until 31/03/2026, on the same terms as the original lease.