Colwyn Bay

Colwyn Bay

Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay shown within Conwy
Population 31,353 (2011)
OS grid reference SH865785
Community
  • Colwyn Bay
Principal area
Ceremonial county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town COLWYN BAY
Postcode district LL28, LL29
Dialling code 01492
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK Parliament
Welsh Assembly

Colwyn Bay (Welsh: Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. Eight neighbouring communities are incorporated within its postal district. Established as its own separate parish in 1844 with just a small grouping of homes and farms where the community of Old Colwyn stands today, Colwyn Bay has expanded to become the second-largest community and business centre in the north of Wales as well as the 15th largest in the whole of Wales with the urban statistical area—including Old Colwyn, Rhos-on-Sea, Mochdre and Llysfaen—having a population of 31,353 at the 2011 census.

History

"Pier and Pavilion, Colwyn Bay, Wales", ca. 1890 - 1900.

The western side of Colwyn Bay, Rhos-on-Sea, includes a number of historic sites associated with St Trillo and Ednyfed Fychan, the 13th century general and councillor to Llywelyn the Great.

The name 'Colwyn' may be named after 'Collwyn ap Tangno' who was Lord of Eifionnydd, Ardudwy and part of the Llŷn peninsula,[1] or the River Colwyn in Old Colwyn.

Government

Bay of Colwyn Town Council is a statutory body, covering the communities in the urban area. The mayor for 2017 - 2018 is Councillor Jeff Pearson.[2]

Geography

The town is situated about halfway along the north coast of Wales, between the sea and the Pwllycrochan Woods on the towering hillside. Groes yn Eirias (Welsh:Cross in Torch) was once a separate hamlet centred on the Glyn farmhouse (c1640) but the area is now occupied by the Glyn estate and Eirias Park.

Climate

As with the rest of the British Isles, Colwyn Bay experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters, and often high winds. The local climate is well known for the prevalence of Foehn winds - where winds from the South pass over the nearby mountains and warm and dry on their descent, leading to far higher temperatures than otherwise might be expected; the area holds the Welsh high temperature record for February at 18.7°C on 23 February 2012.[3]

Climate data for Colwyn Bay 36m asl, 1981-2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 8.5
(47.3)		 8.4
(47.1)		 10.3
(50.5)		 12.1
(53.8)		 15.2
(59.4)		 17.6
(63.7)		 19.6
(67.3)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.4
(63.3)		 14.3
(57.7)		 11.1
(52)		 8.9
(48)		 13.6
(56.5)
Average low °C (°F) 2.8
(37)		 2.7
(36.9)		 4.1
(39.4)		 5.3
(41.5)		 7.7
(45.9)		 10.4
(50.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 12.5
(54.5)		 10.7
(51.3)		 8.1
(46.6)		 5.7
(42.3)		 3.2
(37.8)		 7.2
(45)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 74.7
(2.941)		 53.0
(2.087)		 57.5
(2.264)		 50.7
(1.996)		 52.9
(2.083)		 56.1
(2.209)		 52.1
(2.051)		 64.6
(2.543)		 70.2
(2.764)		 96.8
(3.811)		 89.8
(3.535)		 90.2
(3.551)		 808.7
(31.839)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 56.2 81.8 115.0 162.8 209.0 185.6 189.6 174.7 135.2 108.2 59.9 44.1 1,522
Source: Met Office[4]

Demography

Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of around 25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed just the central part of the overall town and in the 2001 Census contained just 9,742 people, with the others as follows: Mochdre (1,862), Rhos-on-Sea (7,110), Glan Conwy (2,290), Old Colwyn (7,626) and Llysfaen (2,652). This gives a total figure for the six communities of 31,382, generally referred to as the population of Colwyn Bay, making it the 16th largest urban area in Wales and the second largest settlement in North Wales. Bringing 2011 figures into account that figure is now 33,549. The area is sometimes referred to by the name Bay of Colwyn.

According to the 2011 Census, 17.9% of the population aged three and above noted that they could speak Welsh.[5] The Census also noted that 29.9% of the population who were born in Wales could speak Welsh.[6]

Economy

The town is dominated by the tourist trade, because of its famous beaches. Colwyn Bay is a Fairtrade Town as certified by the Fairtrade Foundation as part of the Fairtrade Towns scheme.

Culture

Colwyn Bay hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1910 and 1947.

Community facilities

The town has parks and gardens and a number of natural amenities such as Eirias Park. Colwyn Bay has received a gold award 8 times in the Wales in Bloom competition. In 2009 and 2010 the town has been invited to enter Britain in Bloom and has been awarded silver gilt in both years. The Welsh Mountain Zoo is nearby.

The Porth Eirias Watersports Centre offers tuition in sailing, windsurfing and power boating as well as kayak and canoe hire. In 2013 it was nominated for Building Design's Carbuncle Cup.[7]

Landmarks

The Victoria Pier was closed to the public in 2009, when a dispute between Conwy County Borough Council and the pier's owner led to him being declared bankrupt. The fate of the pier was initially uncertain; the council hoped it would be "substantially" demolished for "health and safety and visual reasons to be able to re-open that section of the beach”.[8] In January 2017, the lower end of the pier partially collapsed into the sea and Conwy Council subsequently announced plans to dismantle and store the pier, with a view of restoring it at a later date.[9][10] The pier was finally demolished in May 2018.[11]

Llety'r Dryw is a Grade II listed house in Abergele Road, built for the uncle of Anthony Eden and now used as the training centre for North Wales Police. Llys Euryn is a medieval manor house on Bryn Euryn, now in ruins.

Transport

The town is served by Colwyn Bay railway station located in the town centre on the North Wales Coast Line with trains run by Arriva Trains Wales and Virgin Trains. The A55 road passes through the town, running parallel to the North Wales Coast Line.

Tramline

The Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway operated an electric tramway service between Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea from 1907 and extended to Colwyn Bay in 1908. The service closed in 1956.[12]

Education

Colwyn Bay has three secondary schools - one private and two state. Eirias High School is in Eirias Park and Ysgol Bryn Elian is in Old Colwyn. Ysgol Bryn Elian mainly serves Old Colwyn and Eirias High School mainly serves Colwyn Bay, Rhos on Sea and Penrhyn Bay. Rydal Penrhos School is a Methodist public school, which is on multiple sites in the town. The town's primary schools are Ysgol Nant y Groes, Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn, Ysgol T Gwynn Jones, Ysgol Hen Golwyn, and Saint Joseph's R.C. Primary and the Welsh-language Ysgol Bod Alaw.

Religious sites

Anglican churches in and around the town include the parish church St Paul's Church, St David's Welsh Church, St John the Baptist's Church, St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church, Bryn-y-Maen to the south of the town.

Sport

The local football team is Colwyn Bay F.C., the local cricket team is Colwyn Bay Cricket Club who play at Penrhyn Avenue and the rugby union team is Colwyn Bay RFC. As of 2012, the RGC 1404 rugby team play at Eirias Stadium in Colwyn Bay as part of a development venture by the WRU.

Colwyn Bay Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1893. The club and course closed in 1959 and the land was used for a housing development.[13]

The Black Cat Cycling Club, founded in 2014, is based in Colwyn Bay [14] with members made up of cyclists from the town and the surrounding area.

Notable people

See Category:People from Colwyn Bay

See also

Colwyn Bay in the early 2000s.
  • Mochdre, a village to the west that was originally part of the Borough.

References

  1. ↑ "The history of the parishes of Whiteford, and Holywell:". quod.lib.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Mayor 2017/2018". www.colwyn-tc.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Office, Met. "UK climate". www.metoffice.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Colwyn Bay 1981-2010 averages". Met Office. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 24 Aug 2012.
  5. ↑ "Comisiynydd y Gymraeg - 2011 Census results by Community". www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "LC2206WA (Welsh language skills by country of birth by age) - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Britain's ugliest new buildings named". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Powell, David (14 August 2016). "Ask Daily Post: What is going on with Colwyn Bay Pier?". dailypost.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Engineers assess collapsed Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier damage". BBC News. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Collapsed Colwyn Bay Pier to be dismantled for 'protection'". BBC News. 11 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "End of the pier as demolition completed at Colwyn Bay". BBC. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  12. ↑ The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
  13. ↑ “Colwyn Bay Golf Club” Archived 27 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine., “Golf’s Missing Links”.
  14. ↑ "The Black Cat Cycling Club Club profile". British Cycling. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
  15. ↑ Davies, William (d. 1593) Archived 5 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine. at National Library of Wales Dictionary of Welsh Biography
  16. ↑ Squad Profiles: Wales Women Archived 11 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. at Welsh Rugby Union, 2012
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