Online group dumps criticism on resort
AN INTERNET group designed to tarnish the image of Colwyn Bay is gathering support across Britain.
AN INTERNET group designed to tarnish the image of Colwyn Bay is gathering support across Britain.
The popular Facebook website has millions of hits every day, but one of the groups that has sprouted up in past months isn’t going to help bring tourists and new businesses to the Bay of Colwyn.
Entitled Colwyn Bay is a Dumphole, the page had 132 members at the time of going to press and was set-up by Mike Mills, who writes: “Since the 1960s (aka the A55) Colwyn Bay has become a fresh seagull dump sliding down the clean windows of life.
“There’s a lot of nothing here, nobody comes to visit any more and the main population of Colwyn Bay is unemployed or on something, but you can’t complain – there’s a very wide variety of people that live there!
“I would like to see how many funny things I can find out about this little potty town.”
As well as derogatory comments condemning the town, there are photos of run-down buildings and closed shops, as well as images of the pier, the beach and the Imperial Hotel on Prince’s Drive.
Members have left comments of their own, including the following:
“Look on the bright side – it’s not as bad as Rhyl or Prestatyn. One improvement would be to have anybody claiming to be a trustworthy landlord – who is moving drug problems in from Manchester and Liverpool into their little dump bedsits and flats just so they can grab the DSS funded rent – should have their b****** removed with bolt cutters.” – Marc Ross
“I agree, Colwyn Bay is a dump and we often hear how it is getting money to do it up, and nothing gets done. And how the hell are those wooden figures dotted around the place helping? Refurbish the place in a practical way and it could be a half decent place again. If the council would put money back into it, people would probably stop trashing the place.” – Helen Houghton
“I have a love-hate relationship with the Bay. It is a s***hole but it’s our s***hole. I have spent the majority of my life there and although there’s sod all to do, there’s always the Wetherspoon and Prince Madoc pubs. If that’s still not good enough there’s always the A55 and the train station, so just leave it alone!” – James Bevan
“It’s a dump! Shame I have it in my address. Why is the Bay full of sludge? Everyone looks like they want to rob you.” – Rob Boughton
“I always hum the Deliverance music to myself as I drive through in my car – smug in the knowledge that I used to live there but have now moved onwards and upwards.” – Louise Clarke
“Colwyn Bay most definitely sucks.” – John Grigson
“Good morning all, I hope everything is going as well as it can when you live in such a hole. Be strong people, and yes, the grass is greener on the other side.” – Derek Fergus
But thankfully, not everyone was critical:
I’ve got to say that Colwyn Bay is far from perfect, but it’s not as bad as it’s made out. People who have always lived in the area know no worse, so have no comparison.
“No, the town isn’t kept well but just look up at the Victorian properties and their grandeur. Colwyn Bay used to be an exclusive seaside resort, so what went wrong?
“The council. They’ve let everything that makes a good seaside resort die and decay, the pier especially. We have a beautiful prom but nothing to do on it. We have to move with the times, people don’t want to just walk any more, families want parks. And what about the beaches, no one uses them and they’ve been voted some of the cleanest in the UK!
“So I say stop looking at the negatives and start looking at why, and how it can be changed. Blame your council. Take some pride back and stop being an armchair critic.” – Marie Davies
“I’m both shocked and dismayed by this group. I’m a true Colwynite, I was born there so I hate to see it slagged off. Yes, it could be better, and yes it is full of smackheads and pound shops these days, but Eirias Park is still nice and it has the Welsh Mountain Zoo.” – Russ James
There is also a discussion board with suggestions on how to make Colwyn Bay a better place to live; an ice rink, a poor box, a casino on the pier, and no more pound shops were among the ideas shared.
Bay county councillor Abdul Khan is saddened by the Facebook group and hopes those administering it will close it down.
“If they’d been around Colwyn Bay they’d see that it’s on the up,” said Cllr Khan. “It’s had its moments but things are looking positive.
“It’s easy for people to talk the place down, it’s a lot harder to do something about it. Perhaps they should come to the next Bay Life Initiative meeting and come up with some constructive ways of making this a better place if they’re so unhappy with it.”
richard.evans
Colwyn Bay may not be the seaside tourism hub it once was, but is it as bad as these Facebook members make out? Is it constructive to moan about the negatives rather than work toward more positives? E-mail your thoughts to martin.williams@northwalesnews.co.uk, or log on to our website at www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk and click on Forums.
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