An FOI by Clwyd West's David Jones showed a company jointly owned by chef Bryn Williams as the leaseholder
The identity of the leaseholder of a new waterfront bistro has finally been revealed as a company jointly owned by chef Bryn Williams, who is due to run the eaterie.
But the detail only emerged after former Welsh Secretary, Clwyd West MP David Jones, submitted a request for the information to Conwy council, prompting him to accuse the authority of “secrecy”.
This revealed that a company called Shel Restaurant Ltd are the leaseholders of the as yet unopened bistro at the new £3.7m Porth Eirias watersports complex inColwyn Bay.
The records also show that the two company directors and sole shareholders, who own half each of the shares, are David John Owen, 48, of Denbigh, and chef Bryn Williams, 37, of London.
Mr Jones said: “I raised an FOI request. I wanted to know about the leaseholder of the bistro which has not been entirely clear because the council have held meetings in private. They came up with Shel Restaurant Ltd.”
Records at Companies House show that it was set up in April last year and it is registered at Irish Square, Upper Denbigh Road in St Asaph. Proposed opening dates for the bistro of Christmas 2013 and Easter 2014 have fallen through.
And earlier this month, Conwy’s Cabinet announced the authority would spend a further £33,000 to complete Porth Eirias due to “higher than expected tender prices”.
Mr Jones said: “I find it extraordinary that the council cannot tell the people they serve what is the precise arrangement over Porth Eirias. Everyone is extremely concerned over this routine secrecy.
“And we have not had clear confirmation from Bryn Williams or Shel Restaurant Ltd as to whether they will proceed nor a timescale to open.”
The MP also claims that the local authority has held repeated behind closed doors meetings about the bistro.
But he said: “What is clear is that another full summer season will have gone past with Porth Eirias standing essentially empty apart from the watersports centre. It’s a huge drain on the resources of council tax payers.”
Conwy Council leader Cllr Dilwyn Roberts had said: “In the current financial climate it’s important that members have the opportunity to review such matters. It’s public money. A lot of time and energy have been invested into bringing Bryn Williams to Porth Eirias and we’re fully aware of the frustration people have felt because the bistro is yet to open.”
Conwy council did not supply a comment yesterday.
However this information was revealed on thoughts of Oscar over a month ago!
No comments:
Post a Comment