In last week’s local newspapers, reporter Martin Williams brought attention to a plan for a new hotel in Rhyl. A property investment company based in Northern Ireland wants to build a two storey block comprising 54 bedrooms, adjacent to our White Rose Centre which they already own.The project is described as a £4 million hotel; there is no indication of how much grant aid the company would require. Chris Ruane MP, who in the past has sneered at the tourism industry for creating only low-paid seasonal jobs, has declared himself to be in favour of the plan and has described it as exactly what Rhyl needs.
Yours Truly, who has always supported the tourism industry, has one or two doubts. Many of the hotels that we used to have were forced by circumstances to go residential; a number of these spiralled downmarket and gave the town social problems, grief and a bad image. The new hotel could be a slum of the future.
I would rather see £4 million put into de-residentialising existing hotels and helping them to move upmarket. Failing that, OK let's have a new hotel or two.
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