WATERPARK

Yesterday, Denbighshire councillors agreed to a new attraction for Rhyl described as a Waterpark, This is to be sited near the Skytower as shown in the designs above (which are not precise in every detail).

The Waterpark is a kind of replacement for the Sun Centre. Jamie Glover, one of Denbighshire's unelected officers, says the Sun Centre ". . . didn't really provide a significant economic return to the town given it was far removed from the town centre."

Hmmmm. That's not what shopkeepers were telling me when it closed. Prestatyn's Nova Centre is being hailed as a success after a £4-and-a-half million makeover – not exactly in Prestatyn town centre, is it?

Anyway the fun and games at Rhyl's new Waterpark should pull in the crowds at least while the attraction remains a novelty. I welcome it with open arms; Rhyl needs to be refreshed by something new.

The Sun Centre cost just over £4 million in 1991 (not much more than £6 million in today's money). The new water park is estimated at £15 million. I wonder how Denbighshire is going to pay for it.

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FRI 3rd MAR 2017 UPDATE: The official name of the project is Rhyl Waterpark and Leisure Attraction (RWLA) aka Aquatic Centre. For our purposes Waterpark will do.
As for the cost, Rhyl Town Council has put £2 million in the kitty, and there will be £800k from the Tourism Investment Support Scheme (TISS) operated by Welsh Government. Denbighshire County Council will borrow the remainder of the required £15.4 million.
Cost of relocating the present skateboard park is included in calculations. Even so, the Waterpark will by far the most expensive item in the history of Rhyl. I hope that councillors have compared costs with other waterparks to ensure that we are not getting ripped off.
There are more than a dozen waterparks in UK and the number is steadily increasing. By the time ours opens in 2019 it will not have much in the way of novelty value.
Failure to attract a sufficient number of users will put Denbighshire’s budget under strain, so let’s cross our fingers and hope for a big success.

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SAT 21st OCT 2017 UPDATE: Further to Mr. Glover's comment about the Sun Centre being "far removed from the town centre", this postcard is a reminder of how near/far it actually was - the roundabout on your left is at top of High Street.

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RHYL SCHOOLS

Ysgol Llywelyn is spelt Llywelyn so I have corrected previous mentions in this blog that referred to it as Llewelyn. The confusion arises because Ysgol Llywelyn is in Trellewelyn Road. 

Occasionally, spellings can cause confusion. The former school in Vaughan Street was Christ Church (2 words); the current one is Christchurch.

Recently the primary schools Llywelyn, Emmanuel & Bryn Hedydd were in the highest possible grade of Welsh Government rankings.
Da iawn!

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GOODBYE TO ALL THAT

This is Rhyl Sun Centre as it looked today, photographed from the car park to your left (west) of the Sun Centre by Yours Truly. Deconstruction of the famous attraction is well under way.

The Sun Centre was an indoor complex of swimming pools created by council with help from European grant aid. The main pool had tropical storm effects, and there were an indoor surfing pool and a kiddies' pool.

There were crazy novelty slides, a big wave machine, and a monorail with carriages travelling at a height round the interior of the complex. At times it had a model 'formula one' racing track, sun tan beds, restaurants and a bar with entertainment.

The Sun Centre was fabulous. Visitors flocked there and spent their money all over town.

We lost the Sun Centre for the same reasons we lost previous council- owned attractions. The novelty wore off, public interest faded, and the maintenance costs rose to an unsustainable level.

New attractions are planned for the site. Meanwhile here are some Sun Centre pictures that have not appeared previously in this blog:

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FRI 11th NOV 2016 UPDATE: Recently to hand, and a rarity of sorts, a Rhyl Sun Centre badge:

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PAIRING AGAIN

This is another post that pulls together pairs of pictures not previously published in this blog. Firstly two dramatic shots of building the present Foryd Bridge which opened in 1932 (pictures from Rhyl History Club):

Next are a couple of photos of HMS Rhyl. The one on your left is 1960s and the other is probably 1970s:

The following are World War 1 and World War 2 memorial plaques in Christ Church, Water Street, Rhyl, photographed by Fred Burns:

The family name Rhydwen Jones appears on both plaques. 

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Now, here are two adverts - the front and back covers of a Pavilion circus programme which is said to be from 1954:

A connection between the two shows advertised above is that they were both staged by Captain A. Prince-Cox, F.R.M.S. (This is an acronym of which I can make no sense in a showbiz context. Perhaps a reader will enlighten us on this point.)

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Above is a colour postcard from my own collection showing the Sun Centre (opened June 1980) as it looked before the new Pavilion Theatre was built at its side.

Below is a Daily Post photo of the new Pavilion Theatre being built; it opened in September 1991.

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Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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CHUTE IN MATCH

The 'Canadian' Water Chute that turned up at Marine Lake in 1908 has been the subject of previous posts, you would find them under the label MARINE LAKE on your left near top of this page.

The two cards above have not appeared here before. The upper one is undated; the lower is postmarked 1912.

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In modern times our nearest equivalent would be the Dragon Slide at Rhyl Sun Centre, which looks far less precarious:

The two images above have not appeared here before. The black-and-white is a Daily Post photo from 1991; the item in colour is a card postmarked 1996.

At present the Sun Centre is closed and demolition is probable. Clwyd Leisure Ltd which managed the place in recent years ceased trading on Friday 7th February 2014. Enquiries are directed to insolvency practitioners, Parkin S Booth & Co. of Liverpool, Tel: 0151 236 4331.

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BY-ELECTION: RHYL TOWN COUNCIL, BODFOR WARD

On Thursday 2nd July 2015 there was a by-election to replace one of two town councillors in Bodfor ward where I live. Bodfor is the town centre area roughly Bath Street to John Street.

The election was won predictably by Labour against four Independents. I say predictably because no other political party put up a candidate, and Independents always struggle because voters are not sure what they stand for.

The turnout in the by-election was eight per cent, in other words 92 out of every 100 eligible residents did not bother to vote. Why should they? In terms of their quality of life, there is little or no difference between having two town councillors or one, or none.

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TALE OF TWO PAVILIONS

Rhyl Pavilion (1908-1974) pictured above on a card dated 1921 figures often in this blog. The big dome was a landmark and an emblem of the town. Not much else could be said in favour of the place.

We lost Rhyl Pavilion because keeping it up to rising standards of comfort and safety and in a good state of repair would have cost county council too much money. Same applied in the case of our pier and still applies to council-owned attractions.

Now the Sun Centre has become a liability and has to go. 

Councils can get grants from higher authorities to create new things but maintenance costs have to be found locally, and there is a limit to how much council tax payers would tolerate before turning up at county hall brandishing pitchforks.

If you are not a council tax payer spare a thought for those who are.

We may be waving goodbye to the Sun Centre but the adjacent Pavilion Theatre looks likely to remain and be re-clad and re-modelled, whatever that means. Thanks to Cheryl Evans for supplying the following pix:

Here is a link to the Pavilion’s forthcoming shows. See if anything tickles your fancy. Remember – use it or lose it!

http://www.rhylpavilion.co.uk/

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READ ALL ABOUT IT

RHYL SUN CENTRE TO BE DEMOLISHED: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/rhyl-sun-centre-demolished-new-9388482?ptnr_rid=381515&icid=Untitled4

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Llandudno’s new £5 million hotel: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/watch-llandudnos-new-travelodge-opens-9241703#rlabs=4

Llandudno pier sold to Tir Prince boss: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/llandudno-pier-sold-tir-prince-9194642

Colwyn Bay pier’s future in doubt: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/colwyn-bay-piers-future-doubt-9290819 

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WED 21st JUN 2017 UPDATE: At the beginning of February 2017 part of Colwyn Bay pier collapsed, and at the end of that month a large section fell into the sea during a storm. The following pix are from drone footage by Lis Aerial Photography, published by Daily Post.

Now, the nearest pleasure pier to Rhyl is the one at Llandudno which remains fully functioning and almost as handsome as ever. Here is a Raphael Tuck postcard of the structure circa 1950 showing a steamship docking at the end.

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6720. Additional image added here in June 2020:

Adam Williams, owner of the pier at Llandudno and the Tir Prince complex in Towyn.

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MORE BLENCATHRA

This is further to previous posts about Blencathra School, Rhyl, which moved location once or twice within the town but is generally remembered as being in Russell Road. 

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

Blencathra was a private school for girls. In 1922 the headmistress was a Miss Alexander, and it seems that pupils were allowed out only on Saturdays between 3pm and 6pm. Boarding schools took full charge of, and full responsibility for, the children‘s safety and moral well being in ways that would seem too strict these days.

The presence of gentlemen on Blencathra’s tennis courts is unexplained. Fathers on a visit, perhaps?

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[These phrases are added here for indexing purposes: school annexe, school garden, school West Room.]

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GOOD QUESTION

A reader asked why there is no photo of the present Pavilion Theatre on this blog, to which I had no ready answer. Last Sunday, to make amends I took a taxi to the theatre. It was closed on that day, and the sign had gone from the outside wall – and it was raining. Still no photo . . . 

The adjacent Sun Centre closed down early in 2014. If it ever reopens I would hope to see signs telling passers-by that it is a swimming pool – an essential piece of information that has been missing under previous managements.

As for the Pavilion, last I heard, the theatre was under consideration for being handed over to private operators instead of being run directly or indirectly by county council. The story broke before Christmas last year. Can anybody bring us up to date?


Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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RHYL SUN CENTRE

THIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARD
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The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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Heulfan Y Rhyl/Rhyl Sun Centre opened in June 1980.

In terms of the number of paying visitors the Sun Centre is the biggest success in the history of Rhyl. It is on the promenade opposite Conwy Street. The choice of location was criticised initially for being a long way from the attractions at the western end of the prom.

This £4.5 million complex of indoor swimming pools had tropical storm effects (which were uncommon at the time at that time) and its indoor surfing pool was the first in Europe.

The postcards above are from the 1980s. Recently came an announcement that a lot of money would be needed needed to bring the entire facility up to date.

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6720. Two additional images added here in June 2020:

Sun Centre adverts. The one above is from 1984, and the one below '85.

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