Latest news with #SimonGarantini
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Controversial apartments development gets go-ahead despite 'unaffordable' fear
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A controversial multi-million pound apartment development in Deganwy has been approved by Conwy Council's planning committee - despite objections from residents and concerns raised by several councillors. Planning officers had recommended approval for the plans, which will see a new 19-flat apartment building constructed on the corner of Station Road, York Road, and Back York Road. The application, submitted by Simon Garantini, involves demolishing the existing buildings at 1–3 Station Road to make way for the new development. The proposed building will measure 15.80 metres in height, 38.81 metres in width, and 27.08 metres in depth. The site is currently occupied by Robertson Geologging Ltd and is located opposite the Grade-II listed former Deganwy Castle Hotel in a predominantly residential area with some nearby commercial properties. Conwy 's planning department received 15 objections from members of the public, with concerns raised over the height of the proposed building, its impact on the character of the area, and a perceived lack of parking. Sign up for the North Wales Live newslettersent twice daily to your inbox. Conwy's planning committee met this week at the council's Coed Pella HQ to debate the application. Several councillors objected to the development, arguing the applicant needed to provide affordable housing or make a financial contribution to the community. Cllr David Carr suggested the flats would be unaffordable to most locals, would not help the council's housing problem, and would likely end up as holiday homes. But planning officers advised the committee affordable housing was "unviable" at the site due to market value and explained that consequently a 106 agreement in the form of community contributions was not viable either in an area that was repeatedly described at the meeting as 'affluent'. Cllr Anthony Bertola spoke in favour of the application. "I'm looking at the positive side of this, because Deganwy is an affluent area,' he said. 'There are lots of businesses there that could do with the footfall. It'll be good for tourism. It'll be good for homes. I know we are looking at the Welsh language and affordable housing - I get that - but I think there is an opportunity here, because it is a bit of an eyesore, the area as it is, anyway, so anything that is going to be upgraded, I'm all for it, and I know Deganwy is a nice area anyway.' He added: 'I'm looking at the positive side of it, but I understand people's feelings about contributions and the Welsh language, but I can't really see how that's going to affect the fact we're getting something that is quite attractively designed architecturally and is in keeping with the area.' Cllr Bertola proposed councillors voted in favour of the proposal, and this was seconded by Cllr Kay Redhead. Nine councillors voted in favour of the planning application with two against and two abstentions. Public notices in your area
North Wales Live
4 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Live
Controversial apartments development gets go-ahead despite 'unaffordable' fear
A controversial multi-million pound apartment development in Deganwy has been approved by Conwy Council's planning committee - despite objections from residents and concerns raised by several councillors. Planning officers had recommended approval for the plans, which will see a new 19-flat apartment building constructed on the corner of Station Road, York Road, and Back York Road. The application, submitted by Simon Garantini, involves demolishing the existing buildings at 1–3 Station Road to make way for the new development. The proposed building will measure 15.80 metres in height, 38.81 metres in width, and 27.08 metres in depth. The site is currently occupied by Robertson Geologging Ltd and is located opposite the Grade-II listed former Deganwy Castle Hotel in a predominantly residential area with some nearby commercial properties. Conwy 's planning department received 15 objections from members of the public, with concerns raised over the height of the proposed building, its impact on the character of the area, and a perceived lack of parking. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. Conwy's planning committee met this week at the council's Coed Pella HQ to debate the application. Several councillors objected to the development, arguing the applicant needed to provide affordable housing or make a financial contribution to the community. Cllr David Carr suggested the flats would be unaffordable to most locals, would not help the council's housing problem, and would likely end up as holiday homes. But planning officers advised the committee affordable housing was "unviable" at the site due to market value and explained that consequently a 106 agreement in the form of community contributions was not viable either in an area that was repeatedly described at the meeting as 'affluent'. Cllr Anthony Bertola spoke in favour of the application. "I'm looking at the positive side of this, because Deganwy is an affluent area,' he said. 'There are lots of businesses there that could do with the footfall. It'll be good for tourism. It'll be good for homes. I know we are looking at the Welsh language and affordable housing - I get that - but I think there is an opportunity here, because it is a bit of an eyesore, the area as it is, anyway, so anything that is going to be upgraded, I'm all for it, and I know Deganwy is a nice area anyway.' He added: 'I'm looking at the positive side of it, but I understand people's feelings about contributions and the Welsh language, but I can't really see how that's going to affect the fact we're getting something that is quite attractively designed architecturally and is in keeping with the area.' Cllr Bertola proposed councillors voted in favour of the proposal, and this was seconded by Cllr Kay Redhead. Nine councillors voted in favour of the planning application with two against and two abstentions.
Business News Wales
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
Geo-logging Company Uses New Technologies to Capture Data for £1.5bn Hydroelectric Scheme
North Wales firm Robertson GEO is capturing vital geotechnical data for a £1.5 billon hydroelectric scheme. Located on the banks of Loch Lochy, near Inverness in Scotland, Coire Glas will be the first hydro storage project of its size to be constructed in the UK since Dinorwig Power Station in the 1980s. The Conwy-based provider of borehole geophysical and petrophysical logging technologies and services was contracted by Strabag UK Ltd to collect a comprehensive set of geotechnical statistics for the development. Driven by energy firm SSE Renewables, the site will have a potential capacity of up to 1300MW, generating enough power for up to three million homes in a matter of minutes. Robertson GEO Managing Director Simon Garantini said the business – which also has locations in the US and Hong Kong – deployed a suite of geophysical probes in an exploratory tunnel more than one kilometre long and 700m below ground level. A 'challenging' task, he revealed the operation required equipment and new techniques they had never used before, including a 2,000m winch enclosed in a safety cage. 'The exploratory work being undertaken for Coire Glas is among the most extensive ground investigations of its time, collecting and analysing a huge volume of geotechnical data before construction begins,' said Simon. 'The comprehensive scope of the ground investigation is not least required due to the site's proximity to the Great Glen fault line, which is visible from outer space. 'The geotechnical data will observe ground conditions to inform on the potential risks and challenges posed to a successful delivery of the project, so this was a hugely important task, pivotal to them moving forward.' The tunnel included three 'galleries' from which a series of long, near horizontal and angled boreholes were drilled, and a series of short 'televiewer' boreholes for imaging, deformability and stress testing. Work continued 24/7 with two teams of two engineers alternating on back-to-back 12-hour shifts. 'Logistics underground could be difficult with equipment needing to be moved around underground whilst many other tasks were occurring simultaneously,' said Simon. 'The most challenging aspect of the logging operation was the development and deployment of a 'push' system to place logging tools in horizontal boreholes. 'Our team has considerable experience in using them on horizontal boreholes up to about 40m in length. However, these were up to around 280m so the magnitude of the task could not be underestimated.' He added: 'There were other challenges – notably in designing a push system for the raised boreholes up to 22m in length – but a manual arrangement using customised tubular push rods was engineered, which worked successfully. 'The work environment was noisy at times with the inevitable dripping water on sensitive equipment such as laptops, though together we resolved all these issues. 'The geophysical logging campaign we undertook formed a vital component of the overall ground investigation, providing high-quality calibrated data, not attainable by other means, at centimetre resolution in the boreholes.'
Scotsman
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Geo giant digs deep to provide vital data for £1.5bn Scottish hydro development
Robertson Geo dug deep to capture vital geotechnical data for a £1.5bn hydroelectric scheme. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Located on the banks of Loch Lochy, near Inverness in Scotland, Coire Glas will be the first hydro storage project of its size to be constructed in the UK since Dinorwig Power Station in the 1980s. The Conwy-based provider of borehole geophysical and petrophysical logging technologies and services was contracted by Strabag UK Ltd to collect a comprehensive set of geotechnical statistics for the development. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Driven by energy firm SSE Renewables, the site will have a potential capacity of up to 1300MW, generating enough power for up to three million homes in a matter of minutes. Robertson GEO at Coire Glas Robertson GEO Managing Director Simon Garantini said the business - which also has locations in the US and Hong Kong – deployed a suite of geophysical probes in an exploratory tunnel more than one kilometre long and 700m below ground level. A 'challenging' task, he revealed the operation required equipment and new techniques they had never used before, including a 2,000m winch enclosed in a safety cage 'The exploratory work being undertaken for Coire Glas is among the most extensive ground investigations of its time, collecting and analysing a huge volume of geotechnical data before construction begins,' said Simon. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The comprehensive scope of the ground investigation is not least required due to the site's proximity to the Great Glen fault line, which is visible from outer space. 'The geotechnical data will observe ground conditions to inform on the potential risks and challenges posed to a successful delivery of the project, so this was a hugely important task, pivotal to them moving forward.' The tunnel included three 'galleries' from which a series of long, near horizontal and angled boreholes were drilled, and a series of short 'televiewer' boreholes for imaging, deformability and stress testing. Work continued 24/7 with two teams of two engineers alternating on back-to-back 12-hour shifts. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Logistics underground could be difficult with equipment needing to be moved around underground whilst many other tasks were occurring simultaneously,' said Simon. 'The most challenging aspect of the logging operation was the development and deployment of a 'push' system to place logging tools in horizontal boreholes. 'Our team has considerable experience in using them on horizontal boreholes up to about 40m in length. However, these were up to around 280m so the magnitude of the task could not be underestimated.' He added: 'There were other challenges – notably in designing a push system for the raised boreholes up to 22m in length – but a manual arrangement using customised tubular push rods was engineered, which worked successfully. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The work environment was noisy at times with the inevitable dripping water on sensitive equipment such as laptops, though together we resolved all these issues. 'The geophysical logging campaign we undertook formed a vital component of the overall ground investigation, providing high-quality calibrated data, not attainable by other means, at centimetre resolution in the boreholes.'
