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Wales Online
2 days ago
- Health
- Wales Online
Temporary helipad for hospital set to be installed at historic Gwynedd estate
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 An historic Gwynedd estate known for hosting royals, music stars and VIPs looks set to provide a helicopter landing pad for a Bangor hospital. Cyngor Gwynedd has received a full application for the temporary change of use of a pasture within the historic Vaynol Estate - known in Welsh as Parc y Faenol. The planning application says this is to provide "a temporary helicopter landing location for Ysbyty Gwynedd". Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday. A green infrastructure statement states this is to "support the logistics of the associated development for a new (permanent) helicopter landing pad at Ysbyty Gwynedd". It adds: "It is therefore proposed to provide a temporary landing location to the west of the hospital, to be used for the duration of the development while the primary helipad cannot be used (approximately two years)." (Image: Google Map) The new landing pad would be "in use intermittently, but 24/7 access will be required given the nature of the use," a statement from TACP Architects on behalf of Ysbyty Gwynedd's Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board stated. It said: "The proposed location for the temporary landing site is on an existing pasture to be rented by the hospital for the duration of its use." The proposal also notes that the helipad development will not include external lighting or wind socks. The proposal states: "The only development works anticipated for this will be a temporary access route to allow emergency vehicles to drive up to the aircraft. "This will be formed from a temporary grass track way system which would be removed on completion of the new helipad at the hospital." (Image: Google Map) It also notes in steps to mitigate impact on biodiversity and eco-systems, that "the proposed development is only temporary and following completion of the main development on the hospital site, the pasture can return to its original use". It adds: "While the pasture is temporarily occupied, the impact on the field will be minimal and reversible." Over the years the Vaynol Hall has hosted royals, VIPs and politicians, including Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The site has also been used for popular events and festivals, including concerts with Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel, it has hosted the Eisteddfod and has been the location for the Welsh Game Fair. According to the Coflein government website, Vaynol Park was laid out in the 1820s but occupies a site with a longer history of construction and landscape design, and was originally a possession of the Bishops of Bangor. The Vaynol Old Hall dates from the sixteenth century and was replaced on a nearby site by the larger Vaynol Hall in the late eighteenth century by Thomas Assheton, who established the park, initially as a fox-hunting estate.
North Wales Live
2 days ago
- North Wales Live
Temporary helipad for hospital set to be installed at historic Gwynedd estate
An historic Gwynedd estate known for hosting royals, music stars and VIPs looks set to provide a helicopter landing pad for a Bangor hospital. Cyngor Gwynedd has received a full application for the temporary change of use of a pasture within the historic Vaynol Estate - known in Welsh as Parc y Faenol. The planning application says this is to provide "a temporary helicopter landing location for Ysbyty Gwynedd". Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday. A green infrastructure statement states this is to "support the logistics of the associated development for a new (permanent) helicopter landing pad at Ysbyty Gwynedd". It adds: "It is therefore proposed to provide a temporary landing location to the west of the hospital, to be used for the duration of the development while the primary helipad cannot be used (approximately two years)." The new landing pad would be "in use intermittently, but 24/7 access will be required given the nature of the use," a statement from TACP Architects on behalf of Ysbyty Gwynedd's Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board stated. It said: "The proposed location for the temporary landing site is on an existing pasture to be rented by the hospital for the duration of its use." The proposal also notes that the helipad development will not include external lighting or wind socks. The proposal states: "The only development works anticipated for this will be a temporary access route to allow emergency vehicles to drive up to the aircraft. "This will be formed from a temporary grass track way system which would be removed on completion of the new helipad at the hospital." It also notes in steps to mitigate impact on biodiversity and eco-systems, that "the proposed development is only temporary and following completion of the main development on the hospital site, the pasture can return to its original use". It adds: "While the pasture is temporarily occupied, the impact on the field will be minimal and reversible." Over the years the Vaynol Hall has hosted royals, VIPs and politicians, including Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The site has also been used for popular events and festivals, including concerts with Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel, it has hosted the Eisteddfod and has been the location for the Welsh Game Fair. According to the Coflein government website, Vaynol Park was laid out in the 1820s but occupies a site with a longer history of construction and landscape design, and was originally a possession of the Bishops of Bangor. The Vaynol Old Hall dates from the sixteenth century and was replaced on a nearby site by the larger Vaynol Hall in the late eighteenth century by Thomas Assheton, who established the park, initially as a fox-hunting estate.
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Closure warnings during 30-week upgrade of Loggerheads Country Park to cope with visitor surge
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 30-week scheme to revamp one of the busiest visitor sites in northeast Wales is to get underway this month. Main buildings at Loggerheads Country Park are being upgraded to cope with rising visitor numbers. The project will include refurbishing the visitor centre and café, with an enhanced seating area, as well as improving the toilets and carrying out external landscaping. Traditional porches will be installed over the shop entrance and a large sail canopy will be located near the park entrance to act as a meeting point for groups. Denbighshire Council said the project complements improvements also planned at nearby Moel Famau. A spokesperson said: 'The main aim of these improvements is to help manage the challenges linked to a growing number of visitors – currently exceeding 200,000 visitors per year – and meet their increasing expectations.' Initial works will focus on the toilet block, lasting around 10 weeks. A temporary toilet facility will be available on site during the closure. Improvements to the meeting room and café will then take place in the autumn, followed by the visitor centre and outdoor landscaping early in 2026. As these will also need to close temporarily, an 'exciting' pop-up catering facility will be established instead, showcasing produce from northeast Wales. The new canopies are a response to the site's "inadequate" covered outdoor spaces for socialising, eating and drinking. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here's how to sign up (Image: TACP Architects) Solar panels will be installed to improve the site's sustainability. Flood mitigation works at the site were completed earlier this year. Like the building upgrades, the flood defences were funded by £1.4m of UK Government Levelling Up funds. Council Leader Cllr Jason McLellan said: 'We have seen an increase in visitor numbers at Loggerheads Country Park in recent years and projects such as these, once completed, will help future-proof the park and meet the ever-increasing expectations of visitors. 'These sites are much-loved National Landscape areas, and it is important that we continue to maintain and develop sites such as these as their popularity grows to ensure that they can continue to be enjoyed by all who visit.' ParkCity Multitrade Ltd, based in St Asaph, has been awarded the contract. Work will start in mid-August and is expected to continue until early March 2026. Listed buildings at Loggerheads will not be affected by the work. The site was the location of Pentre Mill, an early 19th-century corn mill powered by a waterwheel. The wheel ceased operation in the 1940s but was later restored in the 1990s. In the 1920s, Crosville Motor Bus Company acquired the land, establishing tea rooms and gardens for visitors who mainly arrived by bus. With a bandstand, boating lake and refreshment kiosk, Loggerheads thrived. After a post-war decline, the site was bought by the old Clwyd County Council for conversion into a country park. Sitting below the dramatic limestone cliffs of the Alyn Valley, where the river enters steep wooded gorges, Loggerheads is now a gateway site for visitors wanting to explore the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley. A long-stay car park offers 90 parking spaces. Denbighshire Council has stressed the upgrade is unrelated to the Welsh Government's bid to create a new national park in northeast Wales. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Find family activities near you
