Context

The Colwyn Bay Waterfront Project extends over a 2.3 mile length of promenade and is a major investment aiming to safeguard the town and its infrastructure from the effects of predicted climate change.

Phase 1 saw an extension of the permanent beach, as well as extensive improvements to the promenade between Porth Eirias and the Pier.

Phase 2 has seen almost 1km of improvements to the promenade including:

  • widening and realigning works to increase the level of flood protection
  • improved parking provision
  • new landscaping of featured headland areas
  • improving promenade finishes

Work undertaken

Hardscape supplied paving and natural stone for the project including:

Kellen Lavaro

This is a modular concrete product with high quality granite aggregate top finish. The extensive range of colour finishes provided great opportunities to expand on the design concept to punctuate the 825m-long site with colour and texture at strategic locations. The Kellen Lavaro range was also used at two other public realm schemes along the promenade linking the various schemes together.

Double Excel concrete slabs

The visual and structural strength of 2 x 2m Double Excel concrete slabs were selected for areas susceptible to wave action.

Artscape natural stone

Natural stone was selected for various artwork projects as it would be resilient in the harsh coastal environment and areas of heavy footfall. The use of various stone types also allowed the design of intricate images in the form of the ‘Postcards from Colwyn Bay’ which celebrated the history and people of the area. A wide range of natural stone was chosen to create a palette of colours to produce the images on the postcards. The text portion was produced in Crystal Black and Mist granites as these provided the best contrast to make the text as legible as possible.

Granite distance markers or ‘Health Markers’ at 50m intervals were also included to encourage healthy levels of activity. These were created using Crystal Black and Mist granites for clarity and to complement the more detailed appearance of the postcards.

A feature 'Wave' seat was constructed from two-tone granite blocks. The strength in the design comes from the combination of radial blocks to form a 27m-long irregular curvilinear sculptural seat with shallow alcoves for social interaction. The use of the contrasting Mist granite and Carlow Blue limestone lends strongly to the bold but simple visual composition.

Outcome

The area of the promenade at Colwyn Bay has been transformed from a barren, narrow through route, into an accessible, modern and inclusive space. The promenade is once again an asset which locals can take great pleasure in and will also help to attract visitors back to the town, which is key to the wider regeneration aspirations of the area.

The project has been awarded both a CEEQUAL rating of ‘Very Good’ and ‘Excellent’. Porth Eirias has also been awarded a BREEAM rating of excellent, which demonstrates the design, construction and operation of the building complies to the highest standards of sustainability. Yet a further award for Phase 1 at the ICE Wales Cymru Awards (Bill Ward Sustainability Award 2017 winner).