Pier bid backed (From Penarth Times)

Pier bid backed

THE Penarth Society has thrown its weight behind the Nutopia bid to launch an international film festival in Penarth, centred on the Pier building.

But the group has also hit out at the bidding conditions set out by the Vale Council's agents in the project.

King Sturge want bidders to make an investment to refurbish the pier building before a rent is fixed for the lease of the building.

Bidders fear that making a substantial investment could lead to them being penalised with a higher rent.

Graham Robertson, chairman of the Penarth Society, said: "The Penarth Society supports the imaginative and comprehensive plans of Danny Chang/Nutopia, outlined in the Penarth Times.

"Their proposals for the pier pavilion include a range of uses - all of them helping to put Penarth on the map, helping the local economy and creating a vibrant seafront scene.

"It appears, however, that the conditions suggested by the Vale's agents King Sturge are demanding to the point of being unworkable.

"When the council report on this to cabinet in July, the Penarth Society urges them to do all possible to accommodate a company who, having raised the finance, will deliver the goods.

"I think this project is ideal for Penarth. We need to be a little less introspective and more outward looking in Penarth."

The Penarth Society, which has a 200-strong membership, is a civic society set up in 1988.

It campaigns on conservation issues and is represented on the Vale of Glamorgan Conservation Area Advisory Group.

Bob Croydon, of King Sturge, said: "Bidders have been invited to submit proposals of what they intend to invest in the pier building and how they intend to use it.

"At a conservative estimate I would say that the building needs around 250,000 spending on it. We want to determine the intention of the bidder for the building.

"The council has to be assured that the people who take it on can exercise proper stewardship. The prime consideration is to ensure that the building is restored properly.