Towyn
| |
---|---|
St. Mary's church, Towyn | |
Location within Conwy | |
Population | 7,864 (including Kinmel Bay) (2001 Census) [1] |
OS grid reference | SH974794 |
Principal area | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ABERGELE |
Postcode district | LL22 |
Dialling code | 01745 |
Police | North Wales |
Fire | North Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Towyn (Welsh : Tywyn) is a seaside resort in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is also an electoral ward to the town and county councils.
It is located between Rhyl, in Denbighshire, and Abergele in Conwy.
According to the 2001 Census, together with neighbouring Kinmel Bay (to the east), it had a population 7,864, of which 10.7% could speak Welsh. Only a third of the population were born in Wales. [1] Towyn itself had a population of 2,380 in the 2011 census.
The town made national headlines in 1990 when a combination of gale-force winds, a high tide and rough seas caused Towyn's flood defences to be breached at about 11.00am on 26 February. 4 square miles (10 km2) of land was flooded, affecting 2,800 properties and causing areas of the resort to be evacuated. Further flooding occurred later the same week, on 1 March, shortly after the site of the disaster was visited by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. [2] Scientific experts also believe that the silt left behind from the flooding had left the town with a higher concentration of radioactivity, over ten times the governmental safety limits, most likely originating from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield which had been dispersed into the Irish Sea over many years since its construction. The National Radiological Protection Board stated that there was a "small risk" to the people there, while the Welsh Office claimed there was no danger to the public. [3] The coastal defences have since been reconstructed and significantly enhanced. [4]
St. Mary's Church was designed by the renowned architect George Edmund Street, and was consecrated on 17 June 1873. It is known for the distinctive tiling on the roof. The same architect also designed the building which now houses the youth club in nearby Abergele.
The principal economic activity in Towyn is tourism, concentrated in the summer season. A mix of static caravans and touring caravan pitches provides accommodation.
Towyn is also the name of an electoral ward which comprises the western half of the community of Kinmel Bay and Towyn. [5] It elects a county councillor to Conwy County Borough Council. It was represented by the Labour Party until June 2004, when the Conservative Party won the seat. [6] At the May 2017 election the ward was won by an Independent councillor.
Towyn is also a community ward, electing town councillors to represent it on Towyn and Kinmel Bay Town Council. [7]
Conwy County Borough is a county borough in Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south, and Denbighshire to the east. Other settlements in the county borough include Abergele, Betws-y-Coed, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Llanfairfechan, Llanrwst, and Penmaenmawr.
Historic Denbighshire is one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, a vice-county and a former administrative county, which covers an area in north east Wales. It is a maritime county, bounded to the north by the Irish Sea, to the east by Flintshire, Cheshire and Shropshire, to the south by Montgomeryshire and Merionethshire, and to the west by Caernarfonshire.
Rhyl is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Denbighshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd.
Abergele is a market town and community, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough and in the historic county of Denbighshire. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on the Irish Sea coast. Abergele and Pensarn railway station serves both resorts. Abergele is often overlooked due to the popularity of towns in nearby Rhyl, Prestatyn, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno and Conwy. Only 46.5% of the population was born in Wales as of the 2011 census.
Clwyd West is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post method of election. The current MP is David Jones of the Conservative Party, first elected at the 2005 general election and who also served as Secretary of State for Wales from 4 September 2012 until 14 July 2014.
Llysfaen is a village and community in Conwy County Borough overlooking the north coast of Wales, and situated on the hill Mynydd Marian. For local government purposes, it is also a ward. The community includes the Peulwys estate of Old Colwyn.
Deganwy is a town and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough in Wales with a population of 3,936 (2011). It lies in the Creuddyn Peninsula alongside Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea. Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the peninsula is in a region of north Wales where as many as 1 in 3 of residents are able to speak Welsh, and is home to some of the most expensive streets in Wales. Deganwy is located to the east of the town of Conwy and with it forms the Conwy community. The name Deganwy has been interpreted in modern times as Din-Gonwy, which would mean "Fort on the River Conwy", but the historical spellings make it impossible for this to be the actual origin of the name although mentioned in Domesday Book is "the territory of the Decanae tribe". The original wooden castle was rebuilt in stone after 1210. Deganwy is in the ecclesiastical parish of Llanrhos, and has a Victorian era Gothic parish church dedicated to All Saints.
Llandrillo yn Rhos is the name of an electoral ward in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Its boundaries are coterminous with those of the community of Rhos-on-Sea, on the North Wales coast, with the Mochdre and Rhiw wards to the south, Penrhyn ward to the west and Liverpool Bay to the northeast.
Craig-y-Don is a suburb of Llandudno, a coastal seaside resort in Conwy county borough, north Wales. It is also an electoral ward to Conwy County Borough Council and Llandudno Town Council.
Conwy County Borough Council is the local authority for Conwy County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales.
Llanddulas is a village in Conwy county borough, Wales, midway between Old Colwyn and Abergele and next to the North Wales Expressway in the community of Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-Foel. The village lies beneath the limestone hill of Cefn-yr-Ogof (670 ft). This hill has large caves, and quarrying of limestone was formerly the main industry of the village, with crushed stone being exported from the 200 m long jetty.
Kinmel Bay is a seaside village in Conwy County Borough, north-east Wales. It is also an electoral ward to the county council and town council. The resort town of Rhyl lies just across the River Clwyd in the neighbouring county of Denbighshire.
The River Gele is a river in the North Wales and a tributary of the River Clwyd. The town of Abergele takes its name from the river. The spelling is a dialectal spelling of the Welsh word gelau. The river gives its name to an electoral ward, called Gele, which includes the southern half of Abergele town.
Kinmel Bay and Towyn is a community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located on the coast bordering Denbighshire, from which it is separated by the River Clwyd, and is 2.6 miles (4.2 km) west of Rhyl, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north east of Abergele and 14.1 miles (22.7 km) east of Conwy. The community includes the holiday resorts of Kinmel Bay and Towyn. It is crossed by the Afon Gele, which flows from west to east, before joining the River Clwyd on the eastern boundary. At the 2001 census the community had a population of 7,864, increasing to 8,460 at the 2011 census. Before being named Kinmel Bay there was a small settlement called Foryd, which is the name of the bridge crossing into Rhyl. The area is very Anglicized, with well over half the population having been born in England.
Tudno is the name of one of the electoral wards in Llandudno, Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is the middle of the five town wards and covers the town immediately east of the branch line to Llandudno railway station. Mostyn ward lies to the west and Craig-y-Don ward lies to the east, with Llandudno beach to the north.
Marl is the name of one of the electoral wards in the community of Conwy, Conwy County Borough, Wales. It elects representatives to Conwy County Borough Council and Conwy Town Council. The Marl ward covers part of the town of Llandudno Junction to the east of the River Conwy and is one of four county wards included within the boundaries of the community. The wards of Deganwy and Pensarn border Marl, also to the east of the river. Conwy ward lies on the opposite side of the river, including the walled town of Conwy. To the north of Marl is the Llandudno ward of Penrhyn.
Gele is the name of one of the electoral wards in the town and community of Abergele, Conwy County Borough, Wales. It covers the southern part of the town and a more rural area to the southeast including the settlement of St George. It takes its name from the River Gele which runs through the western part of the ward.
Rhyl West is the name of one of the electoral wards of the town of Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales. It covers the northwest part of the town, including the town centre at one end and as far as Marine Lake and the Marina Quay on the western edge. Rhyl East ward lies to the east, Rhyl South West to the south and Conwy County Borough's Kinmel Bay ward to the west.
Sam Rowlands is a British politician serving as Shadow Minister for Local Government in the Welsh Parliament. A member of the Conservative and Unionist Party, he has been a Member of the Welsh Parliament for the North Wales Electoral Region since the 2021 Senedd election.