FOR HOLYHEAD EVENTS 2012 & HOLY ISLAND EVENTS 2012 click below www.holyheadforward.com/wisscms-en-223.aspx
HOLYHEAD TWINS WITH GREYSTONES - An official town twinning ceremony took place on Friday 20th January 2012 to mark the twinning of Holyhead with Greystones in County Wicklow, Ireland. Greystones has a similar population and coastal location. The twinning is celebrated on a new sign on the A55. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greystones
HOLYHEAD & HOLY ISLAND MARATHON - The Endurancelife races was held on Saturday the 21st January 2012, starting from Holyhead Breakwater Park. See www.endurancelife.com for details
MARK STEEL'S IN TOWN - A 30 minute comedy programme recorded in front of a live audience in Holyhead was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011
REBIRTH OF A HIGH STREET - George Herd from BBC Wales has produced a radio feature called 'Rebirth of a high street: Holyhead' which was broadcast on Good Morning Wales. You can listen to it here- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-16072929
£7.9M PLAN FOR NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL - The Welsh Government has awarded a 50% grant to Anglesey County Council towards the cost of building a new modern primary school in Holyhead
CHRISTMAS PARADE AND LIGHTS SWITCH-ON - The popular annual Christmas Parade was held on Satuday 26th November 2011, starting at Ysgol Kingsland at 4:15pm and ending in Market Square, where the Christmas Lights were switched on about 5pm. See www.holyheadroundtable.com and www.holyheadtowncouncil.co.uk
HOLYHEAD BONFIRE & FIREWORK DISPLAY - Holyhead Round Table held their popular annual bonfire and firework display at Penrhos Beach on St.Cybi's Day, Saturday 5th November 2011. www.holyheadroundtable.com
GREEN LINKS ON HOLY ISLAND APPROVED - A £340k project to promote walking and cycling on Holy Island for local people and tourists alike has been approved by the Welsh Government. The project led by Keep Wales Tidy will have hubs at the town centre, Breakwater Park, South Stack, Trearddur Bay, and Valley. www.keepwalestidy.org/8948
COMEDY NIGHT AT TOWN VENUE - Popular Anglesey comedian Tudur Owen will be appearing with two other acts at the Venue Walkway on the 23rd November at 8pm. Tel 01407 762229 or see www.venuewalkway.co.uk
PUB CHAIN PLANS FOR JUNCTION 2 SITE - Brewery and pub chain Marstons has applied for planning permission to build a large pub - restaurant on land next to Morrisons close to A55 Junction 2.
TREARDDUR BAY DIVING REEF? - Anglesey County Council has held a public consultation on the idea of creating an artifical diving reef off the coast of Trearddur Bay by sinking interesting structures or artefacts.
PARC CYBI TRANSPORT PARK GREEN LIGHT - The Welsh Government Business Minister has approved the sale of a nine acre site at Parc Cybi to the Conygar Investment Company to create a transport and distribution park, which will include a lorry park for up to 140 lorries, a fuel stop, driver facilities, and a HGV service centre, creating up tro 70 jobs. A planning application is expected shortly. See www.conygar.com/Project/ParcCybi/5a
HOLIDAY PARK CONSULTATION EVENT - Developers Land and Lakes will hold a public exhibition and consultation at Holyhead Town Hall on Friday October 21st (10am-7pm) and Saturday Octoober 22nd (10am-2pm) to display their plans for leisure and residential developments at Penrhos, Cae Glas, and Kingsland. See www.landandlakes.co.uk for information on the company.
ALUMINIUM SITE FUTURE USE -It has been announced that Lateral Power Limited are the preferred bidder for the smelter site, and that their plan includes biomass power production, and a major aquaculture and horticulture facility making use of the heat produced, potentially creating about 400 jobs. See www.lateral-power.com
HOLYHEAD IS BRITAIN IN BLOOM 2011 WINNER - The Plas Cybi led Holyhead in Bloom campaign has been announced as a Silver Gilt winner of the British towns class for 2011. See www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Community-gardening/pdf/RHS-Britain-in-Bloom-Results-2011-pdf
HOLYHEAD ENTERPRISE ZONE ANNOUNCED - The Welsh Government has announced that Anglesey will become an Enterprize Zone for energy sector investment in Wales. Holyhead is expected to be its main focus.
BIOMASS POWER STATION APPROVED - The UK Government has granted consent to build a 299MW biomass power station at the Anglesey Aluminium site in Holyhead, which could create up to 600 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs. See link www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/recent.htm
CHARITY SWIM TO IRELAND - Ronan Keating, Pamela Stephenson, Jenny Frost, Jason Bradbury and Steve Parry swam from Holyhead Marina on a 56 mile charity swim to Dublin in aid of Cancer Research UK.
HOLY ISLAND MARKETING VIDEO - A new promotional showreel has been produced as part of the Holyhead BRAND project. CD's are being produced and it is also available to view on Youtube - see www.youtube.com/watch?v=30bX42ERLAQ
NEW VENUE OPENS - a new cafe, bar, restaurant, and function room business called Venue Walkway has opened in Holyhead Town Centre's Market Street, creating 20 new jobs. The building is located next to the Celtic Gateway footbridge that links the town centre and ferry terminal. See www.venuewalkway.co.uk Aug11
OLYMPICS AT UCHELDRE - a major exhibition on the Olympic Games is underway at the Ucheldre Arts Centre in Holyhead until October 2011, including several artefacts. July11
COASTGUARD STATION SAVED - the news that Holyhead Coastguard Station will be retained as part of a UK-wide rationalisation has been welcomed. July11
WYLFA NAMED AS NEW NUCLEAR SITE - Wylfa near Holyhead has been named by the UK Government as one of eight site it considers suitable for new nuclear power stations, all of which adjoin existing nuclear power sites.
FIBRE OPTIC LINK TO IRELAND - Geo Networks Limited has applied to the Welsh Government for a marine license to install a subsea fibre optics cable between Dublin and Porth Dafarch near Holyhead. The project will improve IT links between Ireland and the UK.
NETTO CONVERTS TO ASDA - Holyhead's Netto store on A55 Junction 1 will receive a £500k refit and reopen as Holyhead's Asda store. The Netto will close on 25th June and the new Asda is expected to open 2 weeks later. It is one of four Netto stores in North Wales that will change to Asda. Jun11
MAJOR HOLIDAY CENTRE PLAN FOR PENRHOS - it has been announced that developer Land and Lakes (Anglesey) Ltd which is linked to the Kingmoor Park Properties Group has agreed an option with Anglesey Aluminium to create a major holiday resort at the Penrhos Estate land in Holyhead - a plan that could create 600 jobs. The news has been welcomed by Council leaders. May2011
KFC OPENS IN HOLYHEAD - The first KFC fast food restaurant on Anglesey will open at Penrhos Retail Park in Holyhead on Monday 16th May. They have taken on 44 members of staff in total.
HOT CEASES TRADING - Holyhead Opportunities Trust has ceased trading with the loss of 14 jobs. The Market Street based charity ran training and work placement contracts across Anglesy and Gwynedd, but were part of an unsuccessful consortium for a new contract under the DWP's new Work Programme. HOT trustees and staff have been praised for their hard work and achievements over the last 20 years.
ROYAL WEDDING TO BOOST ANGLESEY TOURISM - The royal wedding has led to a large increase in enquiries about Anglesey and it is hoped that the 2011 tourist season will be very busy. Prince William is based at RAF Valley near Holyhead.
BOATYARD PROFIT GROWTH - Holyhead Boatyard has been listed in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 due to its high annual profit growth over three years, being ranked 86 in the UK. In the year to September 2009 the company had an annual turnover of £30m, a profit of £7.8m, and 207 employees. Apr11
HOLYHEAD ENTERPRISE ZONE? - Welsh Office Minister David Jones MP has suggested that Holyhead could become Wales' first Enterprise Zone in order to encourage new business investment. A number of Enterprise Zones have been announced for urban areas in England where businesses can benefit from rates exemptions and simplified planning rules. Apr11
NEW REBRANDING & MARKETING OFFICER - Felicity Roberts from Trearddur Bay has been appointed to the post of Holyhead Rebranding Project Officer, and will start in post on the 12th May 2011, based in Holyhead Town Hall.
EASTER FUN DAY SUCCESS - a family fun day in the town centre arranged by Plas Cybi Partnership on the 16th April 2011 was a great success, attracting some 2,000 people. The event costs were funded by the BRAND Project and staff costs were met by Plas Cybi. Local businesses were pleased and called for more similar events to be held.
HOLYHEAD BOATYARD GROUP £2.7M INVESTMENT - the Holyhead based marine services group are purchasing two new vessels, thanks to a loan from Finance Wales. One of the vessels will be built to service the offshore wind industry. Apr11
BIOMASS POWER PLAN PERMIT - Environment Agency Wales has granted an environmental permit for Anglesey Aluminium Metal Renwables Ltd to operate a large woodchip-fuelled biomass power station. The final decision on allowing the plant will be made by the UK Government's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). March 2011.
£8.7M SHELTERED HOUSING COMPLEX - Residents have started moving into the first phase of Tai Eryri's new £8.7m Penucheldre sheltered housing development which aims to promote independent living by older people. When completed it will include 54 one or two bedroom flats, a restaurant, fitness room, lounges, visitor bedrooms, and therapy rooms. March11
ROYAL COUPLE AT TREARDDUR - Prince William and Kate Middleton officially named a new hi-tech lifeboat at Trearddur Bay lifeboat station. Feb11
COASTGUARD CLOSURE PLAN PROTEST - A well attended protest meeting was held on Saturday 19th February 2011 against cost cutting plans by the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA) plans to close its Holyhead base. See www.holyheadcoastguard.co.uk
BIOMASS POWER STATION PERMIT - Environment Agency Wales will hold a public information session at the London Road Community Centre on Thursday the 17th February 2011 between 4pm and 7pm on its draft decision to allow an Environmental Permit for the new £600M power station that has been proposed by AAM Renewables Ltd. There will be a further public consultation until March 4th 2011 before the Agency makes its final decision. See www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/library/consultations/127154.aspx
FLY TO THE ISLE OF MAN OR BELFAST - Anglesey to Cardiff air services operator Manx2 will also be offering flights to and from the Isle of Man and Belfast over the summer of 2011. See www.manx2.com for timetables and prices. Anglesey Airport is located at RAF Valley near Holyhead.
ANGLESEY CRAFTS AT UCHELDRE - There will be an exhibition and sale of crafts by Anglesey Craftworkers at Ucheldre Centre between Tuesday 15th February and Sunday 20th March 2011.
TRIPLE BOOST FOR COMMUNITY PROJECTS - Three Holyhead projects have been awarded community facilities improvement grants by the Welsh Assembly, including £300k for the Ucheldre Centre, £200k for Holyhead Sea Cadets, and £215k for the Kiddyland Community Interest Company. A total of 16 awards were made across Wales totalling £3M, to be spent within three years.
HOLYHEAD IN BLOOM - Following success in the Wales in Bloom 2010 competition, Holyhead has been selected by the Royal Horticultural Society as a finalist in the Britain in Bloom 2011 competition. A public meeting to brief local people, form a bid committee and recruit volunteers will be held in Holyhead Town Hall on the 4th March 2011. See www.holyheadinbloom.com and www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Community-gardening/Britain-in-Bloom/News/Britain-in-Bloom-finalists
MARITIME MUSEUM PRAISED IN TOURISM AWARDS - Holyhead Maritime Museum won a special award for their outstanding contribution to Anglesey tourism at the 2011 Anglesey Tourism Awards ceremony. Blackthorn Farm won the award for best Caravan and Camping site on Anglesey. Jan11
TOWN COUNCIL SUPPORTS WATERFRONT SCHEME -Holyhead Town Councillors have voted to recommend that the planning application by Conygar Stenaline Ltd for the Holyhead Waterfront Regeneration Scheme should be supported, subject to conditions for the safeguarding and maintenance of the Newry Green and Breakwater. Jan11
TOWN REGENERATION PLANS ON SHOW - An exhibition and conultation on various town centre regeneration projects and ideas took place on Monday 24th January 2011 at Holyhead Visitor Centre in Market Street. The exhibition newsletter may be downloaded from the 'Projects' section 'Town Centre Regeneration' page.
HOLYHEAD MARATHON - The Endurance Life Holy Island Marathon, half marathon, and 10k races was held on Saturday the 22nd January 2011, starting from Holyhead Breakwater Park. Click on www.endurancelife.com/event.asp?series=36&location=111 for further details. For video clips of race from Welsh language TV programme see http://news.bbc.co.uk/welsh/hi/newsid_9370000/newsid_9371500/9371599.stm
OFFERS IN TO BUY SMELTER SITE - Property agents King Sturge have confirmed that several bids have been received to buy the Anglesey Aluminium site, which will now be considered by the company.
GREAT BRITISH RAILWAY JOURNEYS - Michael Portillo visited Holyhead in Series 2 with a Llanberis to Holyhead feature broacast on BBC2 Friday 14th January 2011.
UK ENERGY BOSS VISITS PORT - UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry MP toured Holyhead Port on the 10th January 2011 to view its potential as a base to service offshore energy developments in the Irish Sea. Jan11
GREEN LIGHT FOR LOG CABINS - A development of 51 holiday log cabins at Bagnol near Trearddur Bay has been approved by Anglesey's planning committee. Jan11
NEW DELI OPENS IN TOWN - A new delicatessen has been opened in Holyhead town centre's Market Street by local business people, helped by Menter a Busnes.
SEA CADETS LOTTERY FUNDING AWARD - Holyhead Sea Cadets have secured a grant of some £250k from the Big Lottery's People and Places Programme to upgrade their facilities at Newry Beach. Jan 11
COASTGUARD CLOSURE PLAN - Holyhead could see the closure of its Coastguard HQ and the loss of 23 jobs under rationalisation plans announced by the UK Government - See www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12008191 for details. Dec10
TRAINING CENTRE OPENED AT EATON FACTORY - A new "Community Learning Hub" training centre has been opened at the Eaton factory site, jointly funded by Eaton Electric and the trade union Unite through the Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF). It will give training, up-skilling and support to those who need it, in particular former employees of Eaton and Anglesey Aluminium. Dec10
CELTIC FIGURE UNEARTHED - A two-thousand year old bronze figurine has been found at Rhoscolyn by a metal detector enthusiast and named "Colyn". Dec 10
HOLYHEAD WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT PLANS - Conygar Stenaline Ltd has submitted an outline planning application to Anglesey County Council for a major development in the outer harbour area. The plans include a marina, residential units, hotel, commercial and leisure uses, and associated land reclamation and service infrastructure. The local planning authority reference is 19C1046A/EIA/ECON . The application follows a public exhibition in Holyhead Town Hall in November. The developer's website is www.holyheadwaterfront.co.uk
For previous news see "News Archive" under "News and Events"