GOVERNMENT OFFER TO SAVE SMELTER - Media reports suggest that a financial package worth £48M has been offered to Anglesey Aluminium in order to safeguard jobs at the Holyhead plant, but that this was not considered sufficient by the company to allow it to viably continue its existing operations. Jul09
BARONESS KINNOCK OF HOLYHEAD - Glenys Kinnock who is originally from Holyhead, has been appointed to the UK government cabinet as Europe Minister. She has received a seat in the House of Lords to allow this, and chose a title reflecting her home town. We wish her well in her new role.
NIGHTCLUB INVESTMENT - A Holyhead nightclub is due to reopen after a £375k investment. The former Hibernian club has received an extensive refit and has been rebranded as "Piranha". The new club is due to open on July 17th. Jul09
PORTS REVIEW - Welsh MP's are carrying out a review of issues impacting on ports in Wales, and how their economic contribution can be increased. The Welsh Affairs Committee have visited Holyhead, and have received evidence about various Holyhead issues and opportunities, including the proposed new port access link, cruise ship terminal, and the need for a lorry park. Jun09
CRUISE SHIP MARKETING PROJECT - Funding for the Celtic Wave project has been approved - a £1m EU Interreg funded scheme to attract more cruise ships to visit Holyhead and five other ports in the Irish Sea. It is hoped to attract 30 cruise ships a year to Holyhead by 2013. Jun09
HOLYHEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL OPTIONS - A report outlining Holyhead primary school rationalisation options has been published by the Education Authority. Five of the town's seven primary schools have empty spaces, totalling 300. One option is to build two new modern schools in their place. The public consultation period is open until 3rd August 2009. See http://www.ynysmon.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=630&doc=9986&language=1
NEW INITIATIVE TO REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT - The UK government has awarded funding of £380k over two years for a new initiative to reduce economic inactivity in Communities First wards in Anglesey and North Gwynedd, including four in Holyhead. The initiative will be led by former Holyhead regeneration officer Elizabeth White
POWER STATION PLAN - Anglesey Aluminium are proposing to develop a renewable energy power station at their site in Holyhead. A public exhibition of the plans was held on th 16th & 17th June in Holyhead Town Hall. The proposed £600m power station would be fuelled by wood chips, and would create around 100 permanent jobs. May09.
TOWN CENTRE £4M BOOST - Holyhead town centre will receive a £4m share of a £37m regeneration package for seven North Wales towns announced by the Welsh Assembly on the 9th May. The four year package is funded by the EU Convergence programme and other sources. It will include targeted property improvements, urban realm upgrades, better signage, a heritage initiative, and town centre management.
STEAM EXCURSIONS SEASON STARTS - The first of seven tourist steam train excursions from England to Holyhead in 2009 will take place on Saturday the 10th May
CRUISE SHIP BOOKINGS UP - A successful marketing drive and provision for direct berthing at the aluminium jetty has resulted in 10 cruise ship bookings for 2010. Five cruise ships are booked in 2009, with the first on Sunday May 11th.
HOLYHEAD ECONOMIC SUMMIT - Holyhead Town Council and Holyhead Forward hosted an econmic summit for the town on Friday the 24th April, 2009 in Holyhead Town Hall. Over 40 delegates from the public, business, and community organizations met and discussed how Holyhead should respond to the current economic challenges facing the town. April 09
BOARD CHAIR RETIRES - Steve Jones' term of office as Independent Chair of the Holyhead Forward Board has ended. He was publicly thanked for his service to the town during the Holyhead Economic Summit. Steve Jones has been appointed to the post of Chief Executive of the new Tai Ceredigion housing association, and we wish him well in his new job. April 09
SMELTER FUTURE TALKS - Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy has held talks with UK and Welsh Assembly Government ministers and officials in London to discuss a possible way forward for the extension of Anglesey Aluminium's electricity supply contract after 30th September 2009. A 180-day consultation period for possible redundancies was started on the 3rd April.
HOLYHEAD GETS BIGGER - The Welsh Assembly has confirmed an order extending the administrative boundaries of Holyhead to include the Penrhos area, which was previously part of Trearddur Community. The area transferred includes Anglesey Aluminium, Penrhos Retail Park, Penrhos Country Park, and the Parc Cybi Business Park. 1/4/09
£2M FOR COMMUNITIES FIRST - Holyhead's three Communities First partnerships have been awarded three year funding until March 2012 by the Welsh Assembly Government. The awards include £1,022k for Plas Cybi, £598k for Morlo, and £471k for Porthyfelin. Plas Cybi's funding includes a team of environmental workers for the town.
TESCO PLAN STORE EXTENSION - Tesco have applied for permission to roughly double the size of their Holyhead superstore. The scheme would include a decked car park, mezzanine floor cafe, and large extension.
KINGSLAND CENTRE BOOST - The planned new £1.5m community and childcare centre in Kingsland is a step nearer, thanks to an award of £200k from the Welsh Assembly's Community Facilities Grant.
TREARDDUR BAY NEW SEA WALL - Welsh Assembly Minister for the Environment Jane Davidson AM has officially opened a £1.9m new sea defence wall at Trearddur Bay. The scheme was jointly funded by the Assembly and the County Council, being designed to minimize the risk of sea flooding to property in the village. Feb09
LEISURE CENTRE TO BE IMPROVED - The County Council cabinet have agreed to pursue the option of improving and extending the existing Leisure Centre, to include facilities for the local weightlifting and boxing clubs.Feb09
£1M FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING SCHEME - A scheme of 16 new affordable houses for a brownfield site on Turkeyshore Road will go ahead thanks to a £1.1M grant from the Welsh Assembly. The project is a joint venture between the County Council's Housing Service, Housing Association Tai Eryri, and developers Watkin Jones.
SCHOOL RATIONALISATION RETURNS - Holyhead primary schools will be reviewed, with a view to potential rationalisation.
FREQUENT FERRY SERVICES RETURN - Irish Ferries have announced that twice-daily Swift fast ferry servics between Holyhead and Dublin Port will return on the 27th February.
CRUISE TERMINAL PLANS - Engineering design company Hyder have been appointed by the Welsh Assembly Govenment to draw up detailed plans for the new North Wales Cruise Terminal in Holyhead.
SMALL SHOPS TO BENEFIT FROM EU GRANT - A regulation blocking small shops from receiving local business grants has been withdrawn, and small retail businesses will now be eligible to apply for a new grant scheme due to start in April 2009.
EATON PROTEST MARCH - A protest march paraded though Holyhead on Saturday 14th February to call for the saving of some of the 265 factory jobs due to be lost during 2009. The march arranged by trade union Unite ended with a rally meeting in the Town Hall. Feb09
FERRY INVESTMENT CREATES JOBS - Stena have invested £3m in upgrading their two large ferry vessels, the Adventurer and the Nordica. The Adventurer fastcraft has returned to service after its refit, and will be departing daily to Dun Laoghaire at 10:30am and returning to Holyhead at 1:30pm. The Nordica will in future be carrying tourists as well as freight, and this is expected to create an extra 50 jobs. Feb09
CLEANEST STREETS IN WALES - Anglesey has been given the best score in Wales for street cleansing by Keep Wales Tidy inspectors. The County Council's street cleansing contractor is Verdant Group. Feb09
TESCO WIND TURBINES PLAN - Tesco plc have applied for planning permission to site two 10.6m high wind turbines at their Holyhead superstore. Feb09
TOWN CENTRE SURVEY RESULTS - A survey of town centre area commercial premises in Holyhead in February 2009 has been carried out. It counted 211 commercial premises, of which 177 were occupied, and 34 vacant. The commercial property vacancy rate was 16%, compared with a UK average of about 11%. Of the vacant premises, 3 were being refurbished, and five had proposed occupiers. Feb09
NEW POWER STATION MOVES CLOSER - The NDA has named Wylfa near Holyhead as one of four UK sites where it wishes to see new nuclear power stations built. This could see a £2bn investment with an estimated 10,000 construction jobs, and 1,000 permanent jobs. Jan09
WORK STARTS ON £25M HANGAR - Construction Group Morgan Sindall has started work on a new fast flying training centre at RAF Valley near Holyhead, a contract worth £25M.
PASSPORTS TO TRAVEL TO IRELAND - Ferry passengers travelling between Wales and Ireland will face routine passport checks under new legislation designed to boost border controls. Jan09
TOWN TOPS VACANCY FLOORSPACE SURVEY - Retail analysts Experian have identified part of Holyhead town centre as having the second highest retail floorspace vacancy rate in the UK, at 27%. This compares with a units vacancy rate in Holyhead town centre of around 16%. Three large empty units accounted for much of the vacant space, namely the historic Market Hall, Kwik Save, and Empire Bingo Hall properties. The Experian survey covered Market Street and Stanley Street only. Jan09.
ANGLESEY ALUMINIUM TO END SMELTING ? - Anglesey Aluminium, has announced that it "expects to end smelting operations in September 2009" as it has not yet been unable to reach a feasible solution to extend the existing power contract beyond September 2009. It says that consultations with employess and unions will now start, but that it will also evaluate alternative operating activities, including the continuation of certain existing industrial operations. The plant now employs over 500. The press release appears on www.riotinto.com and there is an announcement also on www.kaiseraluminium.com (under Investors). 15.1.09
PRINCE WILLIAM TO TRAIN AT RAF VALLEY - It has been announced that Prince William, to be known as Training Flt.Lt.Wales, is to spend time training as a pilot in Sea King search and rescue helicopters at RAF Valley. Holyhead harbour is regularly used for helicopter rescue training by the RAF.
EATON FACTORY CLOSURE CONFIRMED - Some 265 jobs will be lost at electrical components manufacturer Eaton Electrical. Staff have now been told that the Holyhead factory will close during 2009, starting with some job losses in March. Eaton plan to focus component production operations with a German company Moeller on mainland Europe. A Community Action Group was formed in October to co-ordinate a local response to the proposed closure. Jan09
BEST GREEN SPACE IN WALES - Holyhead Breakwater Park has been named by the Times newspaper as on of the four Best Open Spaces in Britain. See www.timesonline.co.uk under Travel > 2008 Green Spaces Travel Award. Jan09
WOOLWORTHS TO CLOSE - 19 jobs will be lost as the national chain store company closes its Holyhead store on the 27th December, as part of a national closure programme. Crowds of shoppers have flocked to spend in the store in response to discount deals. Three jobs are also being lost as the Fads shop closes. Dec08
HOLYHEAD HIGHLIGHTED IN NEW TOURISM PLAN - The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a new coastal tourism strategy which specifically refers to supporting resort and town centre improvements in Holyhead. Dec08.
FIVE STAR RESTAURANT - The recently refurbished Seacroft 'restaurant with rooms' in Trearddur Bay has been awarded a prestigious five star rating by VisitWales. See www.theseacroft.com Dec08
NEW FAST TRAIN SERVICE TO CARDIFF -Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones AM launched a new faster train service between Holyhead and Cardiff, saving about 30 minutes on previous journey times. Dec08.
NEW BUILDING COMPLETED - The official opening of "Ty Celtaidd" - a new building in Holyhead Town Centre, was announced by Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government, on the 12th December 2008. The building was created as part of a £6M package of improvements to the town centre during 2005-2008. The building will be open for public viewing on Wednesday the 17th December between 11am and 6pm.
RIO TINTO ANNOUNCEMENT FEARS - The worldwide Rio Tinto metals Group has announced plans to axe 14,000 jobs. They are part-owners of Anglesey Aluminium, and it is not yet known what the impact of this will be on the Holyhead-based company. Dec08.
'TIM CYBI' YOUTH & BUSINESS INITIATIVE - A new partnership between major local employers and Holyhead High School has been launched. Nov08
MARKET CROSS EXTENDED - As part of town centre improvements, the modern stone cross in Market Square has been extended so that it now stands 4 metres high, and stone seating has been installed around it. It has an inscrition in four languages -Welsh, English, Irish, and Latin. Nov08
LOG CABINS PROPOSAL - A planning application has been made to site 51 holiday log cabins at the Bagnol & Tyn Tywyn Caravan Park in Trearddur Bay. Nov08
NEW MORRISONS SUPERSTORE OPENS - The new £25M Morrisons retail store was opened by Holyhead Mayor Ailia Lewis on Monday 17th November. A total of around 250 new jobs have been created at the new store at Penrhos near Junction 2 of the A55.
NEW LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Anglesey planners have unveiled their draft new local plan for guiding development in the county until 2021, including specific plans and land allocations for Holyhead. The public consultation is between the 12th November 2008 and 9th January 2009. Follow the link for details : www.anglesey.gov.uk/doc.asp?catid=3076
ANOTHER POST OFFICE TO CLOSE - The Church Terrace Post Office is one of five further post offices in North Wales that are due to close under the rationalisation plans.
PARC CYBI ROAD OFFICIALLY OPENED - Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones AM officially opened the access road for the new £13M Parc Cybi Business Park on the 24th October 2008. The scheme includes a direct link from A55 Junction 2, and provides more direct access between the A55 and Trearddur Bay.
FERRY SAILINGS CUT - Both Stena and Irish Ferries have announced that their fast ferry sailings will be reduced to one service a day from November 2008 onwards, due to high fuel costs and reduced traffic levels over winter. Additional sailings will apply over the busier Christmas and New Year period. Stena has also announced that the Stena Nordica will replace the Stena Seatrader in November, and will carry passengers as well as freight.
NEW TOURISM PLAN FOR SOUTH STACK - Local development consortium YLD Limited have submitted a planning application to redevelop the South Stack cafe to create an iconic new visitor centre, with cafe, retail area, and 10 holiday apartments.
CRUISE BERTH PLAN MOVES CLOSER - Four engineering compaies have been invited by the Welsh Assembly Government to tender for the work to design a new cruise berth and an extension to the Anglesey Aluminium jetty. Oct 08
LEINSTER SINKING ANNIVERSARY - A remembrance ceremony took place at Holyhead cenotaph on Friday the 10th October, the 90th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Leinster during the First World War with the loss of over 500 lives. Oct 08
See previous news under "2008" in our "News and Events" section