PROPOSALS to demolish a three-storey building in Rhyl and erect a new one containing six apartments have been approved.

Denbighshire County Council applied to its own planning committee for this development, at the now-vacant building adjoining The George Hotel at 39-41 Queen Street, last July.

Also included in the proposals, submitted with Chester-based Lovelock Mitchell Architects, were remedial works to the gable wall of The George Hotel.

The council’s planning committee gave the proposals the green light yesterday (April 25).

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David Williams, of North Wales Police, was consulted on the plans, and raised concerns about the potential for bicycle thefts.

He said: “My main concern is that this (low wall at the site) will give easy access to the cycle storage rack at the rear of the building.

“There has never been a stronger push from Welsh Government to encourage sustainable forms of transport, and the expectation has to be that cycle ownership will only increase.

“Whilst the policies surrounding transport are not the day-to-day business of the police, we have to do as much as possible to mitigate the risk of cycle theft by designing in-safe and secure cycle storage.

“It is very rare to find modern housing design abutting the public domain in this fashion.

“I can only think of a few examples in Rhyl, Elwy Street being one of them, but this is very old housing stock. The occupier will have to be very cautious if opening the window for ventilation.”

Peter Smith, of Sussex Street Christian Centre, also raised objections.

He added: “We have reviewed the application and are concerned at the apparent closing of Sussex Lane as shown in a number of plans.

“This would deny us the right of access to our rear yard.

“We need this access down Sussex Lane to remain open for the current and future work of the church and the maintenance of church premises.”

Rhyl Town Council and the council’s Highways authority made no objections to the plans, while there were also found to be no potential negative impacts on protected species from the development.

Natural Resources Wales had initially raised concerns about the risk of flooding, but these were allayed after an assessment report was published in March.