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Bangor business park to be sold by Welsh government after 21 years

BBC Bryn Cegin business park has been owned by the Welsh Government since 2000BBC
Bryn Cegin business park has been owned by the Welsh government since 2000

The Welsh government has agreed the sale of land at an undeveloped business park, 21 years after it was created.

In 2020, ministers were criticised after it was revealed they spent £11m on the empty Bryn Cegin site in Bangor, Gwynedd.

Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd Sian Gwenllian hoped it would be "positive news", but called for more details.

The Welsh government said it had agreed to the sale of their interest "in the freehold of a plot of industrial land".

Bryn Cegin was created in 2000 following a consultation that suggested it was needed.

It is not clear how much of the 90-acre site is part of the deal or who the Welsh government is selling to.

It is also offering additional financial support for projects that qualify.

In 2005 it was announced the project would receive £3.5m from the European Union and £4.9m from the former Welsh Development Agency.

The site had been tipped to house a multi-screen cinema, but it is understood developers struggled to attract the restaurants needed to make the scheme viable.

The land had also been part of plans by Gwynedd Council to create a Park and Ride scheme on the outskirts of Bangor.

Grants offered

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has now "agreed to the sale of Welsh ministers' interest in the freehold of a plot of industrial land in Bangor".

A Welsh government statement added it was "together with an option to purchase and to award a property development grant to support the development of an industrial development scheme".

Responding to the news Ms Gwenllian, who represents Arfon Plaid, said: "I very much hope that the government's announcement is positive news for a business park that has scandalously laid empty for the past 20 years, but I eagerly await to see the details, and fully understand the practical reality and significance of what the government has just announced.

"We need more high quality jobs in Gwynedd and Parc Bryn Cegin offers a perfect opportunity. I look forward to seeing if the Welsh government has the political will."

The Welsh government said a further announcement would be made regarding the site and its plans "in due course".