Completion date for Four Great Highways scheme is now late September

* The Wharf steps where limited progress has been made.

The completion date for Llangollen’s Four Great Highways scheme has now been moved back by another month, which means it is now three months behind schedule.

Earlier this week llanblogger reported that there had been little progress made on certain aspects of the project, which was funded by the former Conservative government’s Levelling Up Fund and aims to “enhance the landscape and improve accessibility, interpretation and signage in the centre of Llangollen”.  

And we pointed out that there was less than a fortnight to go before the completion deadline of the end of August was reached – which itself had been moved back from June.

Today the project team revealed there’s been another change of plan and the scheme will not now be completed until the end of September.   

In an update they say: “As you may be aware the last update we provided advised that the project would be completed by the end of August 2024. 

“Unfortunately, despite the contractor working weekends to try and mitigate the time lost we are still running slightly behind due to a few issues in both areas - ground condition challenges at the Wharf and a slight re-design to the steps structure in Lower Dee Mill Park to accommodate the steel structure ramp. 

“In addition to this there is final landscaping works, which will be carried out in September 2024 as the correct time of year for certain planting. 

“Due to this delay, the planned completion date for the project is now end September 2024, however please be assured the contractor is working very hard to complete some aspects of the scheme sooner if and where possible. The signage and wayfinding aspect of the project will also be installed before the end of September 2024.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and disruption this may cause and appreciate your patience while the contractor works hard to complete this project for us.”

The first delay occurred when the scheme ran into unexpected ground conditions with its two key aspects - a raised walkway at Lower Dee Mill Park and the improvement of the flight of steps up from Abbey Road to the canal wharf.

An update from the team in early August said that because of a delay while steel supports were delivered the scheme would be finished by the end of this month.

But earlier this week while work at Lower Dee Mill Park appeared to be catching up well there seemed to have been little progress on the Wharf steps.

On Monday morning workmen were busy putting what looked to be the finishing touches to the park walkway but while large steels supports had  been installed at the top end and a mechanical digger was on site, there were few signs of any start being made on the wharf steps.

The project is part of a Levelling Up investment secured through a joint application between Denbighshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council for the old Clwyd South Constituency – Llangollen is now part of the new Clwyd East. 

The application was supported by former MP for the area Simon Baynes and £3.8 million was allocated to Denbighshire to invest in the communities of Llangollen, Llantysilio, Corwen and surrounding areas.