ON-street parking will be curbed in one of North Wales' busiest towns for up to 18 months to allow the pavements to be widened.

Denbighshire Council has published a series of traffic orders that will restrict on-road parking in Llangollen town centre.

The parking suspension orders cover Castle Street, Bridge Street, Market Street, Hall Street, Mill Street, Parade Street, East Street, Oak Street, and part of Abbey Road from October 1.

The restrictions are expected to be completed by the end of March next year when the Llangollen 2020 Castle Street Improvement scheme is due to be completed.

Each year, under pre-pandemic circumstances, hundreds of thousands of people visit Llangollen, home of the International Musical Eisteddfod. The town, which boasts the famous heritage railway, is popular with tourists and outdoor sports enthusiasts.

Denbighshire Town Council wanted to make it easier for pedestrians to enjoy the town centre, and the public were consulted on proposals.

The £1.75 million scheme will see several pavements widened and modernised.

It also intends to reduce traffic and parking issues.

Improvements include:

  • Widening of pavements
  • Making raised bed crossing points to make it safer to cross the road and slow down the traffic
  • Widen the road slightly to allow for extra room for vehicles to pass
  • New traffic lights at the A5 junction to be more reactive to real-time traffic conditions
  • Adding decent sized tree to stand alongside the existing tree by the town hall
  • Using high quality materials including York Stone pavers and Berwyn Slate from the Horseshoe Pass
  • Adding uncontrolled crossing points around the town
  • Reconfiguration of the area outside the Old Lock-Up to make the junction less confusing and create extra space for pedestrians
  • Retaining the one-way section of Market Street

Other measures such as diversions, one way systems, road closures, 10mph temporary speed limits will also be imposed during the period.

Alternative routes will be signposted during the works.

The notices have been phased to hopefully reduce the impact on the town, but routes such as Castle Street, Willow Street, Vicarage Road, Brook Street, Abbey Road, Berwyn Street, and the A5 and B3105 roads will be affected.

Llangollen councillor Graham Timms said the Castle Street works were planned for the winter months to avoid the tourism season.

He said: “The work could have been done over a shorter timespan but it was felt this would cause huge disruption to residents and businesses.

“Instead it has been planned over the winter, outside the main tourism season, to limit the amount of disruption.”

Llangollen residents have been having their say on social media.

On Facebook, Hywel Evans: "That’s effectively No street parking anywhere in Llangollen Town Centre?

"...and through the first winter after the pandemic - good luck to the businesses in Llangollen. They are going to have to rely on luck and not customers to get through this winter."

And Elaine Dittman asked: "What provisions have they put in place for residents in these areas or those forced to park there overnight when illegal parking makes it impossible to park in zones residents have passes for?"