Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has welcomed news that controversial plans to demolish a historic North Wales building have been withdrawn.

Residents in Rhos-on-Sea were up in arms over Cartrefi Conwy’s proposals to demolish period property Larkfield House to develop apartments.

Back in February, Darren met with them to hear their concerns and consequently called on the Heritage Minister to urgently intervene to safeguard Larkfield House.

However, it has been revealed this week that Cartrefi Conwy have now withdrawn their application and the owner of the site has sold the property.

Commenting on the developments, Darren said:

“Local campaigners will be delighted that this application has been withdrawn. The demolition of Larkfield House would have been such a huge loss to Rhos-on-Sea had these plans gone ahead.

“The site has now been sold by the owner and we await news on the new owner’s intentions. Regardless, I hope that they will be sympathetic to local views on this important piece of Rhos-on-Sea heritage.” 

Larkfield House is a period property and former home of the Cayley family, which is notable in the development of the aviation industry.

Sir George Cayley Bt (6th Baronet Cayley) was an inventor and has been dubbed the ‘Father of Aviation’ due to his role in pioneering a series of aircraft which directly influenced the Wright brothers. The brothers used Cayley’s science to develop their own powered glider and attributed their success to Cayley’s ground-breaking work.