Plans submitted for £15m Rhyl water park

A new £15 million water park for Rhyl has moved a step closer to becoming a reality.

A planning application for the all-year-round attraction has been submitted for consideration by councillors.

Dubbed the Rhyl Aquatic Centre, the facility will include a 1,200sqm water space with indoor and outdoor flume rides, children’s water play frame, slides, splash pads and lounger areas.

Set to open in 2019, it will also boast “dry facilities” including a climbing wall, activity zone and party rooms.

A bar and terrace will also cater for the evening trade.

The scheme, drawn up in partnership with Alliance Leisure, will be funded largely by Denbighshire Council with in-principle agreements of £2m from Rhyl Town Council and £800,000 from grant funding from the Welsh Government.

Last month, Alliance Leisure held a drop-in session to gauge local opinion and displayed images of what it could look like inside.

The water park is expected to attract an extra 350,000 visitors to the town and create 60 jobs and an annual boost of £1.7m to the Rhyl economy.

Rebecca Maxwell, Denbighshire’s corporate director for public realm and the economy, said: “The water park is a flagship project for the councils and the development is an essential element of efforts to increase footfall in the town, to create jobs and increase spend in the local economy.

“This has also been at the forefront of our proposals to redevelop the waterfront and is a major part of our regeneration plans for Rhyl.”

Jamie Groves, Denbighshire’s head of facilities said: “This is a significant milestone in the water park development.

“There is a lot of anticipation into how the new water park will look and the recent public drop-in held at the Vue cinema really gave people a flavour of the ambitious and exciting development that is being proposed. The feedback we have received from the public has been extremely positive.”

The development, which comes after the demolition of Rhyl Sun Centre, has been earmarked for the existing Drift Park and skate park sites near the Sky Tower.

Rhyl Sun Centre after closure

Funding has also been set aside to relocate the skate park in consultation with young people, with the new one said to offer more attractive design features.

Denbighshire Council say the Drift Park paddling pool “will be replaced by a significantly enhanced outdoor splash pad and sun terrace, as part of the redevelopment.”

Gareth Nickels, Rhyl Town Council’s town clerk, said: “We welcome the submission of the water park planning application which heralds another step in Rhyl’s regeneration.

“The response to the public consultation showed there is clear support for the water park proposal which will bring not only a new, much-needed attraction to Rhyl but jobs, tourists and business footfall too.”