Demolition of SeaQuarium building to start in January

Work to demolish the old SeaQuarium building on Rhyl promenade begins on 6 January and it is expected that the work will take six weeks to complete.

The 30-year-old building has stood empty since the closure of SeaQuarium at the end of November 2023 and is no longer fit for purpose as a modern tourist attraction. One of the main aims of the Rhyl Town Centre Vision is to improve the visibility of the seafront, and to better link the town centre with the beach. The building is in a prime location on Rhyl's seafront and the Council is in discussions about how the site will be used in future once the building is demolished.

The Council currently has an 85% Welsh Government grant for the Coastal Sea Defence work and Welsh Government has agreed that the cost of demolition can be put against this grant in order to make the location safe and usable for a future attraction.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said, "I believe this is a really positive step forward to improve the seafront in Rhyl. This is an opportunity to see this prominent site in the heart of Rhyl's tourist zone re-imagined. It's a fantastic location next to the Events Arena and links up the town centre with the beach. I'm really looking forward to seeing the developments on Rhyl promenade."

Balfour Beatty, the contractor currently working on the coastal sea defence scheme, will undertake the demolition work as part of the current programme of work they are completing.