Conwy County Borough Council's plans for the restoration of the Grade II-listed Victoria Pier in Colwyn Bay have been dealt a blow after a funding bid worth £4.9m was rejected.

After considering the local authority's application for financial support towards the project, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) said it was "unable to support" the proposals.

Jennifer Stewart, head of HLF Wales, said the agency had been impressed by the vision for the pier and its Art Deco-style pavilion but couldn't allocate any funding.

"The quality of bids was exceptionally high and, regretfully, we just didn't have enough money to support all the applications we looked at on the day," said Stewart.

It comes after the council announced it had taken ownership of the pier with the help of the Welsh Government as part of a multi-million pound regeneration of Colwyn Bay.

However, a local campaign group has challenged Conwy Council's announcement and insisted that the pier remains under the ownership of Steve Hunt and Family.

Details: www.hlf.org.uk

Image: Graham Taylor