A former restaurateur plans to convert an old school in a picturesque Wales village into a self-storage facility, sparking concerns from locals who fear the finished result would resemble an 'industrial estate' and call on the council to refuse permission.
Villagers in a picturesque hamlet in Wales fear the local landscape will be ruined if an ex-restaurateur wins permission to put 47 shipping containers at an old school.
Fu Lee has taken ownership of Ysgol Gymuned Dwyran (Dwyran Community School) in Dwyran, Anglesey, after it closed down during a merger with three other schools. He intends to turn it into a self-storage facility - after ditching plans to build holiday lets because the site sits on a flood plain. But locals say the finished result would resemble an 'industrial estate' in a village of less than 700 people and have called on Anglesey Council to refuse it.
Mr Lee, however, says he is 'just a normal working class lad trying to make a few quid on the side'. Plans show Mr Lee wants to demolish the 1980s extensions, create 11 parking spaces, and line the shipping containers behind the school, where they will be fenced in for security. Environmental concessions include bird and bat boxes as well as new trees and hedgerows, which will be planted in a playing field to the north of the site.
Mr Lee claims the planting will obscure the containers from view - but must still face down his detractors, who feel the project ill-fits the tiny village. Ysgol Gymuned Dwyran (Dwyran Community School) in Dwyran - which could soon be home to 47 shipping containers Owner Fu Lee wants to install dozens of containers at the rear of the school to create a self-service storage park that has been unfavourably compared to an industrial estate The businessman, who gave up his restaurant business in nearby Caernarfon in 2017, told the Daily Post: 'I would love to open a cafe or something similar but as it's in a flood plain there are very few potential uses for the site.
'When considering options, my planning consultant suggested self-storage, for which there is growing demand. Originally the plan was to keep the entire building with just seven containers – but this simply wasn't cost-effective as a business.
' He intends to use the original, 'lovely' school building for letting or storage, preventing it from falling into disrepair. But locals fear the town will be spoiled by the sight of the shipping containers, of which all but 12 are 5.9m long, 2.3m wide and 2.5m tall. A handful are roughly half the length at 2.9m long. And there are concerns that they could float away if the area experiences heavy rainfall.
Mr Lee claims the site itself has never flooded. Nevertheless, he has committed to bolting the containers to a subterranean base of concrete and fastening them together to ensure they will not float away should the worst-case scenario unfold. But locals in Dwyran remain concerned about why a village of roughly 660 people needs self-storage in the first place, with one branding it a 'sodding carbuncle'.
Some have called for Mr Lee to work with the community on the project, considering a playground on the playing field or turning the school itself into a community hall. Others say he should sell up altogether. One local branded the lock-up an 'alien concept' in a post on a community Facebook group. Another wrote that 47 containers would be 'an eyesore... not fitting in with the village.
' Mr Lee, ever the businessman, has said he is open to a sale: 'If someone wants to buy the site, allowing me to make a small profit, then just show me the money. ' Locals had until Friday to raise any objections to the plans. A decision will be made by an Anglesey Council planning officer at a later date
Self-Storage Facility Shipping Containers Anglesey Council Planning Officer Flood Plain Community Hall Playground Carburne Industrial Estate Ex-Restaurateur Fu Lee Ysgol Gymuned Dwyran (Dwyran Community School) Dwyran Anglesey Caernarfon Planning Consultant Self-Storage Growth Demand Lovely School Building Flooded Bolting Containers Concrete Base Subterranean Base Container Container Length Container Width Container Height Container Fencing Container Security Container Planting Container View Container Eyesore Container Fitting Container Community Container Council Container Planning Officer Container Sale Container Profit Container Small Profit Container Show Me The Money Container Community Hall Container Playground Container Village Container Industrial Estate Container Carbuncle Container Alien Concept Container Wales Container Picturesque Container Anglesey Container Village Of Less Than 700 People Container Wales Village Container Anglesey Village Container Wales Self-Storage Container Anglesey Self-Storage Container Wales Shipping Containers Container Anglesey Shipping Containers Container Wales Self-Storage Facility Container Anglesey Self-Storage Facility Container Wales Fu Lee Container Anglesey Fu Lee Container Wales Self-Storage Facility Fu Lee Container Anglesey Self-Storage Facility Fu Le Container Wales Self-Storage Facility Fu Lee P Container Anglesey Self-Storage Facility Fu Le Container Wales Self-Storage Facility Fu Lee P Container Anglesey Self-Storage Facility Fu Le Container Wales Self-Storage Facility Fu Lee P Container Anglesey Self-Storage Facility Fu Le Container Wales Self-Storage Facility Fu Lee P Sparking Concerns From Locals Who Fear The Finishe Container Anglesey Self-Storage Facility Fu Le Sparking Concerns From Locals Who Fear The Finishe
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