Inside UK’s ‘worst seaside town’ where restaurants are turned into cannabis farms and drug lords run empires BEHIND bars
IT is the oldest city in Wales, boasting a stunning Victorian pier, a 1,500-year-old cathedral and a respected university.
But recently, Bangor has picked up a more undesirable accolade, after being voted the UK’s worst seaside resort in a new survey.
Nestled less than an hour away from Snowdonia national park, overlooking the Menai Strait, the North Wales city has been ravaged in recent years by rampant drug gangs and a high street battling to stay afloat.
It was ranked bottom out of 100 seaside towns in a poll by Which?, with the 700 people quizzed giving it just a 42 per cent approval rating.
It’s an accolade that has split locals, with some insisting its problems mirror that of many other cities across the UK, and others agreeing the city centre has become a run-down ghost town.
Nathan Griffiths, 25, a tyre technician, says: ”It’s a s***hole. It’s gone downhill massively for years. It’s a dump in the city centre.
“I don’t feel safe coming out here.”
Dewi Rees, 55, says: “It’s been declining for 20 years. It’s a shame it has gone downhill.”
The engineer is sat outside a café in the high street, which consists of boarded up shops and barely any people.
Dewi added: “There’s a lack of investment, the retail park is outside the town and tariffs on the properties are too high.
“There is plenty to do here but, unfortunately, it’s spread out. We have the pier and nice places on the front.
“But, unfortunately, people don’t get to see that when they come to the high street.”
The shopping park just a few miles from the centre is a draw for shoppers across North Wales.
But the high street is a mess, with boarded-up buildings and most national retailers long disappeared.
Since the pandemic, the shopping centre has incredibly been 80 per cent vacant as the high street struggles to get back on its feet.
The closure of Debenhams in 2021 sounded the death klaxon for the main shopping road.
But things could be looking up as bakery Greggs has signed to take over a unit at the Menai Centre in the city – for ten years.
Culture, cathedrals & drug lords
Bangor has a rich cultural history, with a university created in 1884, funded in part by quarrymen who helped to meet the costs. These days, its marine science department is admired worldwide.
The Gwynedd city’s cathedral is where a one-time chorister called Aled Jones made his name. The present bishop, Andy John, is also Archbishop of Wales.
Sadly, the high street – said to be the longest in Wales – tells a different story, with Albanian drug gangs seizing upon the vacant lots to brazenly run secret cannabis factories.
There have also been complaints of drug dealing in nearby Caernarfon Road, where many well-known high street names have relocated to new stores.
Just last month, two men were jailed for their role in running a cannabis farm, claiming they had been forced into the work after being brought over illegally.
It’s a s***hole. It’s gone downhill massively for years. I don’t feel safe coming out here
Nathan Griffiths, 25, a tyre technician
The factory they were caught in was estimated to be worth £730,000, with Albanian nationals Fatjon Tarja, 32, and Indrit Balliu, 31, caught trying to escape out the back.
The property used to have a restaurant on the ground floor, but it had been turned into a four-story operation housing 700 cannabis plants and all the equipment needed to grow them.
Both men were jailed each for a year and eight months, with a ten-month minimum time served inside.
It was the first of two raids in 2023. The other found cannabis being grown over three floors of a house in Caernarfon Road.
Cops said they are determined to root out all the criminals taking up residence in the city.
At the time, District Inspector Ian Roberts said: “Bangor will not be a base for organised illegal activity.
“The businesses and partners of Bangor who are working hard to develop the city do not want it, the public will not tolerate it, our team will do everything within their legal powers to prevent it and pursue offenders via the criminal justice system.”
Drugs have been an ongoing problem in the city for decades, despite the efforts of cops to capture and stop supply.
A kingpin that was put behind bars in 2010 for his crimes was found to still be running his operation from a prison cell.
Paul David Williams, 48, used phones smuggled into the jail to run operations as late as 2013, allowing him to flood Bangor with Class A drugs.
He was serving nine years for his role as gang leader in the city, but cops hadn’t realised that he was still running his operation from inside.
‘Worse places’
Despite the crime troubles, many locals still love their home and rankle at it being voted the UK’s worst seaside resort.
In fact, one resident doesn’t think it should be included in the list at all.
Café owner Oliver Yates, 44, said: “I wouldn’t call Bangor a seaside town. There’s no promenade.”
He added: “There’s a lot of room for improvement. The high street has changed from what it once was, and I don’t think it will go back to how it was before.
“No small independent business can plug a gap left by a big company.
“It’s bad in Bangor. I am a realist. We are very lucky, we are very busy.”
History of Bangor
The city’s name is Welsh for “wattled enclosure”, meaning it takes its name from the fenced area that originally surrounded the cathedral site.
In 973 the city became the site of peace talks between Iago, ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and Hywel who had usurped him.
The talks were facilitated by Edgar, King of England, who persuaded the warring kings to share ruling the realm.
Bangor remained a relatively small settlement until the beginning of the 18th century, when it was designated a postal town on the route to Ireland.
It then developed a shipbuilding industry and tourism via steamboats from Liverpool docks.
In 1826, the Menai Bridge was built, connecting the isle of Anglesey to the mainland physically for the first time.
By 1848, the city had a train station, allowing tourists to visit it more easily.
In 1893, the Garth Pier opened. It’s the second-longest pier in Wales and is now Grade II listed.
During World War II, Bangor was used to rehouse parts of the BBC to avoid the blitz in London. The corporation still retains facilities in the city to this day.
Banging the drum for a day trip to Bangor was Frankie Thompson, 38, boss of the perhaps aptly-named Miracle Café.
He said: “It’s a lovely place. It’s growing again. The city needs some work and love and forward-thinking by the council.
“It’s a very friendly, beautiful place. We have the pier and it’s a great place to stay for visiting Snowdonia.
“We have very good reviews and a lot of regulars.
“I have been to worse places in Britain. I wouldn’t agree it’s the worst seaside town in Britain.
“Come and visit and have fun here.”
Fellow businessman Alex Elliott, 41, doesn’t think the problems Bangor has are specific to its location on the sea front.
The phone repair shop owner said: “All high streets are suffering just because of the move online and rising costs of running businesses, especially since Covid.
“People have got even more used to using the internet for everything and more comfortable not going out and about.
“Places like Llandudno have a nice variety of shops. There’s no push to bring them to the high street here. The council have got to do something about it.”
Fellow resident Matthew Smith, 40, agreed, adding: “Things are better than they were. But in 20 years of business, the last two have been the most challenging.”
‘There’s no one here’
However, not everyone thinks the poll was wrong.
Stephen Jones, 66, a retired NHS manager, agreed with the Which survey. He said :”It seems run down. There’s nothing here. To think it’s a university city, you’d expect there would be more commerce here.
“The upside is the university is a fantastic building, the history, and there are the mountains of Snowdonia and Penrhyn castle just down the road. The centre is just abysmal really.
“There’s no one here. It’s the absence of shoppers and other people. There’s no hustle and bustle.
“To think it’s the major town or city for this part of Gwynedd and Anglesey which are overrun with tourists – yet we have this.”
And mum-of-one Rachel Roberts reckons the location of the city means it could have a lot more to offer.
The 34-year-old said: “There’s nothing here. There are nice walks and the pier but shop-wise there’s nothing.
“It’s drab and run down and generally dead on the high street.”
Bangor City Council said: “It’s disappointing to see Bangor City named as one of the UK’s worst seaside towns. Such rankings often fail to capture the full picture and the unique charms that make Bangor City so special.”
The Sun has contacted North Wales Police for comment.
