������̳

Plans to turn former office buildings in a seaside resort into a 61-bed residential unit offering mental health care have been given the go-ahead.

Denbighshire council originally refused proposals for the site in Rhyl, which was upheld by planning inspectors.

But a fresh bid was accepted on Wednesday after concerns were raised over anti-social behaviour at the site.

Developers said the new hospital, offering mental health interventions, would generate 150 jobs.

The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board had expressed concern about the original plan, questioning the local need for such a facility and arguing that it would probably be used by people from outside the area.

North Wales Police had also raised security concerns about the potential for patients to abscond.

But in response to the fresh application, the force said that the longer the building remained unoccupied the more likely it was to generate crime and disorder.

Agents for the developer, Dr Dr Nadarajan Pragash, who owns Headlands Nursing Home in Llangollen, said the hospital would be secure, with perimeter fencing, and with patients closely monitored.

They said six small wards in the unit would provide "services to small numbers of service users who may share common mental health conditions and require specialist therapeutic interventions".

They developers added: "This will assist with the repatriation of Welsh service users currently residing in hospitals far from their home areas, as well as serving the ongoing needs of north Wales residents with mental health conditions who require care and treatment in a high-quality service."

Councillors at the planning committee meeting in Ruthin accepted a recommendation by officers to approve the new application, by nine votes to eight.