Colwyn Bay Seafront

Colwyn Bay, North Wales is a coastal town that has undergone a remarkable regeneration of its seafront. Once heavily exposed to erosion and the pressures of climate change, the bay was the subject of a large-scale project that combined coastal defence with the redesign of the public realm. The initiative, led by Alun Griffiths and designed by BCA Landscape, imported over one million tonnes of sand to strengthen the beach and protect the seawall, while also creating the conditions for a wider, more inviting promenade for pedestrians and cyclists.

The ambition was clear: to turn the seafront into an iconic public space, resilient to the sea yet vibrant and attractive for both residents and visitors.

This is the context in which Metalco played a central role, supplying a wide and diverse palette of urban furniture collections that shaped the new identity of Colwyn Bay. A mix of concrete, steel, aluminium, wood and high-performance composite materials was selected to ensure durability in a coastal environment while offering a colourful, inclusive and contemporary aesthetic.

Among the elements installed were:

• Anastasio and Makatite monolithic benches, in high-performance concrete, continuing the elegant minimal design of the first phase.
• Break Time tables and chairs, in powder-coated steel, designed with inclusive wheelchair access and rotational seats for socialising.
• Stone benches, in white velvet finish HPC, small and medium sizes, combining durability with refined aesthetics.
• Bailo seating, with pastel blue and green aluminium frames, adding vibrancy and comfort.
• Live loungers, brightly coloured chaise longue seats with integrated mini tables, designed for comfort and a relaxed seaside experience.
• Kore benches, the award-winning wave-like modular system in HPC and steel, installed here for the first time in the UK, creating sculptural, playful seating along the promenade.

The result is a seafront that locals affectionately call the “Costa del Rhos”. It is a space that is both functional and emblematic, where robust engineering against the sea meets a vibrant public realm.

For Metalco, the Colwyn Bay project is a showcase of its ability to combine industrial know-how and design creativity in large-scale regeneration. It reflects the group’s strength as a one-stop shop for urban furniture: offering not only catalogue products but also bespoke and varied solutions that respond to complex challenges — climatic, technical and social.