By Judith Phillips, Reporter

IT LOOKS as though one of Llandudno's most important buildings is going to be demolished and there is nothing the town's conservation bodies can do to stop it.

Penmorfa on the slopes of the Great Orme at West Shore has been one of the resort's most prominent landmarks since it was built in Victorian times as a holiday home for the Liddell family from Oxford, whose daughter Alice is believed to have inspired family friend Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson) to write the classic children's books.

Although there is no evidence that Dodgson ever visited Llandudno, it is also widely believed by locals that West Shore beach was the setting for the Lobster Quadrille (Chapter 10) in Alice in Wonderland.

The links with Carroll may well be tenuous in some people's eyes, but in the 1920s they prompted the unveiling of the famous White Rabbit statue on the West Shore by one of the most famous of all British Prime Ministers, David Lloyd George, who by his presence lent credence to the mythology.

Over the years the supposed Alice link has been a great marketing tool for the resort's tourism industry and has proved a particular magnet for Americans and Japanese who adore the Alice books. But it is unlikely that any of this will be sufficient to save Penmorfa, which is now the subject of a new planning application from developers Anwyl to demolish it and replace it with 29 luxury apartments.

Last year Anwyl was given permission to demolish two fairly modern extensions to the original building but were told by a planning inspector that the original Victorian building should be retained and incorporated into the development. But after demolishing the extensions Anwyl says they discovered the old building was structurally unsound and it looks as though demolition may be the only answer.

The Llandudno Seaside Buildings Preservation Trust is furious but it doesn't look as though their huffing and puffing will stop the house being blown down. They are hoping Welsh historic monuments body CADW will listen to their pleas and at the eleventh hour give the house listed building status, but it seems a forlorn hope as CADW has previously stated the building is not of sufficient architectural merit to warrant protection.

But is architecture everything? What about history? And tourism? Is it fair and right that Llandudno should lose one of its best assets? I ask these questions, but it is for others to answer them. If you have a view on the subject why not make a comment on this blog, or better still send them to your local county councillor or CADW.

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