A flood defence scheme in Barmouth has been welcomed, but blocking off a defibrillator to do the work has been criticised by resident Glyn Jones.

The defibrillator on a substation inside the town’s Free Wales Gardens area or whichever gardens you want to call them has been fenced off.

Mr Jones said nobody is in any question that this work needs to be done, but he “had to take the defibrillator away leaving the cabinet on the wall”, when it was fenced in.

“I went back and spoke to a couple of the engineers and asked them if they would be willing to remove the cabinet and fix it to the wall opposite. I was told yes, it will be done. Needless to say it never did get done.”

Mr Jones says he asked again but his request has been met with silence.

“The defibrillator could have been used on a couple of occasions. Thankfully there are other units in the area, but that's not the point. The point is this defibrillator unit cannot be used for its intended use due to the fact that nobody ever gets back to anybody.”

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “A £3.2 million scheme, funded by Cyngor Gwynedd and the Welsh Government, to protect the harbour area of Abermaw from flooding is currently ongoing.

“The project is being managed by Cyngor Gwynedd’s Consultancy Department (YGC) and contractors Griffiths have been appointed to carry out the work on the site. The project began in the autumn of 2024 with the aim of managing the current and future flood risk from the sea and surface water, and is due to be completed in the spring of 2026.

“Like with all other major structural project, careful consideration is given to the impact on the local community and businesses. In accordance with planning approval for the project, all the work has been scheduled outside of the busy summer period and no traffic lights during the Easter holidays.

“The first phase of drainage work in the road was completed before the school summer holiday with manned traffic lights operational on site at times to assist with traffic movement.

“Work is due to recommence on site on 8 September when the setback wall will be constructed. Once this has been completed, the highway will be resurfaced.

“We understand that the defibrillator needs an electrical supply to function properly. We also understand that arrangements are being made with Griffiths, who are responsible for the work site, and with Scottish Power to have the defib and its box safely moved to a more suitable location while the work is being carried out.”

The work at Abermaw includes:

- Repairing, strengthening and raising the height of an approximately 60m section of sea wall.

- Erecting a new setback wall and floodgate/barrier in the area behind the primary sea wall.

- Installing a new drainage network to manage surface water and overtopping in the area behind the setback wall and flood gates.

- Installation of a new surface water outfall pipe from the sea wall into the harbour.

- Landscaping the gardens.