The Island Site is an atmospheric, significant, part of Wales’s maritime and industrial heritage – in its heyday, slate from the hinterland shipped from the quay roofed the world, providing a bustling place of manufacture, industry and commerce.

The site is a historic part of Caernarfon’s waterfront, adjacent to the Castle and at a key point of arrival at the town for passengers of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway. It is owned by the Caernarfon Harbour Trust, which more generally is the statutory port authority for the harbours and part of the Menai straits.

The project will aim to bring the Site back to life – with the intention re-igniting past industrial and commercial activities, whilst developing skills through activity and training as well as creating and sustaining jobs.

Conservation of the buildings will create a number of commercial opportunities, which will hopefully be let to heritage crafts, artisan manufacturers and distinctive local food businesses for visitors and residents alike. Alongside this, imaginative interpretation of the Harbourmaster’s office, Brunswick Iron Works and other fascinating stories of the Site will be delivered.

The project will be a key catalyst for the regeneration programme of Caernarfon Waterfront, transforming the quality of the setting of the Castle World Heritage Site, truly celebrating heritage and driving economic benefit from the visitor economy to provide positive economic, social and environmental benefits to the local community.

Caernarfon Waterfront and Town Centre Regeneration Initiative.