From a pub by the water to a £500,000 hole – what’s the potential future for this site?
Aerial photo shows the site where planning permission was recently granted(Image: All Wales Auction, Llangefni / Williams & Goodwin The Property People)
If you were wandering down this quiet street by the coast in 2009 it would be very tempting to stop off at The Mostyn Arms for a pint of something cold before continuing on your journey.
The pub was a sunny spot to relax and enjoy the view from one of the picnic tables at the front of the building in the town of Menai Bridge on the south coast of the Isle of Anglesey.
A quick rummage around on google maps shows that if you returned in 2016 to relive that moment the outcome would be very different – the pub is closed and the only occupants are overgrown shrubs and weeds. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
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Stop for a cool pint on a sunny day back in 2009(Image: Google maps)
The Mostyn Arms apparently closed sometime around 2009 according to website By Gone Boozers and had been a local watering hole since as early as 1850 and was a popular Inn visited by travellers using the Thomas Telford Menai suspension bridge which was completed in 1826.
In 2025, according to North Wales Live and planning application FPL/2024/316, approval was granted for the site to be redeveloped into a 10-bedroom residential care facility.
The 19th century property has been vacant since 2009, and it had been described as being in “a poor state of repair”, and the current approved plans show a new facility that would provide a home for people over 55, offering facilities for residents with “a range of needs”.
Look down on its luck in 2016 after years of standing empty(Image: Google maps)
The applicants had stated there was “an increasing desire from an ageing population for developments adapted to the needs of older persons”. The application had attracted local objections, chiefly over traffic and parking issues but the planning officer confirmed there would be adequate provision outside the building for a “stopping place, to pull up and drop someone off”.
At the time of discussing the application, Cllr Jeff Evans was strongly in favour saying: “Fifteen years this building has been empty. Now we have someone who wants to develop the property into a much, much needed facility on the island, a residential care facility.”
Aerial view of the two tier site going to auction(Image: All Wales Auction, Llangefni / Williams & Goodwin The Property People)
Citing how some residents had to send elderly relatives off the island for care, he said: “This would be so supportive of today’s needs.” He proposed accepting the officer’s recommendation saying it was “a wonderful opportunity” to have another residential care home on the island.
Now the site is going under the hammer via an online auction with All Wales Auction via the Williams & Goodwin The Property People website on May, 21, who describe the plot as having access from two levels ‘set adjacent to some of the university property to the rear and private residences to the side’, and views towards the Menai Strait and the mainland from the slightly elevated position.
The location means the site comes with a wonderful waterside view(Image: All Wales Auction, Llangefni / Williams & Goodwin The Property People)
The view of the water from the site is a main draw to the location but if a prospective bidder was hoping to make it their home, rather than a care home, the agent states, ‘We understand the plot benefits from C2 Planning Permission (Residential Care) and that artist impressions and the current proposed plans have been provided by the seller and are included in the legal pack.
The auction house goes on to say that the site may lend itself to residential use subject to usual planning permission – bidders should satisfy themselves prior to bidding; Concept ideas for and residential drawings also included in legal pack’.
The lower section of the site where the pub once stood(Image: All Wales Auction, Llangefni / Williams & Goodwin The Property People)
It should be noted that a change of use and updated plans for a residential building are not guaranteed to be successfully passed by the local authority. The guide price for the site of the former Mostyn Arms going to auction is £500,000.
For further information about the site, planning, auction details and access to the legal pack call All Wales Auction on 01248 753939. For more property, renovation, and interior design stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here.