DENBIGHSHIRE County Council paid the owners of the now-closed Rhyl SeaQuarium attraction £195,000 as part of a financial settlement, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

The total settlement which the SeaQuarium received amounted to £1,335,500 - the remaining £1,140,500 was paid by Welsh Government.

After being open on Rhyl’s promenade for more than 30 years, SeaQuarium closed for good last November, and attributed its decision to Denbighshire County Council’s Central Rhyl Coastal Defences Scheme, the development of which is taking place by the site.

Following a FOI request made by the Journal, the council confirmed on November 1 that its legal discussions with SeaQuarium’s owners have now concluded and a financial settlement was reached.

But the council said the value of this settlement was confidential, adding: “The business involved believes that the information in the agreement is confidential. The disclosure of their details would prejudice or harm them commercially if their competitors were made aware of the amount paid."

The Journal requested an internal review of the council’s decision to withhold the value of the settlement, on the basis that SeaQuarium of Rhyl Ltd is now in solvent liquidation so could be considered no longer a commercially active company with competitors.

Following this internal review, the council disclosed yesterday (November 6): “I can confirm that £195,000 was paid by the council and the rest was paid by the Welsh Government. Total: £1,335,500.”

In February, a separate FOI request revealed that the council spent £90,000 on relocating SeaQuarium’s six seals.

Balfour Beatty, the contractor currently working on Rhyl’s coastal sea defence scheme, is overseeing the demolition of the SeaQuarium building, due to be completed by January 2025.

In total, “three local businesses” expressed an interest in taking on the building formerly occupied by SeaQuarium, but none subsequently pursued their interest in it.

The attraction welcomed in excess of 80,000 visitors each year, and employed more than 20 people.

SeaQuarium of Rhyl Ltd agreed to be wound up voluntarily at a meeting on October 7, with Roderick Butcher, of Birmingham-based company Butcher Woods, appointed as liquidator of the business.

A declaration of solvency document, published on SeaQuarium of Rhyl’s Companies House page on October 15, stated that the company has £21,828 in outstanding debts, but £1,256,435 in assets.