Llandudno calls itself 'the perfect place to relax'

Rhyl mayor Joan Butterfield wants Llandudno councillors, 20 miles along the north Wales coast, to explain the views of her counterpart, Ann Parry.

But Mrs Parry denied that she told a newspaper she did not want Llandudno "brought down to Rhyl's level".

She said she did not want a sex shop in Llandudno, but "if Rhyl wanted to do that, that was up to them".

I certainly don't want a sex shop in Llandudno, but I didn't bring Rhyl - or Colwyn Bay - into that Llandudno mayor Ann Parry

Although the towns are neighbours, they are different in character.

Rhyl's tourism website says its "spirit of childhood is still very much alive," and promotes its traditional family seaside attractions, such as donkey rides and Punch and Judy.

Llandudno's website, meanwhile, describes it as "one of Britain's finest Victorian seaside resorts" with "warmth and charm".

Rhyl says it has the 'traditional but also the new and exciting'

Mrs Parry was quoted in a local newspaper commenting on application by a company called Seedier Enterprises Xtra to open a sex shop in Llandudno, as it has already has in Rhyl.

But Mrs Parry told BBC Radio Wales she did not say everything that was quoted in the newspaper, and she did not "quite" say she did not want her town brought down to Rhyl's level.

I asked for a letter to be sent to Llandudno Town Council asking them to clarify what had been said Rhyl mayor Joan Butterfield

"I certainly don't want a sex shop in Llandudno, but I didn't bring Rhyl - or Colwyn Bay - into that wording," Mrs Parry told the Good Morning Wales programme.

"I said I wanted Llandudno to keep its identity. I put Llandudno on a par with Sidmouth - it's a Victorian resort, like our own, and do you think the people there would allow this?"

'Lovely shops'

Mrs Parry said she had to listen to the anxieties of Llandudno people, and denied that it was an "elderly resort".

"It is also a young resort," she said. "Young mothers have come up to me and said they were horrified to think that this shop was going to be opened in Llandudno."

Invited to comment on her neighbours, she said: "I quite like Rhyl. It's not quite like it used to be, but there again, as the (Rhyl) mayor has said, it's up and coming, like Colwyn Bay is very much up and coming.

"Money is being poured in there - you see lovely shops in the area."

Rhyl mayor Mrs Butterfield raised the issue at a meeting of her town council on Wednesday night.

She said it would be inappropriate to speak about Mrs Parry's reported comments, but said: "I asked for a letter to be sent to Llandudno Town Council asking them to clarify what had been said.