Plans for a �7m marina at Beaumaris on Anglesey have been put on hold after the surprise announcement that a public inquiry is to be held into the scheme.

Plans by the Anglesey Boat Company to develop a 450-berth marina at Gallows Point in Beaumaris won the backing of Anglesey Council in December.

The company promised that the scheme would create 150 jobs and generate nearly �2m a year for the local economy.

But the Countryside Council for Wales objected to the proposals.

It was thought, however, that following a meeting with local MP Ieuan Wyn Jones that the CCW had written to Assembly Environment Secretary Sue Essex asking her to defer any decision on an inquiry while further talks were held with the council.

A six-day planning inquiry will now be held in July.

Concerns

The move has infuriated local Tory AM Peter Rogers, who claimed the decision would put the project in jeopardy.

Mr Rogers said he feared the Anglesey Boat Company, which wants to build the marina at Gallows Point, would now pull out of the scheme.

The project had drawn opposition from local fishermen, who expressed concerns that mussel beds could be damaged by the development.

Dafydd Jones, the man behind the Beaumaris Marina, said he was taken aback by the decision to hold a planning inquiry.