Yr Wyddfa Partnership is consulting on its draft strategy to improve access and connectivity in the Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen areas of Eryri National Park with the support of Transport for Wales. It is inviting local communities and stakeholders to help shape the strategy and potential solutions to address parking issues and encourage more sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling, and public transport.

The consultation is taking place from 1 February to 7 March 2021. As well as information and a questionnaire on the project webpage – local residents are invited to attend an online community workshop focused on the issues and potential solutions for each of the gateway communities:

  • Llanberis: 6.30-8.30pm on Wednesday 24 February
  • Betws-y-Coed: 6.30-8.30pm on Thursday 25 February
  • Beddgelert: 6.30-8.30pm on Tuesday 2 March
  • Bethesda: 6.30-8.30pm on Wednesday 3 March

The overall aim is to provide a world class sustainable tourism offer that allows visitors to enjoy the area in a way that protects the landscape and contributes positively to communities and the local economy. Visitors will be provided with high quality, affordable and accessible, low carbon transport services, and quality information that will enhance their visit whilst reducing their impact on the protected landscape. This will encourage them to stay longer and explore more widely, taking pressure off ‘honeypot’ sites.

Communities should benefit by seeing a reduction in car parking and traffic pressure, an improvement in transport services and investment in community facilities.  The local economy and tourism businesses could also benefit by capturing more visitor spend in the area, with visitors staying longer and increasing visitor numbers in the months between high and low season, together with a more diverse visitor base.

The strategy  is based on recommendations made in the Parking and Transport Review carried out by Martin Higgitt Associates in 2020, which identifies potential solutions to the parking, traffic congestion, pollution and noise issues in the most sensitive inner area of Snowdonia National Park.  The review, together with feedback from preliminary consultations, showed a clear consensus that ‘doing nothing is not an option’.

Catrin Glyn, Partneriaeth Yr Wyddfa Officer said: “Current over-reliance on cars to access popular sites within the heart of Eryri and chronic parking problems at busy times of year is hampering the  National Park’s core purposes of protecting the landscape, promoting understanding and enjoyment of the area, and supporting the economic and social wellbeing of local communities.

“The Yr Wyddfa Partnership is committed to protecting the mountain and the surrounding area, whilst making the special landscape more accessible to non-car-based visitors and enabling people arriving by car to access the area and its attractions by alternative means.  We hope local communities and stakeholders will take part in the consultation and help us shape the strategy and inform the sustainable parking and transport plans being developed.”

The Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen Parking and Transport Review identifies opportunities for Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen, and Eryri/North Wales in general, to become a sustainable tourism exemplar and proposes an ambitious new sustainable tourism approach that begins by addressing the overreliance on cars and the parking problems.  The report also identifies significant roles and requirements for the four gateway communities concerning parking provision, the operation of a shuttle bus network and the development of additional visitor facilities.

Lee Robinson, North Wales Development Director for Transport for Wales, said: “We’re delighted to support Eryri National Park as it is essential that we establish a sustainable approach that provides integrated opportunities for people to explore the area further by foot, bike or public transport. At Transport for Wales, we’re committed to delivering public investment with a social purpose and we’re delivering projects that are making a real difference to the people, businesses and communities of Wales.”

To find out more and participate in the consultation, visit their website here, call 01286 875860 or email yrwyddfa@grasshopper-comms.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Yr Wyddfa Sustainable Parking and Transport Strategy

Yr Wyddfa Partnership has developed a draft strategy to help improve access and connectivity in the Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen areas of Eryri National Park. We want local communities to shape that strategy and help us plan and deliver improvements to the important issues of parking, public transport, walking and cycling routes.

The draft strategy is based on the recommendations made in the Parking and Transport Review by Martin Higgitt Associates carried out in 2020, which sets out potential solutions to the parking, traffic congestion, pollution and noise issues in the most sensitive inner area of Eryri National Park.

The report sets out a Vision for Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen, and Eryri/North Wales – to become a sustainable tourism exemplar and proposes an ambitious new sustainable tourism approach that begins by addressing the overreliance on cars and the parking problem.  This will reduce the environmental impact of visitors on the protected landscape, at the same time as reducing the problems and increasing the benefits of tourism to communities and the local economy. It will also improve the visitor experience and enable a more diverse range of visitors to enjoy the area.

Four communities were identified in the Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen Parking and Transport Review as potential ‘gateways’ to the most sensitive inner area of the Eryri National Park – Llanberis, Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert and Bethesda. As part of this consultation, we are seeking feedback on the main priorities for improvement from these communities about their potential role as gateways to the National Park.

These proposals aim to make the special landscape more accessible to non-car-based visitors and enable people arriving by car to access the area and its attractions by alternative means.

The involvement of local residents, businesses and stakeholders is central to helping shape the strategy and plans moving forward.

 

Yr Wyddfa Partnership

The Yr Wyddfa Partnership is a group set up to create and implement a new management plan for Yr Wyddfa. The Partnership brings together the organisations and landowners that are responsible for the on-the-ground management of the mountain, ranging from conservation work and path management to tourism, farming and mountain rescue.

Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales (TfW) was set-up to ‘Keep Wales Moving’ by delivering expert advice, customer-focused services and targeted investment in modern transport infrastructure. TfW will deliver a transport network that the whole of Wales will be proud of, which is truly sustainable and fit for future generations.  Over the next 15 years it will transform the network across Wales and the Borders, with new services and rolling stock, innovative solutions, and a massive programme of station investment.  These improvements will support the Welsh Government in meeting Wales’ ambitious decarbonisation targets, as well as improving both the physical and mental health of the people who live here.

Please contact Clare Jones at Grasshopper Communications on 07793 382021 or email clare@grasshopper-comms.co.uk