Sorry to labour this issue but just in case anyone needs prodding further to object to the proposals to completely ban long term car parking in Snowdonia and replace it with a park/ride.

The strategy document available from Gwynedd council offers no indication of what sort of bus service they are proposing. On the other hand it does include a detailed breakdown of proposed parking charges (the income from which will fund the bus service). It also includes figures for proposed expenditure for the scheme as a whole. It seems surprising these can be computed without making any assumptions about the frequency of the bus service itself.

Gwynedd's proposal is largely based on the "Northern Snowdonia Study" – this emphasises that the system will only succeed with a high quality bus service. It goes on to state that "A bus service meeting these requirements would operate every 30 minutes over the entire area (15 minutes along the busiest routes) during the summer season and every hour over the main network throughout the remainder of the year)"

So do we anticipate sitting back for an hour waiting for a bus at the end of a winters day on the hill?

Can I urge you all to write and protest? I expect that suggesting that you will be cold at the end of the day will not gather much sympathy, but to point out that whilst you are messing about with buses at start and end of your walk/climb or whatever you could have travelled elsewhere like the Lakes to spend your money and been assured of a better welcome might just hit them. 

North Wales Economic Forum is VERY concerned that the jobs in this area are declining - farming hit, innovative new industries suppressed by lack of broadband infrastructure, tourism is all that's left and that will be driven away by this stupidity. 

It will even hit University recruitment here! That was not the aim of Objective one money - I suspect that's what is driving this.

A major reduction of parking within the inner core area, linked with the provision of suitable parking at locations in/adjacent to the gateway communities coupled with the provision of excellent public transport in the core area would: ….

• Offer major development opportunities to the gateway communities,
• Encourage visitors to spend on local services and products when transiting from the local "Snowdonia" transport to their cars, especially for the return journey,
• By excluding the linear roadside parking, improve the landscape of the mountains for walkers and climbers and the visitor experience for people driving through the Park,
• Improve the potential of visitor management and the provision of other services,
• Allow the international ‘green’ image of Snowdonia to be reinforced,
• Be an example of effective sustainable development.

Osmond, John; Jones, Gareth Wyn and Williams, David. Why Snowdonia and North Wales need a new tourism strategy: A presentation to the North Wales Economic Forum; Cardiff: Institute of Welsh Affairs, 1996. (IWA Discussion Paper No 1) No Isbn (Copy in Llangefni public library)

Nevertheless this bureaucratic scheme is alarming (not to mention a potential white elephant) and I propose a sensible alternative.

Ultimately good old market forces must win. What limited parking there is near the hills should not be over regulated (for God's sake we come to get away from all that control-freakery). For those who do not bring their cars out of peak hours and thus miss an opportunity to find anywhere legal to park, there could be an attractive alternative - e.g. minibus and taxi services (these likewise should not overregulated!) which can be gained from well organised and signposted carpark/cafe/pub points a little further away, but only if an entrepreneur feels it worthwhile to run one!

There is risk inherent in any such enterprise, but it is the same risk that is run by other tourist based businesses in the area. Encourage enterprise by cutting red tape and regulation to an absolute minimum. Do not add the costly burden of government to everything that breathes. Before spending millions on 'strategies' and 'initiatives', first create an enterprise zone for the enterprising. Start-up incentives should include exemption from business rates, grants and interest-free loans towards capital costs.

And most of all, take real care to identify the people who really 'pay the piper'. If they do not like the new tune they may vanish.

Nut cracked without recourse to the Green Key sledgehammer.

Can anything be learnt from the Valleys or, further away, the old mill towns in Calderdale?