Eryri U-turn on overnight parking

BAN LOOKS SET TO BE SCRAPPED

- OWEN HUGHES

A BAN on overnight parking across most car parks in Eryri (Snowdonia) looks set to be scrapped in a U-turn.

Eryri National Park Authority (ENPA) restricted overnight parking at 11 of its car parks from April 1.

They said it was "necessary to address increasing issues linked to overnight stays" in an area that attracts four million visitors a year.

The restrictions came into force at 11 car parks (full list below). It meant people could not be parked at the sites between 10pm and 3am.

But the move triggered a major backlash - both from visitors and locals.

Motorhome owners and early-bird and sunset walkers complained about the removal of these facilities.

Meanwhile, residents warned it would push more visitors into parking on residential streets in nearby villages and towns.

ENPA now looks set to reverse this move on nearly all of the sites. Officers are proposing going back to a 24-hour operation across the impacted car parks.

The only exceptions for this would be Llyn Tegid and Llangywer - with a proposal for a trial parking ban between 1am and 3am to control overnight camping at these specific locations.

Meanwhile, they would undertake a multi-agency review of car parking throughout the National Park, with a view to finding solutions to manage and mitigate overnight camping impacts.

This proposal will come before members of the Authority today, June 10.