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Snowdonia: Pen-y-Pass car park to be pre-book only when busy

BBC Sign saying full and pre-booking back in 2020BBC
People will have to pre-book parking when busy following scenes of 'chaos' the last two years

Barriers and number plate recognition cameras will be installed at a popular Snowdonia car park in a bid to stop irresponsible parking.

Snowdonia National Park Authority's planning committee gave the go-ahead to the changes at Pen-y-Pass on Friday.

From the spring, it will be pre-book only at busy times after a pilot run last year was deemed "very successful."

It is part of a wider strategy aimed at "drastically" reducing the number of cars in the area.

This includes expanding parking at gateways into the national park and encouraging use of greener transport.

The Pen-y-Pass car park is the one closest to the summit of Snowdon, Yr Wyddfa, and is popular with walkers wishing to see dawn break over the mountain range.

Catrin Glyn
Catrin Glyn said she had seen a mixed response to the new system

Catrin Glyn, Yr Wyddfa partnership officer for the park authority said: "We've had some people who are happy to pay that and some that are not happy, but we do have cheaper alternatives such as the shuttle bus from Nantperis every 15 minutes during the summer.

"We drastically needed to lower the amount of cars in this area and to expand the parking capacity at gateway locations, and then offering more sustainable modes of transport."

She added there were other parking options near the six paths leading up the mountain and encouraged people to do a bit of homework before visiting.

Sign saying full at Pen y Pass
The Authority's planning committee is finalising how the new scheme will work

The park authority said the decision to install automated barriers means walkers will have access to the Pen y Pass site around the clock, without the need for 24-hour security staffing - and the additional staffing costs that has brought over the last two summers.

Officials are still finalising how the new ticketing scheme will work, and how much the public will be asked to pay to park.

Last summer, a 12 hour booking at the car park cost £18 - rising to £25 for a full 24 hours stay.

That compares with a daily ticket price of just £5 for the park and ride site in nearby Nant Peris, with a return ticket on the Snowdon Sherpa bus services costing a further £3 - or £5 for use on any Sherpa service all day.