Could a ‘Ghost’ industrial estate near Bangor help solve parking problems at Llyn Ogwen in the Eryri mountains?

Since the end of lockdown there have been severe parking problems in the mountain sanctuary of Eryri, Snowdonia, particularly at the famous Llyn  Ogwen and around the foot of Tryfan. During the summer months, illegally parked cars have regularly been towed away, causing grief and expense for all concerned.

Now Cymdeithas Eryri – Snowdonia Society is proposing a solution which could not only deal with that problem but also make Eryri a leader in sustainable transport in National Parks. The idea is to make a start in implementing the 2020 Higgett Report, Yr Wyddfa and Ogwen Transport and Parking Review and Options Appraisal, commissioned by Eryri National Park Authority (ENPA).

Gwynedd Council has been asking the public to nominate sites which would be suitable for development. Cymdeithas Eryri has suggested that Parc Bryn Cegin, near the junction of the A5 and the A55 just south east of Bangor, be identified for development of a Park and Ride Scheme where visitors could leave their cars and then catch regular buses to Ogwen and also to Llanberis on onwards to Yr Wyddfa – Snowdon.

The site is owned by the Welsh Government and is designated as an industrial estate, but it has been dubbled a ‘ghost’ site by the local press as it lain empty for ten years.

Rory Francis, Director of Cymdeithas Eryri says: “Members of the Eryri National Park Authority have complained about the difficult parking situation in central Eryri and said that the occasional towing away of illegally parked cars risks giving the area a bad name. A Park & Ride Scheme at Parc Bryn Cegin would help solve that problem.

“Visitors could pull off the A55, park and catch one of the regular T10 buses up into the mountains. The T10 between Bangor and Betws-y-coed ran hourly during the daytime last summer and as a result the ridership nearly doubled. It was so successful that, on fine summer days, the small car parks in Bethesda were full to capacity. So if we want to allow more people to access the mountains on the bus, we need to provide more parking as well as more frequent buses. Bryn Cegin could provide the answer. Of course, ideally, we would like more people to take the train to Bangor and catch the bus from there. But a Park & Ride facility at Parc Bryn Cegin would be a huge step in the right direction, and it would help tackle what is already a real problem in Dyffryn Ogwen.”

“We are keen to work with and support Gwynedd Council and the Eryri National Park Authority”, says Rory Francis. “But we feel that the possibility of a Park & Ride facility at Parc Bryn Cegin is just too good miss. So we are proposing it ourselves, although even we don’t own the site, in the hope that this will prompt discussion and action.”

Gwynedd Council issued their ‘Call for sites” in August last year, with a deadline of 15 January. Cymdeithas Eryri has responded to this, proposing that Parc Bryn Cegin be designated for a Park & Ride facility in addition to its current designation for employment development, as there should be sufficient space for both.