Proposal for car parking charges at Pen y Fan
CAR parking charges could be introduced at the most popular access point to climb the highest peak in the central Brecon Beacons.
The National Trust (NT) has submitted a planning application for the improvement and extension of “limited” parking facilities at an access point near Pen y Fan.
The trust wants to increase the number of parking spaces from around 50 to 263, including spaces for disabled users and provision for minibuses, coaches and secure facilities for cyclists.
The current car park is said to cause “acute strains in the area”, while the improvements have been described as “overdue” by Kirsty Williams AM, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire.
With about 250,000 visitors taking a trip to the tourist hotspot every year, the NT says it wants to ensure everyone who visits can begin their journey in a safe and fit-for-purpose car park.
But if the application is given the go-ahead, it would mean parking charges would be brought in at Pont ar Daf car park, which is just off the A470.
The NT say the charges would be modest and in line with local pricing, but would be free for its members, while funds raised would go directly to footpath conservation works.
A green light for the planning application would also see the toilets on site transferred from Welsh Government to the NT, with plans in place to refurbish and rebuild them.
Documents associated with the application show just how overcrowded the facilities are. They show that on June 29, 2014 – what has been described as a typical summer weekend – 176 vehicles arrived at the site by noon, including 123 vehicles, including five camper vans and a refreshments van in the car park, and 53 vehicles on grass verges and at the entrance.
The planning application was originally submitted to Brecon Beacons National Park Authority in March 2015, with further changes to the designs being made to it over the course of the process.
The NT is now sharing the latest version of its planned improvements as part of a consultation which ends on January 28.
Since the application was originally submitted, the Welsh Government has started to construct a new filter lane to the area of the new car park, so the trust has revised its site entrance to reflect the access.
Plans can be viewed online at www. nationaltrust.org.uk/ brecon-beacons or people can attend one of the planned consultation events.