People in a Welsh village are sick of congested traffic and expensive parking in their area due to living next to a popular beach.
Traeth Llanddwyn Beach is a blue flag beach and an apparent social media favourite which attracts lots of tourists throughout the summer.
Villagers have launched a petition to get free parking at the site and claim they have been hung out to dry while concessions are given to neighbouring villages with less traffic congestion.
Residents in nearby Brynsiencyn and Llanfairpwll believe poorer villagers aren’t getting a look in at Traeth Llanddwyn because of extortionate parking charges and fee increases, and locals claim they are being pushed aside in favour of tourists.
The nearby village of Newborough is said to be the worst affected by the traffic, often grinding to a halt during summer weekends. Site manager Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has started to give residents passes allowing free parking in Newborough Forest, which backs onto the beach.
The concession is also available to residents in Dwyran, Llangaffo and Malltraeth – another three villages affected by the traffic that lie on entry routes to the beach. As many visitors arrive over the A55 Britannia Bridge, and head to Llanddwyn via the A4080, Llanfairpwll and Brynsiencyn are, like Dwyran, badly affected by the congestion.
A new Change.org petition is fighting for the right of locals to be able to easily use Traeth Llanddwyn Beach.
It said: “Since Brynsiencyn receives most of the traffic going through to Llanddwyn beach but absolutely no reward, we should be granted free parking at the site by NRW.
“Many of the poorest residents of the village cannot justify the costs of up to £3.60 to visit a natural heritage site which should belong to the people who inhabit the surrounding areas. This also means that most of the visitors of Llanddwyn beach, of whom can actually afford it, are holidaymakers.”
One of the petition signers commented: “Having locals paying for something on their doorstep is outrageous.”
While another signee said: “I live in a seaside town where we already have to pay to park at our local beach in the summer.”
Currently, there are parking charges in Newborough National National Reserve in three of its seven car parks. These are the main Beach parking area, and two on the access road to this car park – Airman’s and Cwningar – also have charges. The free parking areas lie some distance from Traeth Llanddwyn beach.
Parking charges range from £2 for the first two hours and 40p for every 20 minutes after that, with a maximum charge of £7 per day. The payments are managed via an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera at the entrance, and parking at these sites is free for Blue Badge holders.
Llanddwyn’s car parks are often full very quickly resulting in queues to get in despite the parking charges. There have been measures to control the summer gridlock that plagues Newborough but all have so far been ineffective.
Earlier this year Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth urged the Welsh Government to sort out the appalling traffic conditions that plague Newborough.
You can view and sign the Change.org petition to Grant Free Parking at Llanddwyn Beach for Brynsiencyn & Llanfairpwll’s residents here.
This post was originally published on here
