Residents living near Llanddwyn Beach on Anglesey, north Wales, have warned that hiking parking charges will force visitors to park on the road, worsening the traffic issue the measures were designed to fix. The sandy beach on Wales’s largest and most tourist-friendly island will be subject to new parking restrictions from Friday, May 23, with maximum daily charges more than doubling from £7 to £15. A trial lockdown system will also be implemented over the Bank Holiday weekend, between May 24 and 26, with access barriers closing once it reaches full capacity, and no further vehicles allowed until 4:30pm, even if spaces become available.
Frustrated locals took to social media to vent their disapproval of the plans, which they suggested could turn the beach – and two others in the Newborough Forest – into “playgrounds for the rich” and price out people who live just a short drive away. It could also exacerbate the congestion problem that the measures have ostensibly been brought in to disrupt, Natalie Roch suggested on Facebook. “This will just result in more drivers parking up along the road rather than [paying] the £15,” she said. “[It] will negatively impact congestion, as well as the village.”
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which manages the Newborough Nature Reserve and its beaches, said the new prices at the Llanddwyn, Airman’s and Cwningar beaches were designed to align them with other spots on the island.
Alongside the trialled lockdown scheme, which could be enacted from 11am, when Anglesey’s coastal car parks typically begin filling up, the measures are also aimed at tackling growing traffic issues through Newborough village, which both residents and authorities have admitted need to be addressed.
Richard Berry, NRW’s land management leader for northwest Wales, said: “We hope this approach will safeguard the site’s precious wildlife, improve the visitor experience and reduce congestion in the village, where motorists currently wait for a parking space on the site to become available.
“We are therefore asking visitors to consider visiting at quieter times or to try one of the many other beaches and destinations on Anglesey.”
From Friday, the car parks will charge £5 for up to two hours of parking, 70p per additional 20 minutes, up to £15 a day. Blue Badge and resident permit parking are exempt.
Llanddwyn Beach in particular has experienced a hike in tourist activity, including through nearby Newborough, since it was featured in the TV drama House of the Dragon.
Resident Heather Savage told the BBC: “You can’t move, you can’t get anywhere because the road just clogs up. Every year it gets worse and every year they say they’re going to do something … and nothing happens.”
Councillor John Ifan Jones added: “We are not protesting against tourism in the area. We are protesting because we don’t have the infrastructure in place to deal with the flow of traffic.
“It’s important that people can go to work in the morning, go to the shop, and they shouldn’t have to plan their life around a complete traffic jam in the village.”