The meeting is the culmination of the consultation on Snowdon. Photo: Snowdonia National Park Authority
A consultation on the future management of Wales’s highest mountain reaches its conclusion next week with a conference in Llanberis.
Questions raised so far include the possibility of banning dogs from Snowdon, investing more in maintaining its footpaths and charging companies for organised events on the peak.
More than 80 people are due to gather for the fully booked gathering at the Victoria Hotel in Llanberis on Monday to discuss and express opinions on Snowdon’s management.
The conference follows a series of consultation meetings held in recent weeks for residents, local businesses and users of the mountain.
The Snowdonia Partnership, which has organised the consultation, said: “Discussions so far have shown the strength of people’s views about the importance of protecting the interests of Wales’s most iconic mountain and the seminar on Monday night at Llanberis is an opportunity to agree on the best way forward.”
Other topics raised during the meetings have included increasing the use of Welsh names on the mountain and reducing the amount of litter.
Representatives of the Snowdon Partnership will be leading and participating in the seminar.
These include Snowdonia National Park Authority, the National Trust, Snowdonia Society, Gwynedd and Conwy Councils, Snowdon Mountain Railway, Natural Resources Wales, the Northern Local Access Forum and Snowdonia Active as well as farming unions and local mountain rescue teams.
The partnership said: “These are all organisations that on a day to day basis are actively involved in some way in the management of the mountain, be it footpath repairs and maintenance, volunteer work, promoting tourism, sheep and cattle farming, conservation work or rescues.”
More details are on the Snowdon Partnership website.
Ros Stafford
05 November 2015I really do not see the point of banning dogs on Snowdon. Dogs on leads are no threat to the environment or animal life. Boots, bicycles and pushchair erode the footpaths far more than dog paws. Ban mountain bikes as they are a hazard to walkers
Paul
05 November 2015If you want less people on Snowdon remove the ugly café on top. Britain's worst summit!
Angela scott
05 November 2015Why ban dogs , if the controlled on a lead, pick up after they've messed,. Why oh why would they ban them. As for litter, well that's just a few that have no respect for snowdon,, . . . Majority of dog owners respect snowdon, so why punish everyone who own dogs and enjoy walking with them. . I'm not local but I'm travelling this weekend. With my dogs. To snowdon for what maybe there last walk on snowdon. Bloody joke.
Grorge Walker
05 November 2015Outrageous suggestion to ban dogs!
Rhaeadr
05 November 2015I wonder what benefit these people think there is to banning dogs? It can't be to protect the sheep - you never see any up there as they prefer less populated parts of the mountains! Surely nothing to do with dog fouling either as dogs will relieve themselves at the first opportunity on their morning walk - mine certainly wouldn't cross his legs patiently until summiting! Crazy idea with no practical benefits
Mike
05 November 2015Would make more sense to impose a charity event charge for the Lake District (per-vehicle charge by class on the road into Wasdale?) as the Lakes gets the bum end of 3 Peaks being as it's a straight-in and straight-out affair, usually in darkness, while Fort William and Snowdonia do at least tend to get some trade and custom at either end of the event. Scafell Pike just gets the litter, shites and pollution but none of the cash.
Don't agree with banning dogs, provided people ARE picking up after them and they are kept on leads.
Mountain bikes typically ARE banned during the summer months, but that doesn't seem to stop some of them...
Camilla Hurst
05 November 2015Can't wait to visit Snowdon, but ridiculous to ban dogs, ban the three peaks and that horrendous cafe if you want to be environmentally aware. I will none coming if there is s dog ban
Ann Hiley
05 November 2015Ridiculous idea to ban dogs. They are already banned from inside the café, it is an exceptionally dog unfriendly business and we would never set foot in there. In my opinion that cafe is an unsightly structure out of place on our mountain tops.
Margaret
05 November 2015Anything to do with dogs appears to touch a nerve on grough.
Joe D
05 November 2015Banning dogs is rediculous.
The cafe at the top attracts visitors who would otherwise not venture on to the mountains and don't have the same respect for the environment, the amount of litter on the summit from the cafe alone is rediculous. The cafe should have staff or volunteers to litter pick for a start, by being there they cause alone.
I do agree that companies putting on large scale charity events should contribute in some way to the up keep of footpaths, fence lines etc.
Helen Pye, Senior warden, Snowdonia National Park
05 November 2015As one of the main organisers of the Snowdon Partnership consultation I feel it’s very important to clarify a number of points in relation to the above:
1. The response to the initial drop-in sessions has been fantastic and we have received hundred and hundreds of comments/questions/suggestions. All of the points received can be viewed in full on the Partnership website: www.snowdonpartnership.co.uk. We will be discussing in more detail some of the ideas/questions/comments at the Snowdon Seminar on Monday. The suggestion that dogs should be banned on Snowdon is in actual fact just one of the hundreds of questions/comments received at the drop-in sessions.
2. The second point to clarify is that we are at the very beginning of the consultation process - at the opinion and idea gathering stage - and it’s been fantastic to see how passionate people are about this iconic mountain. There will also be many more opportunities to feed in and discuss following the seminar, but what we’re aiming for in the end is a truly co-ordinated approach to managing the mountain.
3. The final point is that we'd really encourage Grough readers to keep posting their views here so that we can add them to the comments/ideas received during the consultation, but I’d thoroughly recommend viewing the drop-in report on the website first (even if you just read the summary) as this gives a detailed and accurate picture of what has happened so far as well as next steps in the process: www.snowdonpartnership.co.uk
Thank you,
Helen Pye, Senior Warden, Snowdonia National Park Authority
APCE/SNPA
05 November 2015Banning dogs from Snowdon was only one comment made by one member of the public during the drop-in sessions. There is no intention to ban, or even discuss banning dogs from Snowdon!
Mountain dog walker
05 November 2015What a boneheaded suggestion / idea - banning dogs! Why even print such trash. How would you ever police that. Try and stop me taking my pooch up the mountains.......
stigofthenest
05 November 2015Id say step one. Remove the railway. Step two. Replace the cafe with a mountain education centre or remove all together. Step three resolve the issue of the parking extortion at pyg. Its a real shame that the jewel in Snowdonias crown has been allowed to tarnish so. Fabulous mountain well and truly desecrated by the hand of man.