Major achievements
Since the establishment of Cynllun Yr Wyddfa in 2018 the Partnership faced one of the most challenging times in our sector when the pandemic hit in 2020. As a result, the Partnership has delivered the majority of the action points it was committed to and has proven resounding successes. Over the past few years, the Partnership has become an effective forum to share information, identify collaboration opportunities and share resources. The Partnership now has extensive experience of leading on innovative projects, tackling profound challenges and engaging with the public.
When reflecting on the work that has been carried out there are clear successes to celebrate, such as the following: the innovative pilot Rhodd Eryri which contributed towards the maintenance and upkeep of the paths, re-branding and significant improvements to the Sherpa’r Wyddfa network, a pre-booking system at Pen y Pass, the addition of the T10 service in Ogwen, training over a thousand individuals and business owners via the Eryri Ambassador programme, the Llwybrau’r Wyddfa app, the Volunteer Wardens and Caru Eryri schemes and the exciting development of the Plastic Free Yr Wyddfa initiative.
Challenges
The Partnership has faced many challenges since Cynllun Yr Wyddfa was established and continues to constantly experience new challenges. Covid 19 has transformed not only the ways of working and meeting, but there has been a change in the visiting patterns of visitors to Yr Wyddfa and Eryri. The impact of this on the Partnership’s work has been extremely influential and has meant diversifying from time to time. An example of this change is that more have discovered locations that were relatively quiet in terms of visitors when the original Plan was launched, which has put some communities in the area around Yr Wyddfa under significant pressure. Although the effects were familiar (litter, wild camping, loose dogs, illegal parking), the high numbers magnified the effects to levels that had never been seen before. This posed some completely new challenges that had not been experienced before the pandemic and theses challenges were brought to the forefront, such as campervans staying overnight in various locations across the Park, human waste on Yr Wyddfa, outdoor swimming and the attraction to water e.g. Afon Cwm Llan.
One of the most challenging projects is undoubtedly the parking and transport project. Although this multi-agency work proves very challenging at times, effective partnership working has been developed and nurtured, and improvements have been experienced on the ground in a relatively short time. Because of that, the expectations of partners and communities are high and solving these issues remains a difficult challenge for the Partnership.
In addition to all this, the lack of investment means that the Partnership does not have the resources or the finances to deliver some of the action points in the short term e.g. the parking and transport project or phone connectivity. Therefore, achievements over the past six years should be celebrated and lays a strong foundation for the Partnership to continue this vital work.
Click on the link below for an update on how Partneriaeth Yr Wyddfa have addressed the action points identified in the original plan since its launch in 2018.