Motorhome owners could benefit from huge overnight parking U-turn at popular tourist site

A new report has called for a massive U-turn on a controversial parking ban across 11 car parks at a popular national park.

Since the start of April, Eryri National Park Authority (ENPA) has restricted overnight parking at several car parks across the popular tourist hotspot.

The parking crackdown was first introduced in response to a rising number of issues linked to overnight stays following three years of monitoring.

Changes were confirmed for 11 different car parks, with many seeing a blanket ban on all parking between 11pm and 3am, including the popular Betws-y-Coed location.

The ENPA stated that there had been a rise in "informal camping", which had contributed to a rise in anti-social behaviour and littering.

However, some of these rules could now be rolled back in response to growing criticism from locals, officials and tourists.

Concerns include potential nighttime closures and the impacts on people accessing and enjoying the National Park for stargazing, sunrise and sunset walks.

An authority meeting is scheduled for June 10, with a specific request to launch a period of engagement with stakeholders on the operational hours of car parks.

An ENPA report states: "Members will of course be very familiar with the problems of overnight camping (in campervans, motorhomes, etc.) in our car parks - this can lead to issues relating to litter, waste, anti-social behaviour, as well as not supporting existing legitimate caravan and camping sites operating in the local area.

"The Authority is committed to finding a solution to this problem, although it is not straightforward."

It concluded that it is necessary to "pause the revision" of car park operational hours on "most" of its sites to fully consider the consequences for users.

Despite this, it reiterated that the negative effects of camping in car parks overnight must be addressed, such as waste, litter and the loss of income for official camp sites.

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Eryri National Park, or Snowdonia, attracts around four million people every year, with many reaching the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in the early hours to see the sunrise.

The report acknowledged that there could be a pilot scheme at Llyn Tegid and Llangywer car parks using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

It stated: "There have been problems with overnight camping at both these locations, and both Community Council of Llangywer and Town Council of Bala have raised these concerns repeatedly with the Authority.

"It is therefore proposed that a limited trial closure period for nighttime use could be applied at both car parks - this could, for example, be between 1am and 3am. Anyone in the car park between these times would then face a penalty fine."

Car parks at Eryri National Park where parking rules could change

• Pont Bethania - Parking for Nant Gwynant and Watkin Path on Yr Wyddfa
• Llyn Cwellyn - Parking for Snowdon Ranger path on Yr Wyddfa and Llyn Cwellyn boardwalk
• Rhyd Ddu - Parking for Rhyd Ddu path on Yr Wyddfa, and Lôn Gwyrfai
• Betws-y-Coed - Long stay car park. Does not apply to Cae Llan
• Ogwen - Parking for Cwm Idwal and Ogwen Valley
• Beddgelert - Parking for Beddgelert, Lôn Gwyrfai and Fisherman's Path and Cwm Bychan
• Ty Nant - Parking for Pony Path on Cader Idris
• Dôl Idris - Parking for Minffordd Path on Cader Idris
• Morfa Dyffryn - Parking for Benar Boardwalk and Benar beach
• Llyn Tegid - The main car park for Llyn Tegid and Bala
• Llangower - Parking for the south of Llyn Tegid