Conwy's soaring parking fees leaves Great Orme site swamped and forced to act

North Wales Live

a day ago

Soaring fees at Conwy's public car parks are 'displacing" demand to other facilities in the county, it's been claimed. Parking charges were this introduced this month at a popular spot on Llandudno's Great Orme that's long been free to use.
Llandudno Snowsports Centre (LSC) said it had little option but to start charging because it was being swamped by visitors deterred by rising fees at the council's summit car park.
Manager Nigel Treacy said others were gravitating to the site from town centre car parks. 'Some people were being sent here by local hotels,' he said. 'They recommended us because the parking was free. We know this because we heard it from hotel guests."
From the start of June, a parking charge of £2 for up to six hours was introduced, overseen by Parking Eye. Some regulars have already been caught out by the switch: this week a dad watching his son on the ski slope complained of receiving a £100 fine – reduced to £60 if paid within 28 days. 'I always thought it was free as have never paid before,' he grumbled online.
In recent years Conwy Council has steadily upped parking charges to off-set dwindling income from the Welsh Government. Prices vary by location but fees typically start at £1.50 for one hour, up to £7.50 for four hours. Some promenade parking now starts at £5.50.
Previously free car parks have also been targeted, with pay-and-display recently introduced at facilities in Llanrwst and Llanfairfechan following planned upgrades. Council Council said its budgets are stretched and it's doing everything it can to protect vital services in the county.
This includes boosting revenue as well as cutting back on non-essential services. Increasing parking fees are among the "difficult choices" it's having to make, said the local authority.
In Llandudno, peak season demand for parking is so high that the local authority is currently consulting on a new 'summer' car park. Prices will start at £2.30 for one hour.
It is against this background that Mr Treacy felt compelled to start charging at LSC, to safeguard spaces for customers. 'People tell us we're still too cheap!' he said.
'£2 for up to six hours equates to 33p per hour. In contrast, the (Great Orme) summit car park is £5.50 for up to four hours, equivalent to £1.37 per hour – more than four times as much.'
Five years ago the centre's 200-metre dry ski slope – the longest in Wales – underwent a £300,000 upgrade – to create a bouncier surface lubricated by a 300-head sprinkler system. LSC also offers a Cresta Toboggan run which, at 575 metres, is also the longest in Wales, as well as Sno-tubing and 'Alpine' crazy golf.
Publicity for the new parking charges began a month before they were introduced. It's left Mr Treacy slightly mystified as to how any customers would be unaware of them.
'We sat down with the operator and looked at the factors people were most concerned about with parking,' he said. 'Signage is a big issue – drivers often complain they're not aware of charging.
"So we've covered the site in parking signs. They are four provided signs at the entrances, and 13 in the car parks and around the building. We've also paid for an extra 24 signs around the site.
'Staff have been asked to remind customers when they come in – the last thing we want is to see people being fined.
'We also have multiple ways of paying – coins, contactless and online – and we have a 35-minute grace period without the need to pay: the industry standard is 10 minutes. This is for people who need to make quick bookings or for motorists who accidentally drive up here.'
The main car park, and smaller one, a little downhill, now have pay-and-display machines. They're acessed via a single-lane road up through Happy Valley gardens. Both facilities have been described as 'basic', being gravelled surfaces first laid in 1986 and now suffering from erosion. LSC has long aimed to upgrade them.
'Eight years ago we looked at surfacing them with Tarmac but it was felt they would deteriorate too quickly without expensive new drainage,' said Mr Treacy. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Preliminary designs have now been drawn up for new parking facilities costing around £250,000. However it's hard to justify the outlay when the economic climate is chilly, especially in the lesiure and tourism sectors.
It's hoped to new parking charges will help offset the risk. 'We going to need a lot of cars paying £2 a time to get near the target,' added Mr Treacy.