Locals report not using north Wales beauty spot due to ‘over tourism’

Dale Spridgeon – Local democracy reporter

“Overtourism” at a famous beauty spot on Anglesey is having a detrimental effect on the lives of locals who are actively avoiding the area, councillors have heard.

The stunning forest and beach spots at Newborough and Llanddwyn are not used by locals in summer “as it is so busy,” a meeting was told.

The village of Newborough is notorious for traffic snarl-ups as tourists descend on the area famed for its sandy beach and sea and mountain views.

Ynys Llanddwyn is also popular due to its natural beauty and connection to Saint Dwynwen – the Welsh patron saint of lovers.

The impact on locals came up in a report presented to Anglesey County Council’s Partnership and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, April 9.

The report said: “Local people have reported that they do not use the forest or the beach during the summer months as it is so busy and [because of] over-tourism.

“The situation is having a detrimental effect on their day-to-day lives and well-being.”

Progress

Councillors had been discussing the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board governance arrangements, scrutinising progress against the council’s 2023-2028 well-being plan.

The Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 places a duty on public bodies to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales.

The report described a two-year pilot scheme, running from March 2024 to February 2026, addressing access and traffic problems impacting locals at Newborough and Llanddwyn.

The trial provided a “pioneering” and “collaborative approach” to solving community problems, Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board programme manager Sandra Thomas told the meeting.

Her report described how officers from Eryri National Park had “shared their experiences and lessons learned” from work done at Pen y Pass – notorious for its traffic issues – over managing access and transport.

The pilot scheme intended “to develop a model or [sic] good practice” that could be applied across the area of partnerships working to respond to a problem.

Taking “concerns and solution ideas” from the local community, officers had already undertaken some interim measures and were working on a project plan that included “short, medium and long-term actions,” the meeting heard.

The process of reporting back on progress to the local community was “in the hope that they will see a genuine difference”.

Grant

A review of the pilot would be undertaken with the intention of sharing it regionally and offering it as a potential solution for community well-being-problems, with funding from a regional grant, the meeting heard.

Her report also noted that council officers had been “assessing” solutions that required capital expenditure and “researching” funding sources.

Measures had included taking traffic and visitor data in the area and questionnaires measuring local people’s “satisfaction and well-being improvements”.

The report said the project “addresses the lack of access to natural resources such as Llanddwyn for local people”.

Ms Thomas said the scheme “prioritised” people living and working in Newborough.

“We are trying to mitigate and find solutions to the problems caused by people coming into the area,” she said.

“We also want to improve the arrangements for reporting back to the community. This is a pilot scheme, we will learn as we go on.”