Tory MS hits out at RSPB over café access charge

Emily Price 

A Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd has criticised the RSPB over its admission charge at one of its nature reserves.

Bangor Conwy Môn MS Janet Finch-Saunders challenged the conservation charity over its policy of charging visitors £6 to enter its Conwy wetlands reserve, including those who only want to use the on-site café.

Ms Finch-Saunders said she had been contacted by several local residents who had raised “deep concerns” about the fee, which covers entry to both the café and the wider nature reserve.

The 47 hectare reserve was created in the 1990s from mud and rock dug out during the building of the A55 road tunnel.

It features two lagoons, bird hides, reed beds, a visitor centre and walking trails and is home to wading birds like redshanks, lapwings, and curlews.

Like most of the RSPB’s sites, the Conwy reserve relies heavily on public support with its entry charge used to balance its budget and keep the area maintained.

Ms Finch-Saunders argued that local people visiting solely for the café should not be required to pay the admission charge, and that the fee should apply only to those wishing to access the reserve itself.

The Welsh Conservative MS met with RSPB Cymru’s Director Alun Prichard last week to voice her concerns and call for the £6 charge to be scrapped for café visitors.

She said: “Many residents in Conwy contacted me with deep concerns about having to pay an additional charge just to use the café at the RSPB site, rather than to walk around the main reserve.

“During my meeting with the RSPB, I raised these concerns with the Director and called on the organisation to remove the additional charge for people who only wish to access the café.

“Many local people use this café as a place to meet with friends and socialise.

“It is important that residents have access to these types of facilities.”

Entry the Conwy reserve is free for paying RSPB members, with adult memberships starting from £6 a month.

This membership includes unlimited access to more than 170 RSPB nature reserves across the UK.

Following the meeting, Mr Prichard provided the Tory MS with a statement. He said said the reason for introduction of the charge for café users was to stop people using the café entrance to access the nature reserve for free.

Before the charge was introduced, some visitors could go into the café without paying and then walk around the reserve, while others had paid an entry fee or bought a membership.

Mr Prichard said: “Clearly, there is a degree of disappointment and confusion, and we discussed the fact that the purpose of this change to tackle an unfair situation has sadly got lost in translation.

“Previously, visitors could use the café without paying an entry charge or holding a membership and then wander around the reserve, which is not fair to those who have paid the entry charge or membership for exactly that experience.

“Correcting this unfair anomaly simply brings RSPB Conwy into line with most other cafés on the charity’s reserves, which have an entrance fee, parking fee or membership requirement for access.

“This approach is also consistent with many other visitor attractions, such as National Trust and Cadw sites, which charge an entry fee or parking charge for use of their café facilities as part of the wider attraction.

“The volume of concerns expressed about the change, however, means we will, of course, continue to monitor it and, as discussed, we will conduct a review of the implementation and approach in due course.”

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.