The Pen y Pass car park and cafe

The cost of parking your car at Snowdonia’s highest car park will be even steeper from spring.

Pen y Pass, starting point for many a walker’s and climber’s expedition into the mountains, currently costs £6 for a day ticket. This is due to rise by 66 per cent from April, prompting fears motorists will jam the surrounding roads rather than pay £10 to park their vehicles.

The Snowdonia National Park Authority approved the plan today, Wednesday. Originally, members were asked to increase the daily rate to £8 a day from April, and £10 the following year. But the authority decided to bring forward the implementation of the £10 charge to this April, and review the charges for the following year. The car park, at 360m (1,180ft) is next to a youth hostel and cafe.

Car parking currently brings in £27,000 of revenue to the national park each year from the Pen y Pass site, which was due to rise by an estimated £11,174 under the original proposals. This sum is now more likely to top the £20,000 mark.

An authority report said: “With the departure of the former tenant in December 2009, the authority has an ideal opportunity to instigate a new start for Pen y Pass. Work has begun on improving the cafe and toilets from within existing budgets and it is hoped that capital grants can be allocated to completely refurbish the building and facilities together with the interpretation on the site.

“In today’s financial climate, it is difficult to identify the source of match funding from existing budgets. Pen y Pass is a unique location which merits the highest standards of facilities and the only way open to the authority to generate match funding is to generate more income to relieve pressure on budgets and free up finance.”

Ramblers’ spokesman Andrew Bennett told the Daily Post newspaper: “I just think it’s mean because it discriminates against people on relatively low incomes who enjoy walking.

“Fifteen years ago they had a system where they offered free buses up from Llanberis but they’ve started charging for parking at Llanberis. They are only driving people away.

“There’s a road safety issue because there isn’t really anywhere for them to park. The message is that north Wales is not too welcoming for walkers.”

Pen y Pass is the starting point for both the Pyg Track and Miners Track routes to Snowdon’s summit, as well as the path over Crib Goch.

• The park authority voted ‘in principle’ to extend the national park to include Blaenau Ffestiniog. The issue will now go to the Countryside Council for Wales, and then the Welsh Assembly for consultation.