Eryri Centre of Excellence (North Wales)
NDA helped fund the creation of world-class visitor attractions in North Wales, an area that has been heavily reliant on its nuclear site, Trawsfynydd, which is due to close.
2014 Culture and Sports Minister, John Griffiths, watches local biker Owain James, who works at Trawsfynydd site, in the new skills area
Project summary
| Nearest NDA site | Duration | Total investment | NDA contribution | Partners | Delivered by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trawsfynydd | 2010 to 2015 | £4.6 million | £455,000 | Gwynedd Council, Welsh European Funding Office - EU Convergence Funding, NDA, Tourism Partnership Mid Wales, Snowdonia National Park Agency and Welsh Government / Visit Wales | Led by Gwynedd Council on behalf of Antur Stiniog, Prysor Angling Association, Natural Resources Wales (Coed y Brenin) and Yr Urdd (Glan Llyn) |
Aim
To help fund action outlined in the Wales Rural Development Plan to address the economic challenges faced by Gwynedd in North Wales.
Outcomes:
- a near six-fold increase in visitor numbers: by approximately 430,000 against original target of 74,000
- including 3,000 visitors for newly established downhill mountain biking championships
- including doubling of visitors to outdoor pursuits centre, new self-catering holidays and tourists coming in from beyond Wales
- 28.5 new jobs, exceeding target of 16
- 6 businesses supported
- an estimated £3.3 million additional revenue for the area
- 3 new businesses at mountain biking visitor centre
- schools outreach programme encouraging careers in adventure sports
Snowdonia’s spectacular, rugged landscape draws in thousands of visitors seeking outdoor adventure, family relaxation and warm Welsh hospitality. It’s a sector that is becoming more significant for the region’s otherwise fragile economy, which has been heavily dependent on its agricultural sector and a redundant nuclear site, Trawsfynydd, where decommissioning work will lead eventually to closure.
In a drive to boost visitor numbers further and create world-class attractions, four local organisations came together with proposals for a series of schemes, and linked up with Gwynedd Council to seek funding. Their success, branded as One Big Adventure, surprised everyone and highlighted the untapped potential not just for attracting visitors but in creating career opportunities for local youngsters.
Hannah Joyce, Gwynedd’s Project Manager for the Eryri Centre of Excellence, said:
It’s been phenomenal. There’s been a huge increase in visitors, while local businesses have seen an upturn in trade, especially those catering specifically for the outdoors market and it’s opening up new possibilities for our young people who want to stay in the region.
To make the most of the opportunities, businesses in the project area were offered guidance ‘toolkits’ on adapting to new requests and catering for the additional tourists, and received grant support to implement ideas such as lock-ups for bikes.
Hannah added:
The overall aim was to transform the individual centres, extend their appeal beyond the summer season and increase visitor numbers. It was also important to develop links with local businesses as a mean of supporting general economic growth.
We estimate that the extra value to the local economy is around £3.3 million a year, while jobs created have been filled by local people. These are fantastic sustainable schemes that are continuing to grow.
The project included:
Extended visitor centre and bike trail (Coed y Brenin)
An existing mountain bike centre has opened up new trails, extended its visitor centre and brought in new small businesses to support the growth in numbers.
Coed y Brenin, owned by Natural Resources Wales and already a popular destination, now offers a skills area where riders can try out their ability before opting for one of the graded trails while a unique all-in-one route caters for a cross-section of ages and abilities, especially families, and can be tackled by riders with a disability on adaptive mountain bikes.
Its visitor centre, constructed with natural wood products, now includes a large open area that caters for events such as weddings and conferences.
Downhill mountain bike trails (Blaenau Ffestiniog)
Not far away, the disused slate quarry workings at Llechwedd, Blaenau Ffestiniog, have been transformed into a purpose-built centre for fans of downhill mountain biking, including seven runs and uplift roads to carry riders up to the trails, plus a café and training opportunities. A designated route takes riders into nearby Blaenau Ffestiniog, where a once-empty shop, developed separately, provides bike hire, accessories, a gallery and visitor information point.
The initiative was proposed by not-for-profit community enterprise Antur Stiniog whose members are local residents committed to developing the economy around the former quarrying communities of Ffestiniog.
Available all-year round, Antur Stiniog now attracts championship events that bring in people from all over the UK and overseas, and is firmly established as a top UK biking destination. The visitors generate extra revenue for the nearby town’s retailers and accommodation providers
The success of the mountain bike centre has encouraged further private sector development of the site with zip lines (using the same uplift road) and an underground climbing facility.
Additional facilities at Trawsfynydd Lake (Prysor Angling)
Between the two biking centres lies Trawsfynydd Lake, one of the largest in Wales and an established international fishing venue. To increase its appeal further, community group Prysor Angling’s scheme proposed purpose-built additional facilities included installation of a jetty and boat store specifically for anglers. Trawsfynydd power station’s former social club has been converted into a café with reception area, meeting room, office space and equipment hire. Separately to the project, a circular cycle and walking trail takes in the lake itself, located a dramatic mountainous setting.
The project complements an established private sector business that developed a fish breeding operation providing trout, stocking the lake and selling to other fishing clubs and lakes.
Glan-llyn Residential Outdoor Activities Centre
Completing the transformation, an established activity centre near Bala has also undergone a major facelift and extension. Where the Glan-llyn Residential Outdoor Activities Centre specialised in catering for school parties, it now provides additional self-catering accommodation for families, plus conference facilities for up to 250 people. These are in addition to existing youth adventure holidays offering canoeing, climbing, swimming and mountaineering. A cycle link takes riders to the nearby to the nearby village of Llanuwchllyn. Owned by the Welsh language youth charity Yr Urdd, Glan-llyn now welcomes visitors from all over the UK and overseas.