Sherpa must stay

4 March 2009

The Campaign for National Parks and the Snowdonia Society are joining forces in a new campaign to secure the survival of the well known Snowdon Sherpa bus services throughout the coming year.  Sherpa buses have been serving both local communities and visitors in getting around Snowdonia National Park for over thirty years, and have received funding from the Welsh Assembly Government for many to improve and expand the offer.  They are used by tens of thousands of people – saving as many car journeys - every year.   

While it is hoped that full summer services for 2009 will be able to continue, the rest of the year hangs in the balance as those in charge of running the service face unexpected cuts in funding from WAG.  Snowdonia Green Key, the partnership responsible for running the Sherpa, is understood to have known that subsidy funding from WAG would decrease over time and eventually come to an end, with responsibility ultimately shifting to new regional transport groups made up of local authorities.  However, the timing for this is disputed - leaving a funding shortfall for 2009/10. 

“At a time when the Government is setting out bold ambitions to cut carbon emissions including from transport, it is ludicrous that lower-carbon sustainable transport like the Sherpa should come under threat owing to what appears to be miscommunication – leaving visitors to one of Wales’ most iconic settings with little choice but to drive”, says Alex Thursby, the Campaign for National Parks’ Policy Officer.  “And carbon emissions are only part of the problem”, she continues. “Snowdonia National Park is a prized landscape, valued by many for its breathtaking beauty and the opportunity it affords for rest, relaxation and escape from the pace and noise of everyday life.  It is also home to hundreds of species of wildlife and includes many highly sensitive areas.  It is unacceptable that this should come under threat from increases in traffic which are entirely avoidable. ”

Director of the Snowdonia Society, Alun Pugh, says:  “We know that local residents and tourists are deeply concerned that the Welsh Government has decided to pull the plug on this vital service.  It is particularly galling that Ministers have chosen to continue pouring public money into subsidising flights from Holyhead to Cardiff while cutting an environmentally friendly service in Wales’ oldest National Park.“

It is understood that a sum of £124,000 was anticipated by Green Key for the coming financial year – a large sum to be squeezed from local transport budgets which are already committed, but a small sum for WAG to provide in light of its overall resources and its own sustainable transport, protected landscape and climate change policies.  “We need to see the Government match words with action”, Alex Thursby concludes.  “And we need to see local authorities make decisions that reflect clear national priorities.  More people should be encouraged to leave their cars at home and services such as the Sherpa must be secured for the future.”   

Notes to Editors

1. CNP campaigns to protect and promote National Parks for the benefit and quiet enjoyment of all.
2. The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity committed to protecting Snowdonia National Park.
3. Snowdonia Green Key is a Partnership between Conwy Borough Council, Gwynedd Council, Countryside Council for Wales, Snowdonia National Park Authority, the Welsh Assembly Government's Department for Enterprise and Transport (formally the WDA) and Visit Wales.  (See  http://www.snowdoniagreenkey.co.uk/index2.asp?id=33 )
4. The Transport (Wales) Act 2006 made provision for a new transport planning system that will replace the first generation of Local Transport Plans, prepared by each local authority, with Regional Transport Plans produced by four new regional transport consortia in Wales (see http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/transport/publications/wts/rtp/?lang=en )

Contacts:

Alun Pugh
Director, Snowdonia Society
T: 077 0288 4827
E: director@snowdonia-society.org.uk

Alex Thursby
Policy Officer, Campaign for National Parks
T: 020 7924 4077 x232
E: alex@cnp.org.uk

For press queries please contact:
Ruth Chambers, Head of Policy on
020 7924 4077 ext. 222