Anniversaries are a good time to reminisce about the past but also to look forward to the future. TWM ELIAS summarises the history of the National Parks and evaluates Snowdonia National Park’s role and contribution. The challenges facing the Park have changed considerably over the past 60 years and the need to be progressive in the field of sustainable development requires vision and new procedures to integrate the environment and communities within the Park’s boundaries.

 

The early years

Snowdonia National Park, which celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year, had a profound influence on the landscape of the area even before its arrival. In the late 1940s the British Electricity Authority intended to create huge reservoirs in some of the valleys of Snowdonia: Nant Ffrancon, Nant Gwynant, Cwm Croesor, Crafnant and Cwm Penamnen. The electricity generated would supply the new National Grid, which would bring electricity to everyone (more or less) during the coming years, and the reservoirs would boost the tourism industry by providing excellent opportunities for sailing and fishing.

 

In fact, the plans would have gone ahead were it not for the Member of Parliament for Arfon, Megan Lloyd George, who raised the matter in Parliament and argued that such a strategy did not make sense in an area that would be a National Park within a year. Consequently, the electricity generation schemes in Snowdonia were abandoned and the only scheme given the go ahead was Cwm Rheidol, which was outside the park boundaries.

 

Establishing national parks in England and Wales was a very exciting experiment at the time, and followed a long tradition of establishing parks in other parts of the world: the first park to be established was Yellowstone in the USA in 1872, and in Europe the first national parks were a set of nine parks in Sweden established in 1909. However, the national parks in Britain were different because they were in agricultural areas, and there were viable and well-established communities of people living and working in them. The priorities here were access for walkers, educating the public about the countryside and development control through the planning process, while in the other countries the emphasis was on protecting the natural environment which, to a degree, was not influenced by people.

 

Of the 10 national parks established in the 1950s under the National Parks Commission, only two were managed by independent boards (the Lake District and the Peak District). The others, including Snowdonia, were managed through powers given to the former county councils (Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire and Denbighshire). This made it difficult to promote consistency in the response to various problems throughout the park, and scant resources and the lack of central staff did not help matters either.

 

A mixed welcome

The national parks were given a mixed welcome locally in the early years. The designation was very favourable in terms of attracting walkers and tourists, which was fine for those who could benefit from such activities, but it could cause great difficulties to farmers at times. Some of the fears are reflected in the words of Goronwy Roberts, the Member of Parliament who succeeded Megan Lloyd George, who suggested that the purpose was to establish some kind of an ‘Indian reserve’.

 

In an attempt to reduce the conflict the National Parks Commission campaigned to educate the public to respect the countryside – to keep to the paths, to close the gates and not to disturb crops, farm animals or wildlife. It published a series of original advertisements to this effect and, in association with other agencies over the years, set out to promote the Countryside Code – a campaign given a new look that has continued to the present day.

 

During the first years Snowdonia National Park aimed to provide facilities for visitors, such as car parks to alleviate problems in popular areas; to establish information centres (the first in Llanrwst in 1958 and the second in Dolgellau in 1959) and to support various initiatives to improve the quality of the environment. But some developments were beyond its control, such as the trees planted by the Forestry Commission; the nuclear power station built at Trawsfynydd (an Act to this effect was passed in 1957) and the flooding of the Tryweryn valley to supply water to Liverpool (that Act was also passed in 1957). In these cases the only contribution made by the park was comments regarding landscaping issues.

 

The warden service and looking after the public

The increase in the number of car owners led to a constant and substantial increase in the number of walkers coming to Snowdonia. In response two full time Wardens were appointed in 1961, one by Merionethshire County Council in the south and the other by Caernarvonshire County Council in the north. To overcome the lack of resources, between them they became responsible for over 180 voluntary seasonal wardens to keep an eye on footpaths, to advise walkers about safety on the mountains and to deal with various problems.

 

The Countryside Commission, 1968

In 1968 the National Parks Commission was succeeded by the Countryside Commission, and this was the beginning of a new era. The new organisation was stronger, and had capital to employ new staff to undertake the work and to promote innovative schemes like those already being implemented in parks managed by independent boards.

 

One such scheme was the Upland Management Experiment. The aim of this three year scheme (1969-72) was to look in detail at problems relating to access to the countryside in two areas, one in the Lake District and one in the Rhinogydd in Snowdonia. The priority in the Lake District was footpath and landscape improvement, while the main focus in the Rhinogydd area was the deficiencies of the footpath network itself. The footpaths in this area might have served local purposes, such as connecting farms, but they did not meet the requirements of walkers. Walkers wanted to follow the ridges, and this meant that they crossed and damaged boundaries.

 

By gaining the cooperation of some farmers and establishing permissive paths, erecting stiles and signposts, and creating small car parks, the situation was improved and a precedent was set for similar actions on a larger scale in the coming years. This experiment, and its successor (Part 2 of the same scheme, 1975-78), played a key part in the process of building bridges between the agricultural community and the park.

 

Gwynedd Council

Important changes were seen following the reorganisation of local government and the forming of Gwynedd Council in 1974. A central committee was established, and since the park fitted tidily within the boundaries of the new county it was much easier to make decisions, attract financial backing for new schemes and create a unified vision.

 

Gwynedd Council’s language policy was a great asset, because by ensuring that the vast majority of the staff spoke the same language as the community living within its boundaries (metaphorically and literally), the relationship between the park and the public developed over the years to be one of the best relationships in any of the parks.

 

Plas Tan y Bwlch

Plas Tan y Bwlch was bought with financial assistance from the Countryside Commission in 1969 and was opened as Snowdonia National Park Study Centre, managed by Gwynedd Council, in 1975. Since then, the Plas has been a hive of activities, offering a range of residential courses for the public and schools and, since 1992, providing training courses for countryside staff from all parts of the British Isles. The aim of the professional courses, sponsored by the Countryside Council for Wales, is to improve the skills and understanding of people working in the environmental sector on all levels, to enable them to work more effectively for the environment.

 

From the outset the Plas has worked hard to promote awareness and appreciation of the varied and rich heritage of Snowdonia amongst people of all ages, long before the value of the cultural heritage began to be appreciated by environmental organisations.

 

Becoming an independent Authority

In 1996, following the Local Government Act 1995, Snowdonia National Park became an independent Authority and, in line with the Environment Act 1995, it adopted its first new purpose: “to safeguard and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area”. It also adopted the duty to foster the economic and social prosperity of communities within the park.

 

The new Authority responded by embracing these opportunities. It established many innovative schemes, often in partnership with other organisations, to attract funding and to share human resources and expertise. Some of the main schemes were: the Upland Paths Partnership (1998); the Snowdonia Wildlife Forum, which meant that Snowdonia was the first Local Authority in Wales to produce a Biodiversity Action Plan (1999); a partnership with the Countryside Council for Wales to operate the Tir Gofal scheme in the area (1999); and Rhaglen Tir Eryri to improve the landscape, access and wildlife on farms (2003). Many community schemes and local forums were set up as well to promote access and interpretation, biodiversity and architectural conservation.

 

But the most innovative work was possibly seen in the field of sustainable communities and cultural heritage. The Sustainable Development Fund (CAE) has awarded grants to a wide variety of community schemes since 2000 and has been extremely popular and effective. The Bwrlwm Eryri initiative, which was set up as a cultural heritage forum in 2005, has also been a great help in this respect.

 

By now the Snowdonia National Park Authority has buried the old unfavourable image that existed during the early days of the park and is looking forward to experiment and develop schemes and regimes that will promote the interests of the community as well as the environment, and become an example to other organisations from all over the country.

 

Twm Elias is a lecturer and course organiser at Plas Tan y Bwlch, Snowdonia National Park Study Centre.

 

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