Plans Approved to Extend Car Park and Build Toilet Block in Waterfall Country

PLANS to extend a car park and build a toilet block for visitors in Waterfall Country have been approved.
At a meeting of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority (BBNPA) Planning Committee on Tuesday, September 8, members received plans by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to redevelop and extend the existing car park at Gwaun Hepste, Four Waterfalls Car Park, near Ystradfellte.
The site is managed by BBNPA.
Planning officer Lisa Williams said the application had come before the committee because BBNPA manages the site for NRW.
Ms Williams said: “It currently operates as an informal car park serving the highly popular Four Waterfalls Trail.
“Within the existing car park there are some interpretation panels and temporary toilet facilities.”
She told members that the development would provide 119 car parking spaces, eight disabled bays, two “oversized” vehicle bays, and a designated coach and bus stop facility.
Ms Williams said: “Overall, the proposal seeks to improve the visitor facilities and management arrangements whilst retaining the woodland character of the site.”
She went on to recommend that members approve the proposal.
During discussion on the application, there were concerns that asking for 10 per cent of the parking bays to be equipped with electric vehicle charging facilities might not be fair, as it was not known whether there was an adequate power supply to support this.
Ms Williams said: “I haven’t been told that power supply is an issue there.”
Cllr Edwin Roderick (Powys) said: “Knowing the area and the desperate need for suitable parking, I’m quite happy to support this.
“I think we need to give this all the support we can as the waterfalls are a honeypot area.”
He added that anyone who was in the area over the bank holiday weekend would have taken a long time to drive through due to the volume of tourists there.
Cllr Roderick continued: “It’s needed because people living in the area have great difficulty travelling back and forth.
“Our wardens do a fantastic job in the height of the (holiday) season trying to control the traffic.”
He proposed approving the application.
Cllr Huw Williams (Powys) added that he was happy to second the proposal and pointed out that there were “no local objections” against it.
The committee went to a vote and unanimously agreed the proposal. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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