National parks must be “more ambitious” over luxury camping for wealthy tourists, Councillor John Pughe Roberts says. A Gwynedd councillor, who sits on the Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA), claims its new guidelines would “stifle” owners aiming at developing high end glampsites.
Current guidance is for small scale and “back to nature type developments” where environmental and visual impacts are “kept to an absolute minimum”. Accommodation units should be of a “modest size” and “provide only the most basic of facilities”. The national park’s guidance states that units with en-suite facilities will not generally be supported.
Visit Wales’ Gold Award standards insist on criteria including access to private bathrooms and the quality of the beds. Mr Roberts, who represents Corris and Mawddwy, told members at a recent meeting that “cheap and cheerful doesn’t pay”, adding: “We want people of quality that will spend money.”
