North Wales to get new trail centre
22 February 2006 | By billy1979Local community company 'Beicio Llanberis Cyf.' propose a new lease of life for the abandoned Glyn Rhonwy quarries in Llanberis. On Wednesday 22nd February the Tender documents were submitted to Gwynedd Council for the 200 acre site. Beicio Llanberis saw the opportunity to build a community led development that will be of value both to visitors to the area and to local residents alike.
Canolfan Glyn Rhonwy will be a purpose built network of mountain bike, walking and nature trails around the old quarries. The trails will be facilitated by a cableway built along the lines of the quarry holes from the Canolfan to near the summit of Cefn Du. A centre building will house a visitor centre, bike shop, lecture theatre and small business units. Once the centre has been established the company expects to be able to attract large scale adventure sports events and mountain biking competitions to the site.
Over two years ago the group came up with the idea of building a mountain bike centre in the Llanberis area. Since then they have done a huge amount of work, identifying the best site for such a centre, undertaking consultation with local landowners and getting outline permissions for trails on the flanks of Cefn Du.
Canolfan Glyn Rhonwy will act as a hub for the local tourism and adventure industry, with a network of paths and trails feeding people into the village and linking to existing facilities such as the Slate Museum and other local services such as shops and accommodation.
Alun Hughes, award winning Welsh film-maker and company chairman says, 'This project will confirm Llanberis as the adventure capital of the U.K. and the associated economic benefits will ensure quality jobs and training for many of our young people who might otherwise leave the area'.
"We have been given a fantastic opportunity to develop new mountain biking trails which will be a huge benefit to local riders, providing a year round alternative to the busy Peak District and hopefully get more people out enjoying the sport."
