Welsh trail visitor centres including Bwlch Nant yr Arian and Coed y Brenin to close, temporarily for now - what will the future of Welsh mountain biking hold?
After a year of speculation and confusion, National Resources Wales (NRW) will now close three visitor centres at mountain biking sites including Coed y Brenin, in an effort to cut £12 million from its budget. The closures have been announced as temporary, presumably to allow time for the facilities to be leased out to private enterprise.
In a hazy press release short on detail and specifics, NRW said it will “streamline its activities and concentrate its resources on delivering essential services that only it can provide,” a decision that has now been approved by its board.
We’ve been reporting on this since the potential cuts were announced earlier this year, and unfortunately it looks like even despite pressure from trail advocates and the mountain biking industry in Wales, the cuts will go ahead. What happens to the trails around the centres, though, is still unknown.
Coed y Brenin will lose its vistor’s centre, but we’re holding out for the singletrack to survive
What does this mean for mountain biking in Wales?
Essentially the cuts mean there will be £12 million saved by 2025-26, which is £1 million less than originally planned. In reality it means that 233 job posts will be removed, which includes 113 unoccupied posts and 120 current roles. Those impacted will apparently be redeployed within the organisation where possible.
NRW has also confirmed that the cuts mean there will be temporary closures of visitor centres, with no retail or catering services to be provided. It has confirmed however, that “the sites will remain open for walking, biking, play areas, car parking and toilet provision.” So you can still ride, but there’s no post-ride coffee stop on the cards.
Perhaps more importantly, however, is the lack of transparency about what these cuts mean for the actual trails and the maintenance of them. Ealier this year, the UK MTB Trail Alliance put together a letter addressed to Huw Irranca-Davies MS, which garnered support from the industry and resulted in this responds from Irranca-Davies MS:
“The number of organisations contributing to this open letter confirms the weight and gravitas behind the words and I thank you for describing the issues of importance to your sector in such a comprehensive way.”
The letter was even cited in a debate in the Senedd, with the matter being discussed by politicians for the first time. While it appeared progress had been made, the news from NRW late last week confirms what we all feared – that the trails in affected areas in Wales may end up going into disrepair if there is nobody staffed to maintain them.
Trails may become unusable if left without staff to maintain them
Will there be trails left to ride?
Robin Grant, Founder and Chair of UK MTB Trail Alliance, commented on the NRW announcement.
“It’s disappointing that NRW’s board have signed off the planned cuts to their recreation budgets and the subsequent restructure, which, amongst many other things, will mean the temporary closure of their visitor centres. However, thanks to many different organisations’ efforts, hopefully we’ve collectively made NRW’s board and the Welsh Government aware of the implications of the cuts.
“We’re hopeful that when NRW finalise their post cuts-and-restructure plans over the next few months, they won’t be as bad for mountain biking as they would have been otherwise. However, in any scenario, once those plans are clear, we expect there will be more coordinated action the mountain bike community will need to take to secure the future of Wales’ trails, so watch this space.”
So while there is still time for plans to be finalised, it certainly isn’t looking positive for NRW run mountain biking trails. NRW Chair, Sir David Henshaw addressed the plans, citing that “some activities will be adapted or delivered differently.” While he doesn’t specifically name mountain biking, it’s clear that there will be an impact.
He continued, “the changes will free up resources to be invested in the areas that matter most. This will allow NRW to continue its leadership role in protecting Wales’ natural resources, driving positive change for future generations.”
“While NRW is committed to investing in priority areas, the organisation will have to stop or scale back certain services to ensure that resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible.”