Villagers halt pathway project

Work has stopped on the village green

People living near the site of one of Wales' most popular tourist attractions in Snowdonia say they feel vindicated after persuading workers to stop digging around their picturesque village green.

Work was taking place at Beddgelert, very near the grave of the fabled dog Gelert, to create a pathway for disabled people only a short distance away .

We had no idea that this work was going to take place

Elizabeth Garside

According to the fable of Gelert, the dog was killed by his master who thought he had killed his little baby, whereas in fact he had saved the baby after battling bravely against a wolf.

Villagers say the work would have completely spoilt the whole area, and after meeting them, the National Trust has decided to undo the work that has taken place.

The trust is now looking at different ways of building the £200,000 pathway, while still accommodating the wishes of the villagers.

One resident, Elizabeth Garside, explained how she came home from a holiday to find walls were being built near the green.

"We had no idea that this work was going to take place," she said.

"After making a few enquiries we found that more building work was planned.

The grave of the fabled dog Gelert

"We don't object to the building of a disabled pathway but we do feel that it could be created in a way that doesn't spoil the village green.

"Many of us feel strongly about the fact that the National Trust seems to be able to undertake work that no one else would be allowed to do."

National Trust Head Warden, Keith Jones, explained that the trust had had to apply for planning permission in the same way as anyone else.

"We asked the Snowdonia National Park about working on the disabled path and we were told that planning permission wasn't needed," he said.

'Nod and a wink'

"I can understand why people think a nod and a wink might have been given because the work is taking place near the village green.

"Had it been on the green then permission would have been needed," he said.

The building of the disabled pathway is part of a wider project which involves re-surfacing the whole 2km path which runs from the village to Beddgelert, down into the valley and back again.

Up to 1.2m people visit the Beddgelert area every year with the grave being a major attraction.

An official knocked on the doors of all the houses around the village green and later a letter was sent to each house

National Trust

A spokeswoman for the National Trust said it had consulted widely on the matter.

"An official knocked on the doors of all the houses around the village green and later a letter was sent to each house," she said.

"The community council were also involved and it was in fact they who asked us to address the situation.

"A Beddgelert liaison committee has also been set up to discuss ongoing issues.

Lessons learnt

"However, we have learnt a lesson about all this and that is to go into more detail about such plans.

"It is often difficult for people to visualise how plans will materialise in reality.

"It is also important to stress that many people in Beddgelert are pleased with the work that has taken place.

"An investment of £200,000 in a village of that size is a significant one," she said.