CAFE PLANNED AT ONE OF WALES'S MOST POPULAR MOUNTAINS

A cafe and visitor centre is planned at one of Wales's most popular mountains. Moel Famau is the highest summit in the Clwydian Range although at 554 metres is around half the height of Yr Wyddfa(Snowdon).

Its proximity to cities like Chester and Liverpool make it hugely popular with walkers and day-trippers. Its main paths can be packed on a half decent day - particularly on a weekend.

Now an application has been put forward to increase the facilities on offer to the 300,000 annual visitors.

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Denbighshire County Council want to erect a Nordic-style visitor hub at the upper Bwlch Pen Barras car park. It would serve up food and drink as well as have restrooms. There would also be a ranger's office and outdoor seating for walkers.

In a planning application, TACP Architects, said: "Denbighshire is well placed to take advantage of the growth in the outdoor activities sector and the proposal would help make Moel Famau more accessible with the provision of facilities and interpretation of the local area and a focal point/hub for visitors to the site."

They added that "these enhancements are intended to introduce a continual on-site staff presence to effectively manage the challenges posed by growing visitor volumes and meet evolving visitor demands".

The existing facilities at Moel Famau top car park include picnic benches, and information boards detailing the history and geography of the area. Presently, the area functions as parking with an intermittent small hut stationed selling hot and cold drinks.

TACP said: "In terms of highways the proposals would likely only enhance the visitor experience and not become a destination in its own right. Therefore the potential uplift in visitors in terms of traffic impact would likely be minor."

They are proposing an accessible sloped path at the front of the planned building, providing accessibility for all. Additionally, a new path to the left of the building will connect to the existing Moel Famau main path.

The works would be funded by money from the UK Government's Levelling Up pot. The Levelling Up funding allocated to Denbighshire amounts to £10.95m and will benefit Ruthin and its rural communities, including Loggerheads and Moel Famau. Moel Famau has been awarded £1.3million of this fund.

If approved work could early next and the project completed by the autumn of 2025.

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2024-09-14T04:17:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd