Firstly I need to make it crystal clear that there has been nothing "chavvy" about the way that Anglesey residents have campaigned about the introduction of a flat rate £5 car parking charge at South Stack. Nor is it a bunch of morons jumping on a moving bandwagon. The campaign has been well run using social media as an effective communication tool. Other communication channels have also been engaged, ie the radio and the newspapers. The people heading up this campaign have not tolerated bad behaviour, ie there has been no spiteful or vicious posting. There has been no cyber bullying.
Anglesey is one of the poorest places in the UK. There are low rates of pay. The RSPB proposal is that there is a flat rate charge of £5 per car. It does not matter if you park for 10 minutes, or 6 hours, the charge will be £5. They have also stated they do not intend to honour Blue Badges either, and the parking charge still stands.
You cannot cut a Blue Badge off the back of a Cornflake packet. This precious badge is given to those of limited mobility and these people are normally at the lower end of the economic scale. Therefore the RSPB is penalising this sector of the community.
Many locals call in at South Stack to blow away the cobwebs. They admire the view, have a bit of a walk and then leave. A few will visit the RSPB cafe and buy a cup of coffee to support the RSPB. Some will buy presents from there too. If a £5 parking fee is introduced, coffee sales will drop. You can only spend £5 once. What is it to be? Parking? Or coffee? Or parking and bring a flask?
You might want to watch the council planning meeting on line. The RSPB stated that they had approx £90 - £100K shortfall on the site. A councillor asked how many cars they get. It was agreed 100,000. This makes half a million in revenue. It looks as though the RSPB is using South Stack as a cash cow? If they genuinely wish to cover this short fall then £1 parking charge would achieve that aim.
Here is a link to the council meeting:
https://ynysmon.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/346446
The councillors are not happy about this. The land is leased. The majority of South Stack land was given to the people of Anglesey to enjoy free of charge.
The RSPB has not been overlooked by Wales. South Stack has received a lot of grants.
In summary, this has not been the RSPB's finest PR hour. They could have handled this so much better. They seem to be fiscally out of touch with average earnings on Anglesey.
It is good to read on here that there are people that are happy to pay £5 for parking. It is great that you are financially secure that you do not have to live from hand to mouth. But for others £5 is a lot of money to some people and families. It is the difference between eating tonight or having electricity.
Finally might I suggest that some of the posters on this thread take a leaf of out of the campaigners book and post in a polite, thoughtful and accurate manner too? Please get your facts right before posting. Thank you.