Snowdon Summit Cafe To Use Local Stone

The new walls of the new cafe building on top of Snowdon are to be built using Welsh granite according to the BBC.

That may seem like a no-brainer, but the Snowdonia National Park Authority used stone imported from Portugal for the roof, which sparked an indignant response from local people.

The decision was based on price with the authority saying that it tried to use local materials wherever possible but cannot insist that materials which are above a price threshold are sourced locally".

Now however, park authority members have approved a plan to spend an extra £56,000 to allow the use of locally sourced materials for the walls and exterior flooring.

The BBC say that European legislation means that the authority cannot technically insist on using local materials for the new building, though they are keen to do so. In July the authority issued a statement saying that approximately 60 per-cent of labour and materials would come from Wales.

Work on the new cafe and visitor centre is due to begin in September with the project costing some £8.5 million of which £350,000 has been raised by public appeals with the remainder coming from various grants. So far the project has taken approximately five years.

Full report at news.bbc.co.uk More information on the planned development from the story linked below. Opinions vary on whether it's a stunning project or a massive white elephant.

More information at the Snowdon Summit section of the National Park web site.