**Residents in Newborough Feel “Trapped” as Tourist Traffic Crisis Intensifies**
The idyllic village of Newborough, nestled on Anglesey’s southwestern shore, is once again at the heart of a growing outcry over the impact of mass tourism. As visitors flock to the famed Traeth Llanddwyn beach, drawn by its natural beauty and the adjacent sweeping Newborough Forest, local residents say their lives are increasingly “gridlocked” by relentless traffic congestion, illegal parking and unchecked antisocial behaviour associated with peak tourist influx.
Over the recent Easter Bank Holiday, frustrations amongst residents boiled over. Reports suggested journeys of less than a mile within the village could take upwards of 40 minutes. Mourners were delayed on their way to St Peter’s Church, while elsewhere, essential services faced difficulty accessing parts of the village and forest. Chaos along the 1.8-mile access road and the already-busy A4080 resulted in tailbacks, with hundreds of cars queuing for the 300-space Traeth Llanddwyn car park or abandoning vehicles on double yellow lines and across driveways.
The ongoing parking crisis is about more than inconvenience. “It’s been a shambles for years, but it’s getting worse and starting earlier in the year,” said Cathy Sands, who administers the village’s Facebook page and has frequently raised the alarm about the situation. “The village was turned into a giant car park—bumper-to-bumper traffic, people blocking driveways, and emergency vehicle access completely compromised. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Despite the introduction of double yellow lines along part of the A4080 in 2021, enforcement remains a hotly contested issue. While Anglesey Council insists that “civil enforcement officers have regularly monitored the area,” many residents disagree. “Since they put the lines down, wardens have only visited once,” Cathy claimed. “Promises were made that these new controls would be policed, but that just hasn’t happened.”
The absence of regular enforcement has led to blocked driveways and, at times, impassable streets. Some residents felt, effectively, “imprisoned” in their own homes every time a busy bank holiday or sunny weekend arrives. The problem isn’t limited to vehicles—illegal camping and incidents of public defecation have added to local concerns. The Newborough Forest, spanning 2,500 acres, faces the added danger posed by campfires and illegally parked cars obstructing emergency routes, especially worrying after a recent fire spread from an unregulated campsite.
Anglesey Council confirmed in a statement that wardens visited Newborough three times over Easter, but during those visits “no issues were identified that fell within the Council’s enforcement remit and, as such, no fines were issued.” The council says it welcomes detailed feedback from the community and is keen to collaborate in pursuit of solutions.
Still, the local mood is one of mounting exasperation. Calls have grown for more radical interventions, akin to approaches elsewhere in Wales such as at Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), where persistent offenders risk having their vehicles towed. Proposals for park-and-ride schemes and expanded parking options are being discussed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and its partners, while local NRW wardens have cracked down on illegal camping, though the threat of forest fires lingers.
Beyond traffic woes, the lack of basic facilities is fuelling frustration. Public toilets in Newborough have been closed for over a decade. Their absence is acutely felt, not just by locals—who have alternatives—but by visitors left with nowhere to go. Recent accounts include people treading on human waste buried in the sand, whilst mountains of litter tarnish the forest floor. Despite a local consultation favouring the reopening of toilets, the council has said costs are prohibitive. The site now functions as a makeshift car park, though debate continues over possible future use, including the potential for local-resident-only parking.
In a bid to reduce reliance on cars and ease congestion, Anglesey Council has recently secured £2.4m from the Welsh Government to progress the extension of the Lon Las Cefni active travel route, which links Malltraeth and Newborough. The aim is to encourage more walking and cycling, especially among residents, but some remain sceptical about its immediate impact on the root causes of the problem.
While there are suggestions from some residents to restrict non-local access to sensitive periods, the general sentiment is not anti-tourist. Most simply want pragmatic, balanced solutions that allow the community to function and visitors to enjoy the region responsibly. As the 2025 summer season approaches, the need for genuine, collaborative action grows ever more urgent.
As council officials acknowledge, the popularity of Llanddwyn and Newborough Forest is only increasing, and so too is the pressure on local infrastructure. The challenge remains finding a sustainable balance—ensuring Anglesey’s natural beauty remains accessible but does not come at the cost of community wellbeing or environmental protection. For now, patience amongst those “trapped” in Newborough is running thin, with hopes pinned on effective measures before the next wave of visitors arrives.