Madam,

As a regular visitor to the Ynyslas dunes National Nature Reserve since the mid 1970s, and a daily one now that I live locally, I am dismayed by the current state of disrepair there. Other people I meet on the reserve feel the same.

We are told there is no funding for repairs and replacements, that this year’s funding is cut by 40 per cent and staff numbers have also been reduced.

Over the years the Conservancy Council of Wales, now replaced by Natural Resources Wales, developed the Ynyslas site to make it accessible to the public via paths, boardwalks and steps, without compromising the wildlife habitat for which the reserve is famous. The dunes, wildlife and beaches are now enjoyed by 250,000 visitors annually. The impressive timber visitor centre supplies information about the dunes and a mural in the toilet block shows how the water that serves it is recycled round its system. Visitors to the dunes also contribute to the local economy by using shops, pubs, accommodation and other amenities in the area. So the surrounding traders and businesses also benefit from the Ynyslas Dunes reserve being maintained in good repair. But now things are very different at the Ynyslas Dunes. The iconic timber snail sculpture - celebrating the resident banded snails - was dismantled in 2012. One boardwalk has been replaced by stone which is likely to be washed away by floods. Other boardwalks and steps that used to be kept clear are now covered in loose sand which some visitors find too difficult to walk in. The high platform - the one giving magnificent views over Cardigan Bay and providing a stop-off point for anyone needing a rest halfway over the dunes - was dismantled this year.

The Hinterland crew only just made it in time. A few months later there would have been no platform from which DCI Mathias could look down on the body in the sand.

Wooden letters in the children’s verses adorning the sides of the visitor centre are falling off, leaving gaps. Sometimes there is no-one to man the counter and the centre remains shut. Other times there is nobody available to take car park fees.

It must be deeply demoralising for the remaining staff to see all the money, vision, dedication and work that went into making the site the success it has been, wasted as the timber structures crumble away.

This is happening in spite of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.

I am going to write a complaint to the CEO of Natural Resources Wales and ask him to reconsider policy at Ynyslas Dunes in light of the above mentioned Acts. I will ask him to revise funding and staffing at this very popular Ceredigion Reserve and restore them to suitable levels to provide for current replacement and repairs and for future mainte-nance.

If anyone else wants to complain too, the NRW Chief Executive Officer is Dr Emyr Roberts and he is at Ty Cambria, Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0TP.

Yours etc

Heather Strange

Ynyslas

Borth.