A MEIRIONNYDD project which helps disabled cyclists is to close and have its specialist bikes relocated to Caernarfon.

The ‘Challenge your Boundaries’ adaptive mountain bike project, based at Coed y Brenin trail centre, has announced its closure, following the Snowdonia National Park (SNP) decision to move two of the three specialist bikes to Plas Menai near Caernarfon.

The bikes will form part of a Gwynedd Accessible Cycling Hub, where park chiefs believe they will get more use.

Challenge your Boundaries coordinator Graham O’Hanlon, said: “It would have been nice to think that an initiative such as the Gwynedd Accessible Cycling Hub would act as a feeder to our project for disabled riders who get the cycling bug and want to try something a bit more challenging.

“As the stated aim of the Hub is one of ‘improving infrastructure and opportunities for disabled people,’ we had not expected that instead it would come at the cost of an existing accessible facility.

“We always knew that we were providing for a niche market; like mountain biking in general, adaptive MTB requires an element of strength and a degree of skill, and it was never going to suit everyone. However, we strongly believe that accessibility to sport means access at all levels of participation, and we were providing opportunities for higher end participants."

“The stripping of resources from existing projects within the park to furnish new ones in a town outside of its borders seems like a particularly odd choice of direction for a National Park Authority.”

When asked about the decision, a spokesperson for the National Park said: “The National Park Authority is working hard to improve access for people of all abilities throughout Snowdonia and has been happy to support the ‘Challenge Your Boundaries’ project over the last six years."

Read the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News