TOWN and community councils in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd are deciding whether they can afford to pay hundreds of pounds in fees towards keeping their beach awards.

Due to funding cuts within Gwynedd Council, the local authority says it can no longer pay the costs of submitting annual applications for beach awards, which include the Blue Flag award.

Porthmadog Town Council have been asked to contribute £732 towards keeping their Blue Flag, Criccieth Town Council would need to pay £732 to keep their Blue Flag on the promenade, and to apply for the Rural Beach Award for Criccieth Marine beach, they would need to pay £312.

Community councils such as Llanengan would need to pay £732 to ensure Abersoch beach kept its Blue Flag award and £168 for the Green Coast Award at Porth Neigwl (Hells Mouth). Aberdaron Community Council, which has a Blue Flag status on their beach, would need to pay £732.

At a January Porthmadog Town Council meeting, its members decided that would not pay the costs of applying for the Blue Flag at Morfa Bychan beach but are still looking for an alternative way to secure the award-winning status on the beach.

Cllr Jason Humphreys, who represents Porthmadog East on Gwynedd Council, said he has written to Barry Davies, Gwynedd Council’s maritime and country parks officer, whether the council department would approach the Morfa Bychan caravan park owners to pay the fee.

He said: “I have contacted Barry Davies to ask whether they would consider asking the area’s caravan park owners to pay the cost of the Blue Flag application.

“I understand that some of them do already help out in different ways. But the vast majority of their guests are able to walk to the beach and therefore don’t have to pay [to park on the beach].

“I’m also sure that the marketing aspect of being located next to a Blue Flag beach is quite valuable to them.”

Gwynedd Council say they will review the arrangements over the coming year and consider the responses and comments received from relevant town and community councils. A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that applications for individual beaches will be submitted for 2017 unless sufficient resources are available.”