Many communities in Gwynedd are now facing the loss of services such as public toilets and car parks, unless those buildings/ services are owned by the community. To ensure the sustainability of those assets or services, it has become increasingly clear that communities need to be able to reduce their administrative costs and identify new ways of ensuring the sustainability of these services without relying on volunteers.

This project aims to install digital systems in rural communities that will trial:

• Can new technology offer a solution to reduce the human effort to open and close community centres when short meetings are held?
• Can modern online digital technology offer any solutions for electronic payments, so that service users can become sponsors, contributing financially to the running and maintenance costs of the toilets?
• Whether modern online digital technology can offer any solutions for electronic payments and car park management, so that longer-term holiday visitors and short-term day visitors receive the most appropriate car parking experience.

We are currently in the process of working with Data Wales to install a SMART Lock system at Canolfan Henblas in Bala. We are also in the process of installing a ‘Contactless’ charging system in community public toilets in Llanberis.