A community group has restated its intention to run the popular Coed y Brenin site when it is put up for tender later this year.

The visitor centre at the popular mountain bike site at Ganllwyd, near Dolgellau, closed its doors in March as Natural Resources Wales tried to cut its budget.

The visitor centre has remained closed since then, with NRW saying they plan to start a tender process for the centre later this year.

Toilets and trails at Coed y Brenin, along with the bike shop, are still open with reports of decent footfall throughout the summer months.

Last week, one of the three visitor centres that was closed by NRW, Ynyslas, was handed over to a community group.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Rhys Llywelyn, the chair of Caru Coed y Brenin, a community group that is aiming to take over and run the centre as a dynamic centre for the public and local community, said: “It is still our intention to bid to run the Coed y Brenin visitor centre when the process opens.

“There is concern locally over who else might bid for the site and whether a private company will present different plans.

“When NRW open the tender, we will be bidding and presenting our plans for the site.”

The tender process will look for viable partners, community groups and businesses, who can enhance the sites for visitor and recreation purposes, NRW says.

Announcing its plans, a spokesperson for NRW said: “Following a period of preparation work, legal checks, internal governance and subject to final approval, it is hoped the process can be launched in November with the aim of awarding contracts by the end of April 2026.

“The exercise will be managed through the Sell2Wales procurement portal set up by the Welsh Government and interested parties can sign up to the platform in advance.”

Elsie Grace, NRW’s Head of Sustainable Commercial Development, said: “We understand how important the sites are to local communities and visitors and we know how keen people are for this process to start.

“We want to make sure we get it right to avoid confusion and any potential issues in the future and we believe it is important to take the necessary time now for a smooth process later on.

“We are currently undertaking the planning work to ensure this process has the best possible long-term outcome for the sites, communities and visitors.

“This includes focusing on finding long-term, sustainable partners who benefit local communities and enhance tourism.

“We would again like to thank everyone who has expressed an interest in these sites and we will continue to engage with the public and interested parties as the process develops.

“We are hoping to have agreements in place by April next year, but these timescales are subject to change.”

The closures were widely criticised, with chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, Llyr Gruffydd MS, saying it ‘feels like an abandonment of public trust’.