Coronavirus (Covid-19): Our services

Before travelling  please check the timetable.  Some services have been reduced or are running as Sunday services.

Face coverings: If you are travelling on public transport a face covering for the whole journey might be useful to protect those around you.

Wearing face coverings whenever you leave home is a matter of personal choice. The Welsh Government recommend that people wear three-layer face coverings in environments where social distancing is more difficult.

School transport
Covid 19: School transport questions and answers

All schools will start the next phase on 29 June. The schools will be open for 3 weeks and will close for the summer holidays on 17 July.  

More information on the re-opening of schools:

• Letter for parents and guardians (22 June 2020)
• Guidance for parents and guardians (15 June 2020)
• Letter to parents and guardians (15 June 2020)
• School transport questions and answers
• Written Statement from Minister for Education – 3 June 2020

The Council is making arrangements to provide child care for the parents of key workers and for vulnerable children in the county. More details on this.

More information:

• Written Statement from Minister for Education – Summer Exams
• Guidance to educational settings about COVID-19 
• Digital distance learning page live on Hwb

 

Free school meals

Free school meals arrangements have changed since 20 April 2020.

A weekly direct payment of £19.50 per child is made to parents to buy food for their child.
Gwynedd Council has contacted the parents of all children that were eligible before Easter, by e-mail or letter, to explain the new arrangements.

If your child is eligible for free school meals, but you haven't received a letter or e-mail from Gwynedd Council, contact us by e-mailing taluysgol@gwynedd.llyw.cymru or call 01286 679101 / 01286 679303 as soon as possible, for information on how to apply. 

More information 

 

Gwynedd and Anglesey’s Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion (ALN&I) Service

A new section of the ALN&I website provides support and resources for children, young people and their families during the Coronavirus period. www.adyach.cymru

 

Nurseries
Meithrinfa Plas Pawb has re-opened.

For the latest information about nurseries go to the Gwynedd Families Information Service website. 

Recycling centres
All Gwynedd recycling centres have now re-opened. You must book a slot at the recycling centre beforehand. More information

Safeguarding frontline staff
Please help keep our staff safe by:

• Keeping a social distance between yourselves and our crews
• Not putting tissue paper in the recycling cart's top box 
• Making sure that everything in the recycling cart's middle box is clean and correct (no dirty items . no bags or plastic packaging)
• Only putting glass in the recycling cart's bottom box (cans should be placed in the middle box with your plastics and cartons)
• If possible, clean your bin / trolley handles before collection.   
• Placing your residuary waste into black bags before putting them in your green bin, no loose waste.  
• If anyone in your home is self-isolating because they have developed symptoms of the virus, don't put your recycling cart out for 14 days. When the 14 days have lapsed, and no one is showing symptoms any more, put your cleaned recycling cart out on your next collection day, and we will collect any additional items correctly separated into plastic boxes of a similar size.

Social Services
Adult and Children’s Social Services will maintain service to all individuals and families needing urgent and statutory support. For non-urgent issues there will be opportunities to carry out assessments and maintain contact over the phone with individuals and families.

All people contacting us will be triaged over the phone to consider whether a visit in person is required or that support could be offered in a different way.

Adult day care
The Adult Day Care Service in our centres is temporarily suspended until further notice.

Care homes
Visitors will not be able to enter the care homes until the situation has improved, apart from health and care workers when appropriate.

 

Home Care Service

Every effort will be made to maintain the home care service, but we will need to focus our efforts on the most vulnerable people with severe conditions, and those without the support of family or neighbours.

For this reason some of the usual home care services may not be available for a period. We ask families to step in as much as possible during this time.

A letter to all social housing tenants in Wales

 

Information and guidance to tenants and landlords:
Guidance for tenants
Guidance for landlords and managing agents in the private rented sector
Support available if you are a tenant living in Wales - COVID-19

Arrangements are in place to thoroughly clean the crematorium between each service.

Arrangements are also in place to ensure that everyone who attends a service sit at least 2 metres away from each other in accordance with national guidelines. 

Ceremonies

All ceremonies (including weddings and civil partnerships) have been suspended until further notice.

 

Registration
We are only holding appointments to register deaths at the moment, and the appointments will be held over the phone. To arrange an appointment, please call 01766 771000.  

As we are not able to register births, it is now possible for you to make a claim for child benefit or universal credit prior to the birth being registered, where you have not been able to do so because of these measures. 

 

Certificates
We will not be able to provide copies of birth / death / marriage or civil partnership certificates until further notice.  

Libraries
A new Order and Collect / Home Delivery service is now available at Gwynedd libraries.

Further information and order books

 

Archives
The Council’s Archives Service will is also closed. If you have an enquiry please email archifau@gwynedd.llyw.cymru. Unfortunately, staff cannot access the collection at present but will respond where possible.  

All Byw'n Iach Leisure Centres in Gwynedd are temporarily closed. 

For more information, visit Byw'n Iach.

All meetings and committees that are not making key decisions in regards to the Council's services are postponed for an undetermined period. 

Under the current circumstances, we will not be cutting the grass on the side of roads as usual. If you think somewhere has overgrown and become a hazard, please let us know online.

Due to the current circumstances, it isn't possible for us to post blue badge application forms to customers. For the time being, please apply online. If you choose to download the forms, after completion please e-mail them to bathodynglas@gwynedd.llyw.cymru instead of sending them in the post.

More infomation about the blue badge

The Lloyd George Museum is now closed and will not be opening as planned at Easter. Follow their Facebook feed for updates. 

Storiel is closed, but Mind and DWP's 1 to 1 sessions are to continue.

The National Museum in Parc Padarn and Ysbyty Chwarel Museum are closed.

All events at Neuadd Dwyfor have been postponed or cancelled for the time being.

Public footpaths

• Health Protection Regulations (Coronavirus) - Closure of Paths and Open Spaces Statement
• Snowdonia National Park - view a list of mountains and routes closed

 

Playfields
All of our playgrounds that have play equipment’s are closed until further notice. The fields and open spaces are open for residents to enjoy a walk or keep fit. 

 

Beaches
Morfa Bychan - parking and vehicle access to the beach is now closed,

Abersoch – vehicle access to Abersoch beach is now closed,

All Council slipways are now closed,

All food and drink concessions along the Gwynedd coastline are suspended (ice cream sellers etc). 

 

Aberdyfi, Barmouth, Porthmadog and Pwllheli Harbours
All slipways are closed to the public. Powerboat may not be launched until further notice. Access to a boat is only allowed if the boat is on a common mooring or pontoon.

View full details: Local notice to mariners

 

Country Parks
Parc Padarn country park – the park and car parks near the National Slate Museum are now closed.

Y Glyn area (lagoons) near Parc Padarn is closed.

Llyn Padarn remains closed with no activities currently allowed on the lake and we ask people to please respect these rules. We continue to review the situation to consider how and when the lake can be re-opened safely to users. 

Parc Glynllifon country park – the country park and nearby car parks are closed.

 

Hafan Pwllheli marina
Access to the pontoons is prohibited.

Slipways closed to all park and launch crafts.

 

Help for businesses in Gwynedd

 

Business rates: Due to the high volume of calls and with staff working from home, we advise you to contact us by e-mailing non-domesticrates@gwynedd.llyw.cymru where we will reply to query as soon as possible.

Food businesses
If you are a new or existing food business offering food delivery or takeaway/delivery service for the first time, due to the current Covid-19 situation, the Council would like to hear from you. It is essential that you assess the risks associated with this type of food service, to ensure that you keep your customers and yourselves safe. We can advise you on food safety, allergens and social distancing/safety.
 

Food and safety team contact details:
Food@gwynedd.llyw.cymru
01766 771 000.

Visit Snowdonia Mountains and Coast. Safely.

This year, more than ever, we all have a role to play in looking after each other and our communities. 

Things have changed. Many of our local services, conveniences, shops, restaurants, accommodation and attractions are preparing to reopen safely – while others may not open at all this year. 

By doing the small things visitors to the area can have a big impact on everyone’s safety – so please:

• Be safe and responsible:
  - Keep a 2 metre distance from others and be considerate of them, don’t congregate in groups and avoid confined spaces and crowds
  - Wash your hands regularly throughout your visit
  - Know what to do if you develop any Covid-19 symptoms and follow Welsh Government Regulations. 

• Respect our local communities and resources:
  - Appreciate that communities remain concerned about the spread of the virus – especially as people visit
  - Respect our towns, villages, our exceptional landscapes and resources by following notices and guidance for visitors
  - Take your rubbish and waste home with you. 

• Be patient and prepare in advance:
  - Not all attractions, businesses and accommodation will be open   and not all services and public conveniences will be available
  - Research before travelling to avoid being disappointed and follow Welsh Government Regulations. Remember that the rules in Wales are different to those in the other countries of the UK
  - Consider visiting later in the year to support our businesses and to avoid high levels of visitors in our communities at the same time.

Gwynedd Council welcomes and supports events held in the County and acknowledges their contribution to creating lively communities and supporting local economic prosperity.

However, under the present circumstances, we are placing the health and safety of the people of Gwynedd first and following Welsh Government and Public Heath Wales advice and Regulations in relation to mass gatherings, essential travel and social distancing which are currently in place until 26 September 2020. There is a strong possibility that these may be extended further.

We are working closely with event organisers to give them as much advice and support during this very difficult time. In such discussions we bring to their attention that it is highly unlikely under the present circumstance that major events or mass gatherings will be allowed to take place even if the Lock Down regulations are relaxed. We are also advising event organisers of support packages available where relevant.

We are advising event organisers to ensure that landowners are happy for their event(s) to be held on their land, and emphasising the risks in terms of health and safety to the local community, participants, and themselves as organisations. We are strongly advising them to postpone their event until 2021 when we will be extremely happy to work with them to facilitate their event if the situation has improved.

Complaints and enquiries relating to Covid-19:
Gwynedd Council is working with businesses across the county to ensure that they follow the latest regulations introduced to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19.  In addition, the Council is trying to avoid scams/fraud/counterfeit Covid-19 goods and also seeks to ensure Fair Trade.  

If you are aware of a business that does not obey Covid-19 regulations or if you are aware of any scams/fraud/counterfeit Covid-19 goods or have a complaint/query about Fair Trade, please let us know by: 

• e-mailing PublicProtection@gwynedd.llyw.cymru
• Or call 01286 682790 / 01286 685603/ 01341 424497 / 01758 704018

 

Services provided: 

• In addition to providing advice to businesses and the public, the services will deal with :
• Product safety issues
• Complaints about animal health and welfare/animal feed
• Food Safety Notifications               
• Notices of hazardous accidents and incidents in workplaces     
• Notifications of infectious illnesses
• Complaints about businesses that remain open
• Renewals to renew taxi licences only
• Applications from licensed premises for temporary event permit to sell alcohol for off-site transportation
• Requests to bury the deceased in public health funerals
• Allegations of oil pollution from domestic tanks
• Enquiries about the safety of private waters
• Air pollution complaints
• Complaints about litter that may be hazardous to health         

Some of Gwynedd's publin toilets have now re-opened. More details.

Covid-19: Impact on Planning Service and Joint Planning Policy Service