THE information service at the Brecon Beacons National Park’s main visitor centre is to only be staffed for part of the year.

The park authority set up a working group in February this year to examine the future of the attraction, known as the Mountain Centre in response to a cut in the park’s budget from the Welsh Government.

The park authority committee has now agreed to only staff the visitor centre at Libanus during the summer tourist season and operate an unstaffed information point during the winter.

The popular cafe and tea rooms at the centre will also be made available as a franchise.

The park said the proposals will help maintain a visitor centre with amenities including toilets, car park, café, seasonal shop and information point.

Existing catering staff are expected to retain their terms and conditions and move to the new franchise.

The authority said it will be working with existing information staff to look at available opportunities intended to keep redundancies to a minimum.

Melanie Doel, chair of Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, added: "I hope the decisions we have taken will lay the foundation for a stronger, more commercial visitor centre for the Brecon Beacons National Park giving our many visitors a great experience and helping them find what they are looking for as they explore the national park.

"I welcome the guidance and support we have received from our local business community as we have gone through this lengthy process and their support for the decisions we have made. We are meeting with staff and union representatives to make sure they are fully informed."

Andrew Fryer, chair of the Brecon Beacons Tourism Board which was represented on the working group, said: "We are supporting these changes which we believe will enable the national park authority to continue taking an active role in promoting the tourism offer in the park to our visitors."