Review of Designated Landscapes in Wales Submission from the Brecon Beacons Park Society
Introduction
The Brecon Beacons Park Society is a charity based in the Brecon Beacons National Park
which has as its objectives:
To advance the enhancement, protection and conservation of the countryside
and other amenities of the Brecon Beacons National Park for the benefit of the
public.

To advance the education of the public in the ways in which to achieve the
above including the provision of opportunities for healthy recreation and in
particular walking.
The Society has about 700 members from all over the United Kingdom and operate one of
the best walking programmes in any of our National parks. It is also a Founder Member of
the Alliance for National Parks Cymru (www.afnpcymru.org.uk ), the Alliance.
The Society welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the panel reviewing our
Designated Landscapes in Wales. We have worked closely with Alliance in formulating their
submission and fully support it in all aspects. This paper is to emphasise some points we
believe should be taken into consideration by the Panel.
In line with other submissions from National Park Societies and the Alliance we would like
to clarify and give distinct meanings to the terms ‘Designated Landscapes’ and ‘Protected
Landscapes’.
For the sake of clarity:1. We would like to establish the usage of the terms ‘Designated Landscapes’ and
‘Protected Landscapes’. We view ‘Designation’ as the process of recognition of national
importance. ‘Protected Landscapes’ are those designated landscapes which have
effective management in place to uphold the purposes for which they are designated.
2. ‘Designated Landscapes’ should be understood as being much more than places with
pretty views; they are national assets; vital natural resources which embrace the very
best of Wales’ wildlife, cultural heritage and natural beauty.
These definitions are reflected throughout our answers to the two questions posed by the
Panel.
Response to Questions
Q1: Are designated landscapes equipped to meet the current and future needs of Wales?
We believe that, for the most part, current Designated Landscapes – National Parks and
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty - are meeting the current needs of Wales. However,
looking to the future there are aspects of designation and management that should be
reviewed and could benefit from an evolutionary approach in particular aspects:Wellbeing Objectives
As well as sustaining and enhancing natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage, the
Purposes of all Designated Landscapes should include this additional Purpose:-
“Furthering the aims and goals of Wellbeing in ways which safeguard the
qualities and values of the Designated Landscape”
This addition reflects the fact that people live and work within our Designated Landscapes
and refines and updates the Sandford Principle.
Designation and Management
We believe that the recognition of a landscape for its national importance should be
separated from the management system that is appropriate for the protection of
that landscape.
Furthermore there should be one set of criteria to be satisfied by any landscape for it
to be recognised as of national importance. We suggest the following:“A landscape or seascape of national importance because of the quality and
value of its natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage.”
All such recognised landscapes should have the same Purposes.
Management Models
Currently in Wales there are two models for management of our Designated
Landscapes, the NP model and the AONB model. We would not wish to see the
importance of these brands being diluted or lost in any future structure and
therefore the current management models would remain in place for existing
Designated Landscapes. They could also be used for future Designated Landscapes,
should the right conditions be fulfilled.
The Scottish Model for NPs allows for variation in the functions assigned to NPAs as
part of the creation of a NP. The Alliance proposal to have different models for the
management of Designated Landscapes (which are all of equal importance)
depending on their nature and circumstances is in line with this successful model of
Designated Landscapes governance already in operation elsewhere in the UK.
New categories of important landscapes, such as Seascapes, may require
management schemes specific to their needs and be different from that for NPs or
AONBs, so it is important that there is the capability to define and adopt new
systems for the management of Designated Landscapes in Wales.
Partnership Working
We recommend a genuine partnership working between the management
organisation of the Designated Landscapes and other stakeholders. In particular, that
all stakeholder organisations contribute to the creation of local plans and commit to
their implementation, including reporting on their own progress in carrying out their
commitments to it.
In terms of further civic engagement we recommend that at both local and national
level stakeholder groups be established.
Additionally the collaboration between the managers of Designated Landscapes that
already exists should be strengthened for the exchange of good practice
information, cost effectiveness and staff development.
National Leadership
In France, the Parc Nationaux de France performs a leadership role very effectively, a
role which NRW does not appear to be set up to perform adequately. Nevertheless,
we believe that it is the obvious organisation to deliver this role, and recommend it
be directed to do so.
Q2: Should there be a single designation of protected landscape in Wales?
No, if this is taken to mean a one size fits all in terms of management systems for our
Designated Landscapes.
Our existing systems, namely those for NPs and AONB, are different to reflect the
difference in scale, complexity and diversity of these two types of landscape, and
they work well.
In Scotland and France Designated Landscapes are well regarded by their citizens
and governments. Scotland have respectively National Parks and Regional Parks and
France has National Parks and Regional Nature Parks reflecting the different
characteristics of those areas and associated management models.
However, as explained in the answer to Question 1, we believe there should be one
set of criteria to be met by Designated Landscapes, and that they should all have the
same Purposes. But they may employ different management models, depending on
the complexity of the area and there should be sufficient flexibility in the system to
allow tailored solutions to be developed.
We believe that it is imperative that the important brands of NP and AONB are
retained for Wales.
A single Designation in the terms proposed in the question implies a new brand for
our Designated Landscapes with the loss of a key differentiator for Wales in terms of
its tourism offering.