New North Wales national park heads to inquiry
After receiving either outright objections or concerns from all five local authorities that would ultimately host Glyndŵr National Park, the Welsh Government has decided to bring in Planning and Environment Decision Wales to evaluate the proposals.
Glyndŵr National Park’s creation would deliver on a Labour Party 2021 campaign promise for a fourth national park in the country, joining the likes of Eryi (Snowdonia), Brecon Beacons, and Pembrokeshire Coast.
If created, Glyndŵr would stretch across 230,000 acres in Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Powys, and Wrexham counties.
While the government has lauded the park’s potential to protect biodiversity, drive sustainable tourism, and bolster economies; the local authorities have raised qualms over the project citing a likely increase on existing pressures around delivering council services and the area’s infrastructure.
Wrexham County Council Cllr Trevor Bates even went as far as to describe the park as “a £4m ego project,” referencing the approximate amount each of the three existing national park authorities in Wales receive in grants.
In a letter announcing the inquiry, Wales deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies , stated that the case for Glyndŵr from Natural Resources Wales was a comprehensive one. He pointed out that the current national parks bring in around 12m visitors each year and contribute £1bn annually to the Welsh economy.
He did acknowledge the concerns of the local authorities though.
“It is a big change – deliberately so, as it is designed to have a significant positive impact on our natural environment and people’s ability to enjoy it,” Irranca-Davies wrote. “Consequently, it is right that these issues are considered very carefully.”
Details regarding the start of the public inquiry and its length will be released in due course, with Irranca-Davies instructing PEDW to “identity an appropriate person with the expertise and capacity to run that inquiry”.
If existing National Parks and proposed new ones like this do not include extensive rewilding, water management, water pollution prevention and green energy production were possible (i.e. using hydro at existing reservoirs), then there’s no real benefit as the landscape will remain unchanged but with more red tape and cost to the taxpayer.
By GetItBuilt!
Tourism and farming are key planks of the north Walian economy, but offer low and fluctuating wages and inconsistent employment. Visits to Wales from within the UK fell 10 per cent in 2024 (last available figures) so a dual focus on the two poorest-paying sectors makes no sense to me – especially when you consider the high-value, high-skill jobs in north east Wales at Toyota, Broughton, Shotton etc.
This just looks like a distraction exercise from a government that really has no understanding of what it takes to drive genuine economic growth and the creation of opportunities for people. Comes to something when even the relevant local authorities are all opposed to the idea.
By More Anonymous than the Others
The proposed area is already protected from development and well managed. A completely pointless project.
By Ab