Wales

Unlawful fence across Brecon Beacons common must go

The Welsh Government has refused retrospective consent for a four-and-a-half-mile-long fence across common land in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The fence runs from near Pontsticill Reservoir in the south, crossing the hillside via Upper Neuadd Reservoir, passing just to the east of the famous summits of Pen y Fan and Cribyn and then cutting down through Cwm Cynwyn.

It was erected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) during the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic, but it should have been removed within five years and was not. Therefore, since 2006 it has been unlawful since it required consent from the Welsh environment minister under section 194 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

In September 2009, the Brecon Beacon Commoners’ Association applied for consent for the fence to remain. The Open Spaces Society, Ramblers and National Trust were among the objectors. The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and the Countryside Council for Wales asked for the decision to be delayed while they negotiated a management agreement for the land, but eventually the commoners pulled out of the negotiations and the case was decided by Mr Stephen Jones on behalf of the Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development.

Mr Jones needed to be satisfied that the fence ‘would benefit the neighbourhood’. He rejected the application because the fence ‘is visible from close views and…it visually divides the extensive landscape of the commons’. He continued: ‘The fence acts as a barrier—both psychological and physical—to members of the public gaining access to land either side of it…the expected ability to roam anywhere over the commons is adversely affected by access across the fence being available via specific locations only.’

He was also concerned that the applicants had given no indication of the management regime to be adopted if the fence was to be retained, nor of the levels of grazing and the effect on the vegetation. He did not consider that the arguments which were put forward by the commoners on the management of the commons justified overriding the general rights of access to the commons or the objections to the retention of the fence on visual grounds.

Says our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook: ‘This is an excellent outcome. The fence, which strides across the superb open landscape of the Brecon Beacons National Park, is an eyesore and a severe impediment to public access. It is not the right solution to the management of the commons.

‘We recognise that the area needs to be grazed and we have urged the Welsh Government to support traditional management regimes such as shepherding; these would create employment and remove the need for any fencing. We still hope that this will be possible under Glastir.

‘Meanwhile, the fence is unlawful and must go. We are sending a formal complaint to the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority’s enforcement officer and asking that the authority takes steps to ensure that the ugly fencing is removed forthwith,’ Kate concludes.

More than a quarter of new Assembly Members support our action plan for Wales

Eighteen of the 60 members of the National Assembly for Wales have supported, wholly or largely, the Open Spaces Society’s 12-point Action Plan for Wales. We sent the plan, through our members in Wales and from our headquarters, to all the candidates in the recent election, asking for their backing.

The 18 Assembly Members are:

Leighton Andrews (Rhondda, Lab, Minister for Education and Skills)
Mick Antoniw (Pontypridd, Lab)
Rosemary Butler (Newport West, Lab)
Christine Chapman (Cynon Valley, Lab)
Jeff Cuthbert (Caerphilly, Lab, Deputy Minister for Skills)
Alun Davies (Blaenau Gwent, Lab, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and European Programmes)
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy, Con)
John Griffiths (Newport East, Lab, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development)
Lesley Griffiths (Wrexham, Lab, Minister for Health & Social Services)
Edwina Hart (Gower, Lab, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science)
Elin Jones (Ceredigion, Plaid Cymru)
Sandy Mewies (Delyn, Lab)
Lynne Neagle (Torfaen, Lab)
David Rees (Aberavon, Lab)
Ken Skates (Clwyd South, Lab)
Gwenda Thomas (Neath, Lab, Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services)
Lindsay Whittle (South Wales East region, Plaid Cymru)
Leanne Wood (South Wales Central region, Plaid Cymru)

Our 12 points include a better deal for Wales’s common land, which covers eight per cent of the nation’s land area and is of great importance for its landscape and wildlife and for public enjoyment.

There are also action points for village greens, open spaces and public paths, including the Wales Coastal Path, to be opened officially in 2012.

 

Welsh minister rejects wind turbine on common

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing has refused consent to Awel Aman Tawe to erect a wind turbine, hard standing and access tracks on common land in south Wales.

The threatened common is Cefn Gwrhyd Common in the community of Cwmllynfell in Neath Port Talbot.

Although Awel Aman Tawe had obtained planning consent for the development, it also needed consent from the Welsh minister, under section 194 of the Law of Property Act 1925, for works on common land. It had to meet the test that the works would be ‘of benefit to the neighbourhood’. The Open Spaces Society, which is consulted about all applications for works on common land because of its expertise in this area, objected along with many others.

We argued that the wind turbine and its associated paraphernalia would be a blot on this beautiful, open landscape on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was to be sited on almost the highest point of the mountain and would therefore be highly visible, suburbanising a wild area.

The public has the right to walk and ride over every part of this common. The development would interfere with their quiet enjoyment of this lovely place.

We are relieved that the Welsh Assembly Government agreed with us and refused the application.’

On behalf of the environment minister, Mr Stephen Jones, deputy head of the planning division’s decisions branch, wrote: ‘I consider that the proposed access road and wind turbine would not, because of their adverse effect on the open character of the land and its value for recreation and public enjoyment, be of benefit to the neighbourhood.’

Our new activist for Rhondda Cynon Taff 

Jay Kynch of Efail Isaf, near Pontypridd in south Wales, is our new local correspondent for the southern part of Rhondda Cynon Taff.

Jay is a retired development economist who has worked as a researcher at Oxford University and a lecturer at Swansea University; she has researched poverty in Indian villages and social exclusion and regeneration in the South Wales valleys, among many other projects. She is a horse-rider, who rides most mornings in her local countryside.

A few months ago, Jay fought unsuccessfully to stop an ancient road to Garth Mountain from being downgraded to a footpath, denying horse-riders and cyclists an important route to the summit.

Says Jay: ‘The loss of that road was sad, and the Open Spaces Society deplored it. I now want to see the society have more of a role here, ensuring that people feel confident about using their rights without obstruction, and defending them when they are threatened. I shall help to achieve this. Our paths and open country are a free resource for all.’

Adds our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook: ‘We are delighted to have Jay as our local representative in south Wales, defending the rights of walkers, riders and cyclists to enjoy the superlative countryside which adjoins the urban doorsteps. She will keep the council up to the mark on commons, greens, open spaces and paths.’

The Open Spaces Society launches its action plan for the Welsh Assembly Government, 2011-2015

Click here to view in English or Click here to view in Welsh

We are inviting all 240 candidates who are standing in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Wales to commit themselves to the 12 action points in our plan.

Please help us by asking your candidates to support our action plan. If you would like bilingual paper copies please email us with your postal address.