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We have published our 12-point action plan for candidates in the Welsh Assembly Government election, urging them to commit themselves to our action points.
We are contacting all the candidates through our members in Wales, and from our headquarters, to seek their pledges of support.
Our 12 points include a better deal for the nation’s common land, which covers eight per cent of Wales’s land area and is immensely important for its natural beauty, wildlife and opportunities for public enjoyment. We also call for improved laws for open spaces and paths. All are crucial to the public’s enjoyment of the Welsh countryside, and to the Welsh economy.
We want the Commons Act 2006 to be implemented in Wales as a matter of urgency. This will update the common-land registers, enable the formation of commons councils, and clarify the law on works on common land.
We want the land-management scheme Glastir to be directed to securing better management of the commons, including employment of shepherds to enable the land to be grazed without the need for new fencing.
We want a change in the law to give local authorities a legal duty to take action against unlawful encroachments on commons, and a speed limit of 20 mph on all unfenced roads across common land to safeguard stock, the landscape and public access.
We also have action points for village greens, open spaces and public paths.
Says our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook: ‘After the election, we shall publish a list of all the Assembly Members who signed up to our pledges, and we shall work with them over the next five years, for the benefit of the Welsh countryside and people’s enjoyment of it.’