POWYS council’s eight seats on the Brecon Beacons National Park should be reserved for councillors who represent wards in the area.
That’s the view of the council’s Liberal Democrat group, which has said it is opposed to a Welsh Government plan to reduce the membership of the park authority. It has suggested the Welsh Government could instead reduce the number of people it appoints to the Brecon-based body, as some live in England.
At present the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNP), which is responsible for deciding planning applications in the protected area as well as running the organisation and agreeing how to spend its budget, is made up of 24 members.
Of those 16 are councillors from Powys, or the six other county councils with land in the national park, and eight are appointed by the Welsh Government. But the Welsh Government wants to reduce the total membership to 18 to bring the BBNP into line with the Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire coast national parks.
Under the plan Powys council’s seats on the BBNP would be reduced from eight to six. But the Liberal Democrat group has said Powys should continue to hold eight seats – but they should only be taken by members who represent ward wholly or partly within the park.
A response, prepared by the Lib Dems, said only allowing members from the Brecon Beacons to sit on the park authority would help the BBNP “focus on social and economic development” and reduce travel costs.
The group said: “The BBNP is unique compared with the other two Welsh national parks in having a much greater number of local authorities within its boundaries.
“We must also consider that 80% of the BBNP lies within Powys together, with the majority of its residents, including the towns of Brecon, Crickhowell, Talgarth, Sennybridge and Hay-on-Wye.
“Any number reduction would need to reflect this and as such no reduction in the eight members from Powys should be considered.”
The Lib Dems also dismissed the BBNP’s “member champions” – committee members given responsibilities to promote specific subjects such as tourism – as having “little or no impact” and of “a lack of understanding of the social and economic needs of the park communities”. Instead, said the Lib Dems, the Welsh Government could reduced the number it appoints: “These members have no mandate from the residents of the park and have little contact or understanding of residents’ needs.
“Some live outside the National Park area and some live in England.”
The Lib Dems said they were opposed to the reduction as it was only intended to reduce costs and would reduce “democratic local representation” and said the Welsh Government should consider new governance arrangements for park authorities.
Those could take account of a report produced for the Welsh Government that has said protected areas like the Brecon Beacons should promote sustainable energy and be used as “brands” to promote a positive image of Wales to the world to attract tourism and investment.
Powys council’s Labour group has said it supports a reduction in the membership of the BBNP.
Powys council’s cabinet had asked the political groups for their responses to the Welsh Government consultation on reducing the membership of the BBNP.
No other groups on the county council forwarded any comments to the cabinet which will now consider how to respond in light of the comments received.
Who’s on the park authority
THE eight councillors currently appointed by Powys to the BBNP are done so to reflect the council’s political balance.
That means the Independent Group, the largest single group on the county council, is entitled to three seats on the BBNP and the second largest group, the Conservatives, have two.
Labour has one seat while the Plaid Cymru/Green group presently also has one seat due to horse-trading over council committee seats which entitled it to one of the Liberal Democrats’ two seats.
Due to the requirement in law that seats are appointed due to political balance, independent groups in Powys have often appointed members to sit on the park authority from as far away as Montgomeryshire.
Cllr Michael Jones, who is currently the deputy chairman of the national park planning committee, is an Independent Group councillor whose ward, Churchstoke in Montgomeryshire, is 40 miles north of the park’s most northern boundary at Hay-on-Wye, a journey that takes more than an hour by car.
Former Football Association of Wales president Phil Pritchard, who represents Welshpool, is also an Independent Group member of the BBNP, while its third member is Karen Laurie-Parry whose Bronllys ward at least borders the park.
Independent Group member Edwin Roderick, who represents Maescar/Llywel, which is within the park, has also been appointed to the BBNP as a result of a deal between the Independents and Conservatives.
The other four Powys council members all represent seats wholly, or mostly, within the park. They are: Emily Durrant (Green, Llangors), Sarah Lewis (Conservative, Brecon St Mary), David Meredith (Labour, Brecon St David) and Gareth Ratcliffe (Lib Dem, Hay).