National Park Management Plan

Article from Brecon Beacons National Park
Last Updated: 30 April 2008 15:09

The National Park Management Plan is the National Park Authority's leading document, which it is required to prepare under the 1995 Environment Act. It sets out a vision for the whole Park over the coming years, which has been endorsed by a wide range of consultees. It also includes aims and objectives for all the NP's activities, and the actions needed to bring these about, whether by the NPA itself or by partner organisations.

The National Park Management Plan is the source of inspiration for all other plans and strategies produced by the NPA, such as the Local Biodiversity Action Plan, the Tourism Strategy, and the Unitary Development Plan. It also covers the need to update or prepare other strategies such as those for Education and Transport.

2009-2014 Consultation Draft

The National Park Authority is preparing a new management plan for the next 5 years, entitled Managing Change Together: Brecon Beacons Draft Management Plan 2009-2014. A draft of the new plan is now available for public consultation and comment. Please use the Reviewer's Guide and the Comments Sheet to assist you in your review of the Consultation Draft.

This draft includes introductory materials, context, the Park’s special qualities, 20-year vision statements, long-term aims (often called strategic objectives), case studies, maps and appendices. The aims are organized by topic - for example landscape, interpretation, biodiversity and tourism – for each of the Park’s statutory purposes and duty. Some text has yet to be completed, some of which (Chapters 8-10) will not be completed until the final phase of the Plan.

During the consultation period, the NPA will organise a series of discussions to formulate our (including the NPA and other key stakeholders) priorities for action for the next five years. These will include a series of outcomes and related actions that will be accomplished in the next five years that ultimately put the NPA and its partners on track with achieving the twenty-year aims and the vision. The Priorities for Action document will also be sent out for public consultation.

The consultation period for this draft Plan begins on 31 March 2008 and concludes on 31 August 2008. Please share your comments with us so that we can continue to successfully manage this ever-changing landscape TOGETHER!

State of the Park

A key step in planning the management of the National Park is to understand the current state and associated trends of its resources. Information on a selection of indicators has been summarised in the State of the Park Report 2006, which can be viewed in English neu yn Gymraeg

The Scoping Report

The Scoping Report contains relevant time tables concerning the completion of the Management Plan and the associated sustainability and environmental assessments. A summary is included which briefly describes the importance of these assessments and the approach that is being used to evaluate the Park's Management Plan.

The Scoping Report also includes a summary of the Park's baseline data, key issues, relevant Plan objectives, potential outcomes in the absence of a Plan - information we received from stakeholder and community consultation - and a review of relevant plans and policies.

Scoping Report Baseline Data Review of Plans and Policies

The Stakeholder Workshops.

Consultation is an ongoing process. The formal consultation process commenced with Stakeholder Workshops held in October over 3 days. Each of the days covered the National Parks Purposes and Duty. The Report of the whole Stakeholder event can be downloaded as a PDF. Stakeholder Workshop - Report of Whole Event

Alternatively, individual reports of each the 3 Workshops may be downloaded separately

12th October 2006

Landscape, biodiversity and cultural heritage workshop

19th October 2006

Enjoying the Park sustainably workshop

20th October 2006

Sustainable Communities Workshop

Public meetings were held in communities around the Park in January and early February 2007, followed by consultation with key statutory stakeholders during August and September, 2007.