NRW’s 10 week public consultation on a new National Park

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is inviting people to share their views on the draft boundary map (referred to as the Candidate Area Map) for a proposed new National Park in Wales.

The public consultation period which involves a series of public drop-in, online and targeted stakeholder group events, will run from Monday 7 October until 23:59 on Monday 16 December 2024.

The Welsh Government has commissioned NRW to assess the evidence and case for a new National Park and make a recommendation. A study area (referred to as the Area of Search), based on the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley ‘National Landscape’ was identified and shared during a public engagement period in late 2023. Following this, and a period of evidence gathering, NRW will now be consulting with the public on the emerging proposal throughout the autumn and winter months.

A questionnaire to capture feedback is now live on the project website. 

Alternatively, you can complete a paper copy of the questionnaire (available to pick up at a drop-in event) and send it back to us via Freepost.

Ash Pearce, Programme Manager in NRW’s Designated Landscapes Programme team said:

 “For a new National Park to be established, NRW must be confident it will manage risks and make use of the opportunities available, for the betterment of nature, people, and communities.

We have gathered further evidence in 2024 and the map we are now sharing, has changed to reflect this. We now have a much clearer picture of the risks and opportunities associated with creating a new National Park, but also the risks associated with not addressing the factors already at work, like visitor pressures, housing, nature depletion and climate change.

We are interested in hearing from anyone affected or interested, listening to the range of perspectives and we are especially keen to receive any new information or evidence that relates to the proposal before NRW comes to a conclusion.

We encourage everyone, to complete our questionnaire after viewing a summary of the evidence.”

The public consultation events will be an opportunity to learn more about the project and evidence gathered to date, ask questions of the team and share feedback on the draft boundary map referred to as the Candidate Area Map.

People are encouraged to either drop by at an in-person event or email the project team at designated.landscapes.programme@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk to sign up to an online event. People will only need to attend one event as the information shared will be the same for each.

Public drop-in events

Public online events

Targeted group events

To find out more visit our project website. All consultation resources will be available via the project website from the 7 October 2024.