Wales’s New National Park Proposal

Overview

Last updated on the 15 September 2025.

Visit Cynnig Parc Cenedlaethol Newydd Cymru to view this page in Welsh.

Latest updates: September 2025

• 12-week consultation begins on the proposed Glyndŵr National Park – The Proposed Glyndŵr National Park (Designation) Order - Statutory Consultation 2025 is now live.

• July 2025 Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Board Meeting outcome – On the 16 July 2025, the NRW Board carefully considered the designation criteria and the supporting evidence presented by officials. The Board agreed that NRW should proceed to a Statutory Consultation on the proposal to designate a new National Park, including the defined boundary.

Read on to find out more about the evaluation process to date ...

Background to the proposal

In its Programme for Government (2021-2026), Welsh Government set out its commitment to designate a new National Park for Wales. NRW is Welsh Government’s statutory advisor on landscape and the designating authority for any new National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Welsh Government commissioned NRW to evaluate the case for a new National Park based on the existing Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

NRW is an independent organisation and will make an independent recommendation based on the evidence gathered and implications for the citizens of Wales. The statutory process and tests will be applied.

Over the last two years, NRW has been evaluating the case for a new National Park in Wales. Work has included undertaking data and evidence gathering, consultation and engagement with local communities and other stakeholders.

NRW’s Procedural guidance: GN010 has informed the assessment procedure.

Please see the Procedural Guidance document for full details.

Area of Search for a Potential New National Park

In 2023, we identified an Area of Search for a potential new National Park, beginning with the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, already recognised for its Natural Beauty. We applied spatial analysis, and mapping including the LANDMAP dataset to identify areas that could possibly merit being included.

Please see the Area of Search Report for full details.

Public Engagement Period 2023

We ran a 7-week public engagement period in 2023 which consisted of online and drop-in events for the public and targeted stakeholders. This was intended to build understanding of local issues, and involved sharing the initial Area of Search Map. There were 966 questionnaire responses, and a narrow majority of respondents were in favour of a new National Park.

The most frequently mentioned themes identified from analysis were:

1. Landscape conservation, Recognition for the area, Tranquillity.
2. Wildlife, Agriculture and Land management, Environment and Sustainability.
3. Tourism, Public services, and Infrastructure.
4. Necessity for change, Management and Controls, Costs, Funding, Bureaucracy.
5. Local people and communities, Local economy.
6. Access issues and Outdoor recreation.
7. Housing.
8. Culture and Heritage.
9. Planning implications.
10. Boundary queries.
11. A need for more information.

As a result of stakeholder feedback, a number of areas were added for further assessment to inform the Candidate Area for public consultation in 2024.

Please see the Public Engagement Period October – November 2023 webpage and Public Engagement Period Report 2023 for full details.

The Special Qualities of the Area of Search

We commissioned Craggattack Consulting to identify the special qualities of the Area of Search. The process drew on desktop research, workshops, cultural engagement, historical reports, LANDMAP data, local strategies, and public input. Six defining qualities were identified:

• An inspiring space that promotes mental, physical, and spiritual health and wellbeing.
• A place with cohesive communities and distinctive settlement patterns.
• A story of human interaction with the landscape over millennia.
• A home to internationally and locally important species and habitats.
• A distinctive, complementary, and contrasting landscape.
• A landscape providing benefits beyond its borders.

Please see the Special Qualities Report for full details.

Forces for Change in the Area of Search

In 2024, NRW commissioned Land Use Consultants to assess the forces for change, both current and emerging, that are impacting the special qualities within the Area of Search. Five main change categories were identified:

1. Climate change – a cross-cutting force influencing all others, including both impacts and adaptation/mitigation efforts.
2. Built development and infrastructure – encompassing housing, industry, transport, renewable energy, minerals, and waste.
3. Land management and the natural environment – including agriculture, forestry, income diversification, and environmental stewardship.
4. Sustainable communities and cultural heritage – addressing demographic shifts, housing, employment, cultural traditions, and Welsh language use.
5. Visitor management and tourism – covering increased recreation, its pressures on local communities and nature, and the infrastructure needed to support it.

Please see the Forces For Change Report for full details.

Evaluation of Management Options

Land Use Consultants were also commissioned to compare five management options for addressing the forces for change identified:

1. Business as usual – no change to current arrangements.
2. Valleys Regional Park – an example of a partnership model aimed at environmental and social enhancement.
3. South Pennines Regional Park – an example of a prospective National Park taken forward as a regional park through a partnership approach.
4. National Landscape Conservation Board – an enhanced Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty model with its own governance and recreation duties, e.g. the Chilterns Cotswolds.
5. National Park – offering broader powers, statutory backing, and greater funding security.

The comparative analysis concluded that both a National Park and an enlarged National Landscape with Conservation Board were the only viable frameworks for managing the forces for change. The National Park being more robust due to its statutory planning powers, secure government funding, and proven management structures.

Please see the Management Options Report for full details.

Evaluation of Landscape Areas

To establish if there is a suitable and extensive tract of land meeting the statutory criteria for designation, we commissioned Gillespies LLP (in partnership with Ffiona Fyfe Associates Ltd and Countryscape) to undertake a detailed landscape evaluation. This involved extensive site visits and analysis of remote data which resulted in some areas, within the initial Area of Search being excluded and some areas added to create the Candidate Area.

Please see the Evaluation Areas Report for full details.

Candidate Area

The Candidate Area Report and map provided the detail for a proposed National Park draft boundary and formed the basis for the public consultation in 2024.

Please see the Candidate Area Report for full details.

Public Consultation 2024

We ran a 10-week public consultation in 2024, on the Candidate Area and received 1,960 responses. There was strong recognition of the qualifying criteria for a National Park although this did not always translate into support for designation. There was an approximate 10% majority of respondents in favour of a new National Park.

Key issues were broadly similar to those identified in 2023. Feedback informed much of the following assessments and triggered a review of the evidence relating to the boundary.

Please see the Public Consultation October – December 2024 webpage and the Public Consultation Report 2024 for full details.

2025 Statutory Consultation

The 2025 statutory consultation on the proposed Glyndŵr National Park (Designation) Order is now live.

To find out more go to the Proposed Glyndŵr National Park (Designation) Order - Statutory Consultation 2025 webpage.