The three-person independent review of designated landscapes in Wales has concluded that National Parks and AONB bodies should better understand their local economies and promote sustainable development. They should be empowered to be centres for enterprise and innovation and catalysts for development within their environmental limits. They should retain their separate identities but be collectively known as the National Landscapes of Wales. National Parks should also retain their local authority status and AONBs their flexible management models, but be set performance targets by Welsh Government. Full details are at http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/review-designated-landscapes-wales/?lang=en. Now the Welsh Government has asked Dafydd Elis-Thomas to chair another group that will explore the 69 recommendations and report its findings in 2016.

At the same time Welsh Government is advertising for members of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority at www.gov.wales/publicappointments.