What Is the National Park Authority?

Brecon Beacons National Park Authority

What is the National Park Authority?

The Authority has the following two statutory purposes and duty:

·  to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Park

·  to promote opportunities for public enjoyment and understanding of the special qualities of the National Park

·  to foster the economic and social well-being of communities living within the National Park

The Authority is made up of 24 members, 16 councillors appointed by local authorities whose areas cover the National Park, and 8 selected by the Welsh Government for their particular expertise. Together they make decisions for the National Park:

Powys 8 members Rhondda Cynon Taf 1 member

Monmouthshire 2 members Torfaen 1 member

Carmarthenshire 2 members Blaenau Gwent 1 member

Merthyr Tydfil 1 member Welsh Government 8 members

The Authority meets every two months at the Park’s HQ in Brecon.

How are decisions made?

The Authority (the NPA)

The Authority is made up of all members and it considers recommendations from officers on the following issues:

·  Setting budgets and objectives for the following year

·  Agreeing a committee structure

·  Appointing Chief Officers (Chief Executive and Directors)

·  Approving policies and strategies including the Local Development Plan and the National Park Management Plan

·  Appointing members to represent the Authority on outside bodies

Planning, Access and Rights of Way Committee (PAROW)

All members sit on PAROW which meets every 6 weeks to consider planning applications from the public. However, a scheme of delegation to officers exists which enables a large number of applications to be dealt with directly by officers. Such applications do not come to PAROW. PAROW also considers rights of way matters.

Audit and Scrutiny Committee

9 members sit on Audit and Scrutiny Committee (6 local authority appointed members and 3 Welsh Government appointed), which meets 6-7 times a year. This is the committee that monitors all the internal controls in the following areas:

·  Budgets

·  Performance

·  Risk

·  Internal and External Audit

·  Scrutiny

·  Health and Safety

·  Compliments, Complaints and Freedom of Information requests

Standards Committee

3 NPA members sit on this committee as well as 3 independent members recruited by public advertisement. Their role is to:

·  promote high standards of conduct by members

·  investigate any complaints delegated to it by the Ombudsman

·  implement and monitor the whistleblowing policy

How can I get Involved?

You can get involved in any or all of the following ways:

Attend a Meeting

All meetings are advertised on our website and are open to the public. They usually begin at 10.00am and can last from 3 – 6 hours. There is disabled access to the building and to the conference room and a hearing loop is available on request. You may be asked to leave the meeting if the NPA is discussing a confidential report.

Public Speaking Scheme

The Authority has adopted a Public Speaking Scheme for members of the public wishing to address a committee on an agenda item. To take part in the scheme please complete a form – available on our website or from Julia Gruffydd ( /01874 620400). Just return this form by 10.00am three days before the meeting. If you would like to speak in Welsh this can be arranged, but please notify us on the form. There are some further special arrangements for those wishing to speak at PAROW on planning applications to be determined, and you can read about these on our website or contact Ann Kinsey ( / 01874 620421).

Webcasting Meetings

The Authority is now webcasting its main meetings for a trial period of 18 months. This means that all committee meetings will be filmed and streamed live to a special website (www.breconbeacons.public-i.tv). Please be aware that if you are attending a meeting or using the Public Speaking Scheme you are likely to be filmed. You can choose to watch the meeting live from the comfort of your own home or you can access it approximately 48 hours later when it has been uploaded to the archive. You can select individual agenda items to watch, and even choose the speaker you want to hear. We very much welcome feedback on the webcasting during this trial period – please send your comments to

Scrutiny

The Authority carries out in-depth studies into areas of its work, involving members, officers, expert witnesses, other organisations and members of the public. These studies, known as scrutiny reviews, will be used to improve services, shape future policy and highlight the work of the Authority.

The Authority has decided to focus its scrutiny on two of its improvement objectives each year – these are areas of work that it particularly wants to concentrate on. From 2013 we will be publishing a list of our improvement objectives on the website and asking the public to ‘vote’ on which two they feel the Authority should scrutinise that year. The National Park Authority will take all views into account when making their final decision on the two topics.

We will aim to keep the website updated with progress on the current scrutiny reviews including information on how you can get involved, see www.breconbeacons.org/the-authority/who-we-are/scrutiny for details.

This is likely to be in one of the following ways:

·  Responding to a questionnaire in the press or on our website

·  Via a consultation process carried out with town and community councils or other community groups

·  Accepting an invitation to be an expert witness or part of a focus group or hearing if you have particular expertise in the service area

·  Letting us know if you would like to take part in a focus group on the service area

·  Letting us know what you think about the service area by

contacting the Scrutiny Officer, Lora Davies on 01874 624437 or email

Contact us:

If you have any questions about this leaflet please contact Julia Gruffydd on 01874 620400 or email

Plas y Ffynnon, Cambrian Way, Brecon, Powys LD3 7HP