What is it?
The Valleys Regional Park is an exciting and dynamic initiative which will coordinate and drive activities related to countryside, tourism and heritage across the South Wales valleys. It is an opportunity for organisations delivering these activities to work more collaboratively, cross sector and cross boundary, towards a regional vision.
The overall aim of the project is to raise the quality of our assets and, in turn, to regenerate the reality and perceptions of South Wales. The Valleys Regional Park is unique as Wales’s first regional park, covering an area of over 200,000 hectares and is home to over 1 million people.
Where is it?
The Valleys Regional Park is located in an area which is nestled between the Brecon Beacons National Park to the North and the major cities of Swansea, Cardiff and Newport to the South. The "valleys" as they are known locally, is a distinctive topographical area defined by their hills and ridges, woodland and waterfalls and their population settlements often line the valley floor.
The Valleys were once world renowned for their role as a major industrial centre from the 19th century onwards. The time is right for economic, environmental and social revival.
What will a Valleys Regional Park do?
The Valleys Regional Park will facilitate better co-ordination in the promotion, enhancement and management of the environment, heritage and tourism across the South Wales valleys. It will raise the quality of countryside and tourism assets for the benefit of both our local population, and visitors.
It will encourage more activity walking, cycling, horse riding and mountain biking whilst encouraging greater understanding of our unique environment and the history that has shaped our landscape and people. It will engender pride in our local populations, whilst tackling barriers to use, such as fly-tipping, litter and vandalism.
The Valleys Regional Park project seeks to establish a new approach in the way the partner organisations work. Funding is being sought to establish a core team of staff to act as a catalyst for a more collaborative approach to delivering services across an area serving a dense population with varied interests. In this respect the project will provide the basis for economic and community regeneration of the Valleys based on the environment.
The Valleys Regional Park core team will be hosted by the Welsh Assembly Government Department of Economy & Transport, to compliment their traditional work in the infrastructure development. The Valleys Regional Park will work across both the South East and South West regions as identified within the Wales Spatial Plan and Making the Connections Boards.
