Plans for new national park may be scrapped this week, campaigners say

Image source, Denbighshire councilImage caption, Ministers are considering whether to go ahead with a public inquiry to establish a new national park in north-east Wales

A campaign group says it fears plans for a new national park will be scrapped by the Welsh government this week.

An announcement is due about the next steps for the proposed Glyndwr National Park, covering the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley in north-east Wales.

The previous Welsh government under Labour said in March it would hold a public inquiry into creating the park after councils raised concerns about funding and planning rules within it.

The Welsh government, now under Plaid Cymru, said Constitution Minister Dafydd Trystan Davies would make a statement on the matter on Tuesday.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement, Gareth Ludkin, of the Campaign for National Parks, said: "We don't know what the statement is going to say on Tuesday, but we would fear that the government are set to cancel the public inquiry.

"What we are saying really is allow the inquiry to take place. The government can make a decision after that, but allow the full facts of the case.

"Because I think there's recognition that the consultation only went so far.

"There are a lot of outstanding questions and the local communities need to be heard."

Fourth national park could bring 'real benefits'

Published15 September 2025Plan to create new national park for Wales

Published20 November 2023Sarah Lewis, a farmer from Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Powys, said she opposed the park and was concerned it would push up house prices.

"These are young people who want to live within their rural communities," she said.

"They are Welsh-speaking. Therefore, if they can't afford to buy properties in their home areas we are going to lose not only the youth of our communities, but also the language of our communities."

She added: "They are going to have to buy properties perhaps over the border or outside our rural communities."

National parks policy is the responsibility of Rural Resilience Minister Llyr Gruffydd, but he urged people to oppose the Glyndwr plan before he entered government while Plaid were in opposition.

The constitution minister Davies will deliver the statement in the Senedd instead.

Creating a park – the fourth in Wales – had been a Labour manifesto commitment in 2021.

Plaid inherited responsibility for the inquiry when it won May's Senedd election.

An official process looking at whether the proposed area met the criteria for a national park was run by Natural Resources Wales between 2022-25.

In January 2026, the organisation's board voted to back the proposals and issued a designation order for Glyndwr National Park, named after the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales Owain Glyndwr.

All five councils affected by the park's proposed boundary said they had reservations, with several issuing a formal objection.

Bank cashier outed by holiday photos after stealing £13k is ordered to pay back money

We sold everything and bought a one-way ticket to take our three children travelling

'People use AI to avoid paying for school photos, but they don't realise the consequences'