A bit of background to the Valleys
The Valleys have traditionally been undervalued in terms of their natural beauty, cultural heritage and potential to attract visitors. They have the potential to offer far greater opportunities for outdoor recreation, heritage based and activity tourism than has yet been realised.
Existing assets and facilities have yet to reach their full potential as regards visitor numbers, and the consistency of standards is extremely varied across the region.
These are issues that the Valleys Regional Park will work to resolve.
The community
The Valleys Regional Park Community will support several community based initiatives that deal with anti-social problems such as litter and fly tipping which currently blight the landscape and discourage repeat tourism visits.
There will also be wide range of initiatives that will encourage economically inactive members of the community to participate in skills development schemes that will not only contribute to the sustainable management of the environment, but will lead to recognised qualifications, thereby providing local employers with an available skilled workforce.
Through community based activities, the project will support the work of our statutory service providers, particularly the Police and Fire and Rescue, by helping to prevent crime and disorder within rural, semi rural and urban fringe areas, as part of a wider community regeneration programme. The Valleys Regional Park will work to support exiting community development mechanisms such as the emerging Local Service Boards.
Raising the profile of the area
We believe that a Valleys Regional Park will also raise the profile of the area, and become a major destination asset. It has the potential to show people what a great place it is to live learn, work and play in. At a policy level, we hope to develop innovative approaches to social issues that will result in greater understanding of our environment and its connections to people.
This approach of developing environmental, economic and social aspects of South Wales can be seen as a contribution to the development of a sustainable region. Certainly at almost every stage of its development we have assessed the Valleys Regional Park for its sustainability using the Welsh Assembly Government’s Sustainability Assessment Tool. We plan to continue doing this.
