New consultation will ask local communities to share their views on commemorative woodland site at Brownhill.

Following on from my previous correspondence on 4 February, I am writing to inform you about a consultation Natural Resources Wales is undertaking, to seek people’s views for the design of the new commemorative woodland site at Brownhill in the Tywi valley. 

As you will be aware, the site at Brownhill has been confirmed as one of three planned locations for memorial woodlands in Wales, which were announced last month by the First Minister Mark Drakeford. The ambition is for the woodlands to be seen as a symbol of Wales’ resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic and one of regeneration and renewal as they grow. 

The purpose of the consultation is to allow us to seek feedback from local communities and partners on the plans for the woodland to help shape the design and ongoing management for the future. 

The consultation will also ensure any potential impacts on the surrounding area are considered and offer the opportunity for people to put forwards ideas on how they can be involved with the planning process. 

As part of the consultation, we will also be holding a community drop in event for residents to attend and speak with staff, on the 9 March at Llangadog village hall between 12:00m -7:00pm.  

The new woodland will form part of the Welsh Government Woodland Estate which is managed by NRW on behalf of Welsh Government, and the National Forest for Wales. 

The site will be planted to ensure the new woodland is diverse and resilient to the impacts of pests, diseases, and climate change and will create habitat connectivity in the landscape, due to surrounding woodland, mature hedges, and veteran trees.

It is also flat, and therefore creates the opportunity for creating fully accessible trails.

We would be grateful if you could help raise awareness of the drop in event and consultation with your constituents and encourage them to participate. 

You can view the consultation link here: Woodland Creation at Brownhill – Natural Resources Wales Citizen Space – Citizen Space (cyfoethnaturiol.cymru)

You can view our project page here: https://ymgynghori.cyfoethnaturiol.cymru/communications-cyfathrebu/wales-commemorative-woodlands

We intend this to be just the beginning of our consultation, and there will be other opportunities over the spring and summer to help plan and shape this site. There is an option on the online consultation for you to provide contact details so we can keep you updated.