Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has called on Welsh Government Ministers to do more to protect Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty following reports of motorcyclists causing damage on Moel Famau in Denbighshire.
Having already raised the matter with North Wales Police and Denbighshire County Council, Darren has now urged the Welsh Government to take action.
Raising the matter in a recent meeting of the Welsh Parliament, he said:
“Can I call for a statement from the Welsh Government Minister with responsibility for designated landscapes about what action is being taken to protect those landscapes from erosion as a result of off-road vehicles accessing them?
“We have particular problems on Moel Famau at the moment, in my own constituency, where motorcyclists and others seem to be accessing the footpaths, causing a lot of erosion, damage to vegetation and subsoil. And of course, this is not just in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which we hope will be designated as a National Park in the not-too-distant future, but it's on the all-important Offa's Dyke footpath as well, which is a scheduled monument.
“It's unacceptable. We need to do more work to address this problem on a co-ordinated basis, and I wonder what action the Welsh Government might be able to take. If you could bring forward a statement, I'd be most grateful.”
Responding, the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Lesley Griffith MS, said she will have a discussion with the Minister for Climate Change, as the issue cuts across both their portfolios.
Speaking after the meeting, Darren said:
“These motorcyclists are causing extensive damage, with their tyres removing the subsoil and rock in some parts.
“As well as raising this problem in the Senedd, I have also been liaising with Denbighshire County Council and North Wales Police. Over the course of the Summer, the police ran a couple of successful operations in the South of the County which involved Natural Resources Wales and Denbighshire County Council, and they are hoping to do similar in the area of the Clwydian Range, which I welcome. They are also looking into longer term solutions.
“We are extremely fortunate to have an AONB here in Denbighshire and it is vital that we protect it.”
