Beacons Past, Present and Future
Historic Environment Action Plan 2023-2028
“The historic environment is the physical manifestation of Wales’ cultural heritage; a precious inheritance that we must care for and pass on to our children to love, cherish and enjoy”
Lord Elis Thomas (2018)
The Historic Environment Action Plan aims to promote the conservation, enhancement, celebration and shared understanding of the historic environment of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park for the benefit of current and future generations.
Designated a National Park in 1957, the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park contains some of Wales’ finest and most treasured landscapes. Despite their apparent wildness, the landscapes we see today are cultural landscapes, formed by thousands of years of human interaction with the land.
The landscapes of the National Park are living and working spaces, with our environments and communities subject to a wide range of pressures, including from development, agricultural change, demographic change, increased visitor numbers and great global challenges including the climate and nature emergency, social and economic inequality, pandemic and recession.
The historic environment has an essential role to play ensuring a sustainable future for our protected landscape, and careful management will be essential to protect the special qualities of the Park. Everyone who owns, manages and visits our ancient sites and historic places is responsible for helping to safeguard this precious resource. However, existing under-resourcing and capacity issues in the historic environment sector will be accentuated by the growing challenges facing us all in years ahead.
Working in partnership with colleagues, communities and visitors is essential in promoting the celebration and beneficial management of our heritage . This plan has been developed in partnership, to protect our Historic Environment and promote cohesion and alignment of the different groups and organisations working in the National Park.
It does not purport to encompass all aspects of work, but it is intended to provide a mechanism for helping to prioritise, deliver and monitor the conservation and celebration of our heritage. It is a working document, open to all who wish to contribute, and will be updated regularly.
It has been developed to sit alongside the Nature Recovery Action Plan as background evidence for the National Park Management Plan and will help the National Park Authority plan for the future. It has been prepared to help us look after the historic environment all around us.