‘Over the last year, we have been working with the South Wales Outdoor Activity Providers Group (SWOAPG) who have prepared draft educational materials to support Concordat management arrangements. These were shared with key stakeholders and well received. I would like to extend my thanks to SWOAPG for their hard work in putting together the information materials.

Since then, we have regrettably had to place the Concordat (as a basis for travel downstream of Glasbury Bridge to Hay on Wye) on hold, as agreement has not been reached around the matter of water level indicators. We understand that this remains important to some of our key stakeholders. However, a water level indicator is not considered to be a viable environmental measure for protection of the features of the Special Area for Conservation, so a more targeted ‘closed season’ approach was suggested instead.

The Council is looking at options to reinstate a limited level of canoe access from the common, for activity that does not have impacts downstream of Glasbury Bridge. This does still need to be supported by an appropriate Habitat Regulations Assessment and environmental mitigation measures. I will let you know when we have been able to achieve that; in the meantime, we remain unable to permit launching from Upper Glas-y-Bont common’.