Mid Wales Area Statement
Mid Wales is an area of diverse and historic landscape, with its own unique identity. Encompassing a large proportion of the Brecon Beacons National Park in the south, the Berwyn uplands in the north with the Cambrian Mountains forming a central spine through the middle. Hills descend to the rugged 50 mile coastline of Cardigan Bay in the west and its rolling farmland stretches across to the Marches borderlands in the east.
Mid Wales is an area covering about a third of Wales with a small population living in a number of small towns and rural agricultural communities, based in the local authorities of Ceredigion and Powys. The area has many different landscapes including the uplands of the Cambrian Mountains and the coastline of Cardigan Bay.
The loss of biodiversity is something we urgently need to reverse. This theme looks at what is needed at the local scale within Mid Wales to improve the resilience and quality of our ecosystems. Within this theme, we will explore how to better manage habitats to address the balance of biodiversity by improving how they connect. This will help us begin to address the nature emergency in Mid Wales.
Mid Wales’ landscape, character and culture is defined by farming and agriculture and it’s industrial past, which has shaped the way of life here for centuries, and continues to do so.
The natural environment of Mid Wales is one of the area’s greatest assets. Its rural character features remote uplands, mountains, coastline, reservoirs and borderlands, making it an ideal location to reconnect people with the outdoors.
Mid Wales is the biggest producer of Welsh timber. Forests and woodlands also offer additional benefits for biodiversity, conservation, recreation and well-being.
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. We want to ensure that everything we deliver through our Area Statement takes account of the climate emergency, forming part of our response to it.