Could I add my voice to those expressing the very obvious value that the people of Wales and, indeed, far beyond Wales, put on our great outdoors? It’s obviously very important in many ways to our country and we’re very lucky to have such an attractive landscape and, indeed, seascape. It’s obviously very important to tourism, to activity tourism as part of that, and to the general quality of life, well-being, and physical and mental health that the people of Wales enjoy, in part because of the value of our countryside, our variety of scenery and everything that brings to our daily lives. So, I don’t think any of us, or any of the people of Wales, would be in any doubt as to the value of our great outdoors and, as part of that, of course, particularly for today’s debate, the designated landscapes.

I think it is really important that we modernise our approach to these matters, as we’ve heard already, because important though the designated landscapes are, there is much that’s developed in recent years that values the sustainable development approach in terms of all of Wales, and, of course, there are many wonderful parts of our country outside the designated landscapes. I know it will be a major part of Welsh Government work, and the work of other organisations in this field, going forward, to understand that wider approach. But, nonetheless, of course, the designated landscapes have been and are recognised as being particularly valuable because of the quality of the landscape and the seascape and what they have to offer. That value applies to sustainable development and all the strands. So, it’s very, very important obviously for the economy, for social life in Wales and for the environment.

So, in that context, I do believe it’s very, very important that we take note of the concerns that we’ve already heard mentioned here today, and all of us have received a lot of communication expressing those concerns. Obviously, I think there has been, perhaps, some lack of adequate communication somewhere along the line for that level of concern to develop. So, I very much welcome what the Cabinet Secretary said about a consultation exercise from this point on, and I know many of the organisations have talked about the need for that to be a very full consultation indeed and to very much address this issue around the Sandford principle that, where there is irreconcilable difference between the purposes of making sure that we retain that natural beauty of landscape and seascape and also promote the enjoyment of our designated landscapes, where there is that conflict, then we ensure that retaining the natural beauty of landscape and seascape takes priority. So, I’m sure that will be an important part of the exercise moving forward, and I know the Cabinet Secretary will have heard what has been said today and the views that we’ve all received.

I also think that, in terms of Marsden as a piece of work, Llywydd, obviously it was very thorough and I think the process was strong, and it was clear and detailed. So, now when we have the further work that Dafydd Elis-Thomas’s group has produced, we see it in terms of, again, as I think the Cabinet Secretary set it out, building on the work of Marsden and looking at those pieces of work in totality, because Marsden obviously still has set the scene for the way that we move forward, and does have, I think, that clarity and detail and the process behind it that I think was valued, and still is.

So, I do believe it’s very important, Llywydd, that we give the fullest consideration to how we move forward. We do have the new legislation, the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, on how we manage our resources in a sustainable way in Wales; we have the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. They set the scene and they set the up-to-date context, but we also have this important work by Marsden and Dafydd’s group to take that forward and add to the context. But I must say that I do believe, in looking at the long-term approach that is so important to the well-being of future generations, that protecting our seascape and our landscape for future generations is entirely in accordance with the well-being of future generations Act, and I see no conflict between that at all. And I hope very much that what we see emerging from the various strands of work that have taken place, and will take place, is ensuring that we take all the bodies with a vital interest in these matters with us as an integral part of that process.