Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 20 September 2017.
I think that the pertinent word there is ‘balance’. You’re absolutely right. You mentioned canoeists and anglers, and you mentioned cycling being allowed on bridlepaths. I have to say that, in some of the discussions I’ve had over the summer, they want to see a multi-use for these paths: they want to see footpaths, cyclists and horse-riding all on the same path; others don’t want to. So, I think you’re right: it is about a balance.
I’ve had representations around camping. You’re quite right: some farmers—I went to a farm up in the Snowdonia national park over the summer, where one farmer said, ‘There are 500,000 people visiting this park per year; I want to see as many people as I can on here’. Other famers don’t feel that way inclined. It’s absolutely about getting the balance right. So, certainly when the consultation closes on 30 September, we’ll be able to review the thousands, I think, of responses—I know it’s well up in the thousands now—that we will receive.