Outdoor Leisure Activities

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:51 pm on 10 July 2018.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 1:51, 10 July 2018

I thank the First Minister for that response. A constituent who is a keen off-road cyclist has written to me from Kidwelly to complain that a large area of land near Merthyr Tydfil that is owned by Natural Resources Wales has been leased to a private company and trades under the name of BikePark Wales, as a result of which there's been a restriction on public access to that land. And I looked at BikePark Wales's website this morning, which says:

'Any rider caught tresspassing on the trails without a valid pass will be fined on the spot, this will be enforced by our marshalls.'

A rather dictatorial attitude to take in these circumstances. Can the First Minister tell me what's the policy on public access to Welsh Government owned land for the purpose of cycling and walking, and how this new policy of privatisation might affect the active Wales initiative by banning local people from free and unrestricted access?