AM & MP CALL ON NEW NATIONAL PARK CHIEF TO USHER IN NEW APPROACH (Kirsty Williams AM )

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Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

AM & MP CALL ON NEW NATIONAL PARK CHIEF TO USHER IN NEW APPROACH

April 8, 2009 12:00 AM

Kirsty and Roger

Brecon & Radnorshire's Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams and AM Kirsty Williams have marked the appointment of Mr. John Cook as the new Chief Executive Officer at the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority by calling on him to develop a new, more open and locally accountable approach to the way the Park Authority operates.

Both politicians have been very critical of the way the Park has operated for some years and have called for members to be directly elected to the National Park Authority as a means of making it more democratic and accountable to local communities.

Commenting on the appointment of Mr. Cook, Roger Williams said:

" I wish him well and hope that his appointment heralds a new era of better governance and more responsiveness to the needs of the people and communities within the Park area. Particularly at this time of economic difficulty the National Park has a key role in helping to sustain local communities and the economy of the Park area and it will require leadership as well as an ability to respond quickly to the needs of those communities. Mr. Cook will have a key role to play in that process."

Kirsty Williams AM added:

" John Cook has a tough job on his hands and I too wish him well. I hope that the new Chief Executive will be able to steer the Park Authority in ways that will help rebuild the relationship between the Authority and the residents of the Park area, which has been shaken in recent times. Balancing the needs of local communities with the duties the Park has to protect the environment and landscape of the Park area is sometimes a difficult one to strike. I hope that, in all our interests, in this new era the Park can strike that balance more successfully than perhaps it has managed at times in the past."