What's the point?

In having national parks

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Stuey, they know where they can stick their bank
29/10/2005 at 20:05
This pipeline will be going through a part of the park that's not even promoted by the NPA to protect the ecological balance.

So if the authority can't stop a development such as this why bother having them?
Neil H
29/10/2005 at 20:22
From what i can see the government (or whoever controls the National Grid) has always had the power to overide the NPA's, so like you say they are a waste of time, they were created to stop the general public (people like us) from doing what it wants in the national parks.
Stuey, they know where they can stick their bank
29/10/2005 at 20:44
Thing is I can't see why it can't just along the M4 or A465 (esp as the A465 is in the process of extensive roadworks), wouldn't cost anymore and the distance covered would be roughly the same.

Still it might divert attention from the windfarms.

In my opinion the BBNP authority is not doing anywhere near enough to fight this.

So to the self serving memebers of the authority

Look Guys a satelite dish on A pub in Defynnog ain't an Eyesore, double glazing on a house in Talybont does not affect the local wildlife.

DO SOMETHING!!!
Mal Mawr
29/10/2005 at 20:53
Well said Stuey!
Parky Again
29/10/2005 at 21:51
dare you to show me where the gas pipeline on the south downs is. oh yes. there are nasty eyesore eight foot pipes coming out of the ground every so often.

for heavens sake, it's going to be buried. in twenty years time (or even less) you won't even know it's there.

of course, you could disrupt the main economic (and quickest route out of south wales ;-p) "lifeline" of a whole area instead.

wildlife! now come on. it will recover or create new habitats. hands up who doesn't think that motorway embankments weren't one of the main saviours of birds of prey...not to mention their food..and insects....and plants etc.
Professor Pat. Pending
29/10/2005 at 21:53

Unfortunately, the NPA are there to stop the small people doing what they like, not the government.

Stuey, if you feel so strongly about this, why not 'DO SOMETHING!!! yourself' and telephone or write to the BBNP or NPA.

Let us know how you get on.
Professor Pat. Pending
30/10/2005 at 11:34

That might have sounded a bit blunt, not what I intended. Just a suggestion of action.
IanG
30/10/2005 at 12:05
If it's buried, I can't see what the problem is.

As for the impotency of the NPs, so long as they have enough of a voice to ensure that the overall appearance isn't spoilt and that new developments conform to policies, then I think that's about as good as they can do.

Perhaps one way they can influence the project is to get some concessions for running the pipeline through the park. For example, for every £1 spent on above ground work, the pipeline company should donate £1 on the BBNP's project. So if a pumping station costs £2m, the BBNP gets £2m. This would minimize what's visible and provide income to the BBNP.
Mal Mawr
30/10/2005 at 12:07
Who said it's going to be buried?
IanG
30/10/2005 at 12:37
Para 1, sentence 2 of Dave's article ;-)
Mal Mawr
30/10/2005 at 12:47
Thanks. I'll look it up.
Ddyrchafedig Gyrrwr (Beic Modur)
30/10/2005 at 14:41
The A 465 heads of the Valleys road goes right thyrough the BBNP too and they are in the process of duelling it now.

Unlike the pipeline which is underground, this road will be a real eyesore, particularly in the spectacular Clydach gorge area between Abergavenny and Brynmawr. If protests could not stop this development which is very conspicuous, how on earth will protests about a pipeline which will be hidden at least, do any good ???
Parky Again
30/10/2005 at 16:51
isn't that road improvement part of the attempt to regenerate the valleys (lots of nice eu cash?). it will look much better than the old slag heaps that decorated the valleys.
notwithstanding mining etc. the obliteration of any trace of mining in the valley countryside should be applauded in making the valleys green again.
Mal Mawr
30/10/2005 at 20:05
What slag heaps? There are just one or two left now and they have been planted with trees etc. The rest have been removed or landscaped and the scrub that was everywhere around those tips when I was a sprog has now grown into swathes of mature trees.
I think a slag heap or two should remain, "lest we forget".
As for the A465, it's ludicrous that a main, arterial highway has remained single carriage for so long. It is a fast road and is notorious for the number of "heads on" that have happened over the years. At least when the "dualling" is completed it should be much safer.
Jim Chalmers
30/10/2005 at 20:44
Just to stir it a bit, a Norwegian national park is “a large, untouched or mostly untouched, special or beautiful natural area in state ownership or adjacent areas in private ownership. In national parks, the natural environment must be preserved. The landscape together with its plants, animal life and natural and cultural remains is protected against improvement, building, pollution or any other intervention”. (my translation of the Norwegian law).

That is more or less the definition most countries use for a "national park".

In contrast, IMHO, British National Parks are only there to take money from tourists. Otherwise, they aren't worth sh*t.
Richie S
30/10/2005 at 20:46
The gas line is vital to the country's energy future and is part of a huge economic development in Wales.
It just needs to be done properly. The fact it is underground makes all the difference.
For me it would be different if the parks were complete wilderness areas, but to me a lot of the time they just seem like another batch of farmland.
Jim Chalmers
30/10/2005 at 21:10
2but to me a lot of the time they just seem like another batch of farmland.2

Precisely
Parky Again
30/10/2005 at 22:18
macsen, exactly what i meant. you wouldn't know that mining had ever taken place in the valleys now.
give it time and nobody will know there's a pipeline there.
Ddyrchafedig Gyrrwr (Beic Modur)
30/10/2005 at 22:58
I agree with Parky on the net result of the hidden pipeline, however, the duelling of the HoV will result in the wanton destruction of the Clydach Gorge, which in addition to running through the BBNP, is also a SSSI too.

he duelling of the road is NOT to improve traffic flow, but rather to remove the danger caused by it being a THREE lane road and the associated dangers that causes.

A study was done which revealed that in terms of safety, it would have been better to REDUCE the road to two lanes.

It is ironic that on the stretch between Tredegar and Merthyr that has already been "duelled," there has been three fatal accidents, a spate of non fatal accidents, and the Police/safety partnership has increased it's revenue from speeders since it opened last year !

The other irony is that there have been very few hold ups on the road until they started the work. Contrast that to M4 which is a nightmare at rush hour times.

Regenerate the valleys ??

There is nothing left there to regenerate !

And, not all of South Wales was an industrial wasteland in the first place !
Parky Again
30/10/2005 at 23:35
well, regenerate is the officialese i think...well..they've been trying to do it since the 1930's.
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