Diversity: Brecon Beacons aims to welcome more people

The Brecon Beacons need to be more accessible to disabled, disadvantaged and ethnically diverse people, new park authority members have said.

Four members from black, disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds have been appointed.

New member Yvonne Howard-Bunt said "not everyone copes with feeling different when they're in those spaces and being asked all kinds of questions".

The Welsh government said it wanted to promote "greater access to the countryside for all".

The new appointments follow research suggesting conservation is one of the least diverse sectors in the UK.

About 4.4 million people visit the national park in mid Wales every year.

The new members of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority said they wanted to make sure any future plans "represent all voices".

Yvonne Howard-Bunt, the first black female member of a national park authority in Wales, is an expert in racism, conflict, and community relations.

She said: "As I went to school I experienced being excluded and being marginalised and I turned to nature and writing about nature, so that informed the whole thread of my life really.

She said there were many people who did not see national parks as a place they could visit.

"People may not think it's for them. I know some people that feel very uncomfortable going out into certain rural spaces.

"I grew up in an all-white environment and I was always seen as different."

She added that she would also like to see help for those living in cities and built-up areas who cannot afford to travel to the Brecon Beacons.

Brecon Beacons National Park does have a guide listing places that are more suitable for visitors with a disability or impaired movement, but Prof John Hunt, a fellow new appointee, said he wanted to open the park up to more disabled visitors.

The explorer and geologist, who had a stroke at the age of 42, said: "I'm really impressed with the miles without stiles approach to creating paths for people who are using mobility wheels, but we need to see more of this and it needs to be better promoted.

"I'd like to see the national park here catch up with some of the pioneer national parks, like the Lake District.

"You can get out into really wild places despite having a disability - we want to get out and recapture that sense of wilderness.

"There are hot spots of good access but we need to increase that, we need to make more paths around rivers, through forests, up onto the moorlands, this is possible without damaging the environment."

Minister for Climate Change Julie James said the new appointments would help broaden out access to Wales' natural environment.

She added: "This is about reaching out to communities and making sure people know how to access the park.

"We want people to feel involved - this is a job anyone in Wales can do."