The Club's submission to the BBNP in support of the continued use of Hatterrall Hill for hang gliding & paragliding.

The Club‘s Case

In 1996 the SE Wales Club was invited to submit its case for continued access to Pandy.

During a meeting held between Club representatives and members of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, the following submission was made in support of continued use of Hatterrall Hill for quiet airsports. The meeting was also attended by an Officer from the Sports Council for Wales.

Hang Gliding and Paragliding at Pandy A Submission to the Brecon Beacons National Park Committee Hang Gliding and Paragliding are sports in which UK pilots excel world wide. Judy Leden, seen recently on BBC Television‘s "How do they do that", has been World Champion twice. Earlier this year the British team (which included a SE Wales Club pilot from Cwmbran) won the American Cup. The UK is a major designer and manufacturer of hang gliders, with one company which specialises in manufacturing training gliders based locally at Longtown. The image of hang gliding has been chosen by the Wales Tourist Board to promote Wales in their recent high profile advertising, with one poster depicting Hang Gliders flying over Llanthony Abbey. The sport attracts participants from a wide cross section of society, including Doctors, Teachers, Airline and Military Pilots, and Local Government Officers. There are around 7,000 hang glider and paraglider pilots in the UK, who are members of the British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association. Every BHPA member currently has £1,000,000 third party insurance. This will shortly be increased to £2,000,000. The BHPA is recognized by the Civil Aviation Authority as the governing body for the sport. The Club supports the National Park‘s view that quiet airsports, such as hang gliding and paragliding, are appropriate activities within the National Park. Pandy has been regularly flown now for around twenty years. Pandy is a site of National significance, having one of the longest ridges in the UK. The site is only used when the wind is approximately ENE, and of a suitable strength, with good visibility, and a suitable cloudbase. During the winter months the level of use drops off considerably, especially in the week when most pilots are at work. The Club exercises additional controls on its activities at Pandy through the medium of self imposed site rules. These include agreed parking arrangements on private land at the top and bottom of the hill, a one way traffic system, and a negotiated bottom landing field. In addition the Club has sought to reduce traffic by encouraging pilots to share transport wherever possible. The Club has also been instrumental in the provision of a Weather Station at Bryn Bach Park which started operating in July of this year. This has enabled pilots to check on local weather conditions prior to setting out, and has thus reduced unnecessary trips to site. The Club‘s own figures suggest that on average over the last three years there have only been around 11 to 14 days per year when Pandy attracted significant numbers of pilots. The Club The SEWHG&PGC has around 350 members, of whom approximately 113 live in Wales. Members of the SEWHG&PGC have been flying in SE Wales since 1973. The Club has around 17 flying sites in SE Wales. The SEWHG&PGC currently has agreements with a number of landowners including the National Trust, and Llanover Estates, and shortly hopes to conclude an agreement with the Countryside Council For Wales. The SEWHG&PGC also has a number of verbal and written agreements with farmers, including several within the National Park. Throughout protracted negotiations with the National Park the Club has behaved responsibly, and has reluctantly accepted certain restrictions (as laid down in the proposed agreement) in an effort to assist the National Park. The Club was pleased to receive assurances from the National Park (minuted at the last ARAG meeting) that the National Park would not seek to further restrict the Club‘s activities beyond those restrictions already agreed. The Club is confused by current proceedings as it believed that agreement in principal had already been reached. The Club thanks National Park Committee Members for this opportunity to explain its activities.

Unfortunately this submission had little impact upon the final outcome of the negotiations.