abstract:The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commission, was established in 1949 by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 to co-ordinate government activity in relation to National Parks.
Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM for Dwyfor Meirionnydd asked how the minister would ensure that activity would continue in the transition period of merging the Forestry Commission, Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency into a new single environmental body.
The decision to bring together the Environment Agency Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) has received mixed reactions from the opposition parties.