Brecon Beacons: Staff under intolerable pressure - union

Brecon Beacons

Staff at one of Wales' most popular tourist attractions have been working under "intolerable pressure" and are short on staff, according to a union.

The Brecon Beacons attracts thousands of visitors a year but those who run and maintain it have been left overstretched, Unison said.

Its claim follows a critical report against the authority running the area.

Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA) said "a new chapter" had begun after "a very challenging" time.

The authority describes its remit as protecting the park's natural beauty, helping visitors to enjoy it, and fostering the "wellbeing of local people".

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It employs about 130 people, including wardens, visitor and tourist information assistants, planners, community development officers and support staff.

But the Audit Wales review earlier this year found workers felt "overwhelmed".

The auditor also said there were "significant governance problems" as the authority faced big challenges like reversing environmental decline.

The report said "many" members and staff highlighted the "personal toll of working within the authority and referenced difficulties sleeping, ongoing stress and worry".

The auditor identified a "growing inertia" and a "fear of doing the wrong thing".

Unison's Darron Dupre is calling for improvement at the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority

The report claimed fear "can often result in a delay in information being presented at formal meetings, or meetings themselves being cancelled, leading to decision making increasingly grinding to a halt".

The auditor also observed senior staff "continue to leave the authority" meaning "organisational knowledge and experience" are reduced.

Darron Dupre, from Unison, said the report, which was released in March, portrayed a "dysfunctional board".

'Not sustainable'

He said: "The staff have been very much the victims in all of this, numerous people have left.

"It's also had a very profound impact on people's mental health, stress and worry."

Mr Dupre said he was "really hopeful" the new senior leadership would turn things around and said the Welsh government should consider whether the authority has enough funding.

"Currently it's overstretched, a lot of people working overtime and working over and above what they should be doing," he added.

"It's not sustainable."

The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority has a new leadership team in place

Audit Wales has been monitoring the authority's progress in implementing its "change programme", a restructure which began in 2019.

It was part of an effort to improve the park's environmental condition, help it adapt to climate change and transition to a "low carbon economy."

The auditor said it was clear "drastic action" was required to reverse the decline of the park's environment, ecology and biodiversity.

And the plan was also an attempt to improve the way the authority was run.

The BBNPA is made up of 18 members, including six Welsh government appointees and 12 local councillors, plus a corporate management team led by the chief executive.

Audit Wales said the model is working well at the Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia National Park authorities, but not in the Beacons where members "often have very different views on their roles".

The auditor said those differences "undermine decision making and governance of the authority".

'A very challenging period'

Brecon and Radnorshire MS James Evans said: "We have had problems for years.

"People locally [are] feeling the national park is neglecting them, neglecting things like agriculture, our business community, the planning element of the national park."

A spokeswoman for the authority said it had "withstood a very challenging period" and was now "entering a new chapter".

"A new senior team has been appointed and the stability this is providing has enabled our dedicated staff to pursue our aims with renewed vigour," she said.

"We aim to be at the forefront of tackling the climate and nature emergencies, while delivering for the people who live in, work in, and love the park.

"At the heart of all we do are our staff with their passion shining through in all areas of our work."

The Welsh government said it was "working closely" with the BBNPA to "return it to operational effectiveness".

You can see more on this story on Wales Live on the iPlayer.

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