An innocuous series of public advertisements in last Thursdays Western Mail reveals the Welsh Assembly's true level of commitment to protecting the land and heritage of Wales. The Assembly have issued a series of certificates authorising permission for National Grid to compulsorily purchase areas of common land in the Brecon Beacons.
One of these areas is Mynydd Myddfai, in the heart of a Geopark and UNESCO World Heritage site.
Under the Government of Wales Act, responsibility for "special types of land", including common land, was devolved to the Welsh Assembly. It's curious therefore that senior Assembly officials and ministers, including pro-devolution Carwyn Jones, are denying these powers exist.
No less than 7 areas of common land lie in the path of the pipeline. Many of them are designated nature reserves and open access areas, important resources of tourism and recreation for their localities. The Assembly had the power to open public local inquiries into National Grid's plans, but as with all else, it has chosen to bow to political expediency and push these proposals through with a minimum of fuss and enquiry. At every bend and turn of this project, senior AMs, including so-called "Social Justice" Minister Edwina Hart, have passed the buck to the DTI.
Yet the Assembly's real powers are quite clearly laid out in internal memoranda put out to advise the Assembly's own Ministers and officials. It's curious that Carwyn Jones of all people - a barrister by trade - should choose to ignore these memoranda, and risk running in the face of the law in the process.
After all, he signed them.
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