Q I am concerned about the impact of a planned development on the Levels – can the Living Levels help?

The Levels partnership is a representative body of Statutory and Non-Governmental organisations, individuals and businesses who have come together to make the most of the Levels in terms of its restoration, promotion and engagement with communities living there.

Our programme of work has a key role in encouraging a landscape that will be richer in biodiversity and support more wildlife, be better understood, catalogued, managed, connected and enjoyed - a landscape that can weather change, is resilient and living.

However, the Living Levels partnership must maintain a neutral stance towards development proposals or any planning applications that fall within the Living Levels programme boundary. This includes housing developments, energy developments, and major infrastructure projects

While the Living Levels team can’t get involved and help directly with any comments on planning applications, we encourage those who are concerned about their local environment and heritage to engage with the planning process and make their voices heard. This includes Local Authorities, who play a key role in planning decisions and to whom comments should be directed, and partners who are statutory consultees or otherwise actively engaged.

> Click here for a guide to commenting on planning applications on the Gwent Levels

Q I am concerned about Fly-tipping in my local area, what can I do?

The Living Levels Black Spots to Bright Spots project aims to reduce the fly-tipping on the Gwent Levels and transform some of the areas blighted by fly-tipping. The project is taking a collaborative approach to addressing these issues by: helping teachers to educate students, raising awareness about waste disposal, constructing pollinator gardens at hotspot locations, and investigating incidents to catch, punish and deter offenders.

You can help by ensuring that if you pay somebody to remove waste for you, it is dealt with lawfully. You can do this by checking with Natural Resources Wales that they are a registered waste carrier and ask where they are taking your waste. If you don’t carry out these checks and your waste is fly-tipped, you could also be fined.

Ensure proper disposal of your household waste
If you find or witness fly-tipping, where ever it is, please report it to your local authority; they are responsible for dealing with most types of small scale fly-tipping on publicly owned land including roads and lay-bys.

Report fly-tipping to your local authority or through the Fly-tipping Action Wales website
NRW investigate the larger scale incidents of fly-tipping (generally those involving more than a lorry/tipper load of waste), incidents involving some hazardous waste and organised gangs of fly-tippers which have a greater potential harm to human health and damage the environment.

To report bigger incidents of fly-tipping, visit NRW’s Report Fly-tipping page.

For more information about the Black Spots to Bright Spots project, please contact info@livinglevels.org.uk

Q Why are Living Levels removing hedgerows from the Gwent Levels? Is this damaging to the local environment?

There are c.1200km of field ditches that criss-cross the Levels that should be being maintained by individual landowners. The variety of management practices and the timing and location of management within the ditches has led to the establishment of a rich variety of plants and associated populations of invertebrates.

The conservation value of these watercourses is vulnerable to neglect. Where management of bankside vegetation has not occurred for some time, the watercourse becomes overgrown, plant communities are lost and the flood storage capacity of the drainage system is reduced, which could lead to localised flooding.

The projects aim is to restore approximately 21km of neglected ditches (less than 2% of all ditches) and re-introduce willow pollarding to maintain their longevity in the landscape. Pollarded willows support many species and their lack of management is dangerous, can cause flooding issues when blocking ditches. They are also a key landscape feature of the Gwent Levels, so restoration is in keeping with the character and identity of the area.

When we identify a possible ditch that needs restoring, we undertake significant ecological surveys to check for any protected species which helps inform if it is suitable to restore. In addition, all works take place during the autumn and winter to avoid disturbing nesting birds and other wildlife.

Whilst it is understandable that some people may find the work destructive in the short term, it is incredibly important to supporting the rare wildlife found on the Gwent Levels in the long term. From the monitoring work following habitat works, we can already see that watercourses are supporting more plants and animals.

This management is improving the biodiversity value of the Gwent Levels, benefiting the SSSI, and will restore the landscape’s traditional mixed mosaic character, particularly by opening up again the areas which have become shaded and dry.

> Click here for more information about ditch management on the Levels

Q I need to report a pollution incident on the Gwent Levels, what should I do?

Pollution and environmental incidents are reported to:
Natural Resources Wales Incident Hotline - 0300 065 3000