Recreational, Sporting and Challenge Events in the National Park
The National Park has long been used as a venue for organised recreational, sporting and challenge events. The majority of these events involve walking, running and orienteering often involving large number of participants.
Some events of this type require the permission of the landowner as public rights cannot always be relied on to justify the running of the event. For example, on “access land”, that is, land where the public has access on foot as defined by Section 1(1) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/37/section/1) , the permission of the landowner is required because participation in the following is restricted:
- organised games;
- activities which are organised or undertaken for any commercial purpose
Both are included in the list of restrictions in Schedule 2 to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/37/schedule/2).
Land in the National Park is owned by a wide variety of owners. This includes, for example, the National Park Authority, Welsh Water, Natural Resources Wales, National Trust, private estates and individual landowners.
Should you wish to organise an event on land in the National Park, the Authority has prepared the following guidance which will tell you what you should and should not do, whilst organising the event. There is a wealth of other guidance available but this relates more specifically to the National Park.
The National Park Authority owns a substantial amount of land within the National Park. Details of its holdings are shown on this map and in this .shp file
Should you wish to organise an event on any of the land highlighted on this map please contact the National Park Authority by email –organisingevents@beacons-npa.gov.uk. In addition to the Guidance, there is process that the Authority uses to determine whether permission for your event will be granted or not. A formal application will be required and it will need to meet certain criteria and consider a variety of issues. Depending on the size of the event, a fee will also be charged. Small events will not attract a fee. The larger the event, the more complex the application requirements.
This process only applies to land owned by the National Park Authority. Other landowners may have their own processes.
The National Park Authority does not hold information on landowners within the National Park. It is therefore suggested that event organiser make their own enquiries if they wish to use land other than that owned by the National Park Authority.