Gwent Levels Campaign

Robert Minhinnick

Sustainable Wales Cymru Gynaliadwy has joined in the long campaign to stop unnecessary development of the wetlands known as the Gwent Levels.

This is part of the extensive wetland areas south and south-east of Newport, and south of Cardiff. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Wentlooge’ or ‘Gwyn llwg’, or the ‘Newport wetlands’.

Ten days before Christmas, 2023, I went with writer and artist Laura Wainwright to explore parts of the ‘Gwent Levels’, at Uskmouth.

It was my first visit, although Laura is familiar with the place, sometimes taking her children walking there.

The area is increasingly threatened. Only in the last four years has the Welsh government rejected plans for a new extension of the M4 motorway through parts of these wetlands. The growth of solar farms is an increasing threat.

For our visit the weather proved raw and blustery, and we were based at the ‘wetlands centre’ at Uskmouth. We were both delighted to encounter immediately some of the very particular wildlife that inhabits the area.

I saw my first ever reed bunting, and Laura identified a heron on the Severn mudflats, and thus we are writing, painting and sketching our expedition highlights.

Our visit occurred at the same time as the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, especially in Gaza. Personally I found combining in my writing the situations in both Gwent Levels and Gaza, quite natural.

For Sustainable Wales I organised a public meeting with talks and readings at 7 pm, Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at ‘Le Pub’, 19, High St., NEWPORT NP20 1FW.

Chris Harries of the RSPB spoke about the area, and a representative of the ‘Friends of the Gwent Level’ outlined the growing threats.

The Levels continue to inspire a huge amount of art, writing, botany, science and general pleasure. Carol Richards, my sister, describes the area as like nowhere else in Wales she has visited.

For Sustainable Wales, I believe this very successful event indicates future developments for the charity.

Here we used our contacts, reputation and literary and artistic strengths, combined them with a national organization, and a body of concerned local people to promote an important issue.

This is totally in keeping with our recent works with the anthology, ‘Gorwelion/Shared Horizons’, and the suite of films. ‘Sleepwalking into Climate Change/Cysgu Trwodd Newid Hinsawdd’. Surely this is the future of the organization.

(Note, we will be combining both of the above works in Clwb y Bont, Pontypridd, October 8, 7pm.)

Apart from promoting the whole Gwent Levels issue, the event served as a launch of Laura Wainwright’s publication, “Coedcernyw”, about her first home in the Levels area.

She is photographed here by writer Marcelle Newbold. Also on stage were Alan Roderick, Lesley James (who also lives in and writes about the Levels) and Rob McKain, photographed by Laura.