A series of meetings will be held over a controversial project to ‘rewild’ a massive area of north Ceredigion and the Dyfi Valley, including parts of the sea in Cardigan Bay.

The Summit to Sea project aims to create one continuous, nature-rich area “on a scale never before seen in Britain”, but has been criticised as “cultural imperialism” and has seen previous backers pull up over concerns from the farming community.

The area earmarked by the £3.4m project stretches from mid Wales’ highest area, the Pumlumon massif, to the Dyfi estuary on the west coast and out into Cardigan Bay.

Within five years it will comprise at least 10,000 hectares of land and 28,400 hectares of sea.

Organisers say that wildlife is under great pressure in parts of Wales, with 14 species at risk of disappearing altogether, and that the rewilding project will not only safeguard wildlife but also help “overcome economic difficulties” in the area.

A series of meetings in November and December will be held across Ceredigion and the Dyfi Valley and “will be a chance for people from across the community to share thoughts on how the project should be shaped”, organisers said.

Meetings will be held at the Morlan Centre in Aberystwyth on Tuesday, 26 November, from 4pm to 7pm; Borth Community Centre on Thursday, 28 November 4pm to 7pm; Cletwr in Tre’r-ddôl on Friday, 29 November from 3pm to 6pm; George Borrow Hotel, Ponterwyd on Tuesday, 3 December from 4pm to 7pm; Y Plas, Machynlleth on Wednesday, 4 December from 10am to 2pm; the White Lion Hotel, Talybont on Monday, 9 December from 4pm to 7pm; and Llanidloes Library in Llanidloes Town Hall on Wednesday, 11 December from 3pm to 6pm.

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