Outdoor adventure centre plans in Pembrokeshire quashed over wildlife concerns

The ruling means that planning permission for the outdoor centre will be quashed, after Wild Justice successfully argued the application failed to adequately disclose information on how the development would impact local wildlife.

The legal challenge contested plans from outdoor activities company Adventure Beyond to convert an old bus depot in the village of Moylegrove into an outdoor centre.

Local campaigners and Wild Justice raised concerns that the extra coasteering (activities such as wild swimming, coastal cave exploration and cliff jumping) and tourist activity would be detrimental to wildlife.

Ceibwr Bay sits within a Special Area of Conservation in Cardigan Bay. Its cliffs are home to numerous species of bird, and its sea caves are recognised as a pup rearing area for grey seals.

However, the plans were granted planning permission by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) in October 2024, with Wild Justice filing a judicial review challenge to the decision shortly after.

In the challenge, the group argued that key information about the impacts of the development on wildlife had not been made available to the PCNPA or public before the decision was made, and that the assessments of development’s impact on wildlife were flawed.

The challenge was granted permission in April 2025, before being heard in the High Court in June.

In the ruling handed down on 5 September, quashing the decision to grant planning permission, a judge ruled in Wild Justice’s favour on the following grounds:

• There was a failure to disclose a report from Natural Resources Wales surveying breeding birds, which breached requirements of fairness in the decision-making process.
• There was a failure to consider the effect of the development on the Aberath-Carreg Wylan Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which is home to species such as the chough bird.

The community in Moylegrove were initially assisted by the Environmental Law Foundation.

Chris Packham, director at Wild Justice, said:

“An important victory for wildlife and biodiversity can be seen here, ably assisted by a brilliant local campaign, Wild Justice and our fabulous legal team. Fun is fine - but not when it endangers important and diminishing populations of birds and mammals. This proposal was flawed, improperly presented and thus ill considered. I hope this is a sign that the UK is waking up to its responsibilities to properly protect nature and sensibly mitigate against destroying it when clear alternatives are possible. It should also empower communities everywhere to recognise that they have the power to stand up and say ‘no’. Let’s hear it for the Razorbills, Guillemots and Gulls!”

Bob Elliot, CEO at Wild Justice, said:

“This judgment is a huge win for Ceibwr Bay’s wildlife and the community who have fought so hard to protect it for over a decade. The law is clear, decisions that threaten our most precious places must be based on sound evidence, not missing facts and flawed assessments. Ceibwr Bay is irreplaceable. Today’s ruling sends a powerful message: our protected sites deserve more than a rubber stamp; they deserve real protection.

“Wild Justice would like to thank our brilliant legal team Ricky Gama, Julia Eriksen and Carol Day at Leigh Day and David Wolfe KC at Matrix Chambers and Barney McCay at Landmark Chambers.”

Leigh Day partner Ricardo Gama, who represents Wild Justice, said:

“Our clients are delighted to have been able to support the community in Moylegrove to have this planning permission quashed. It was clear after the community approached Wild Justice that the wildlife impacts of the development hadn’t been properly looked at, which is why they instructed us to bring a claim for judicial review.

“While Wild Justice supports people being given more opportunities to explore and engage with wildlife and the natural world, they believe that that can’t be at the expense of the wildlife itself. They hope that, in reconsidering the application, the national park authority will properly look at impacts to wild birds, seals and the other wild animals in Ceibwr Bay.”