NEW rules aimed at protecting listed buildings, monuments, parks and gardens and other historic sites in Gwent and across Wales could get the go-ahead today.

AMs will vote on the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill in the Senedd today, Tuesday, which includes a number a new measures giving ministers new powers to put an immediate halt to unauthorised work to monuments and make it easier to take action against those who have damaged or destroyed them.

Local authorities will also have greater powers to act quickly to protect historic buildings from decay while a new statutory register of Wales’ historic parks and gardens will be set up.

The introduction to the bill set out how important Wales’ historic environment is to the country’s economy, employment, tourism and education.

“If the historic environment is a precious resource, it is also a fragile one,” it said.

“A careless or unwitting act can destroy or irreparably damage a site that has survived for centuries, even millennia.

“Even small changes, seemingly insignificant in themselves, can gradually accumulate to erode and eventually obscure the historic nature of a venerable building or even an entire area.

“Such losses impoverish our surroundings, threatening the richness and variety of the historic environment that contributes to the individual distinctiveness of Wales’ communities and proves so attractive to visitors.”

There are currently more than 4,000 sites in Wales designated as monuments of national importance, ranging from medieval castles to Cold War-era military structures.

Between 2006 and 2012 there were 119 recorded case of damage to monuments in Wales, but only four were reported to police and just one offender was successfully prosecuted.

The bill – which can be seen at gov.wales – will also set up an independent panel to advise on policy around the historic environment.

Today's meeting can be watched live at senedd.tv.