[Politics] Green Man farm site should be sold, Labour MS says

[BirSaNN]

The Labour Welsh government has been urged by one of its own Senedd members to sell the farm bought for £4.25m to help a festival company.

Mike Hedges said ministers should never have purchased Gilestone Farm, near Talybont-on-Usk, Powys, for Green Man.

The acquisition was controversial after it emerged the Welsh government bought the site before Green Man submitted a full business plan.

The Welsh government declined to comment.

Last week Auditor General for Wales, Adrian Crompton, said ministers acted with "avoidable haste" to buy the farm, and that officials "did not keep a record of matters discussed" with the company in meetings.

The Welsh government said the auditor's report made clear the acquisition followed "appropriate processes" and was "value for money".

Officials have been discussing leasing the site to the festival company.

While it is not expected that the main Green Man event itself would move to the site, officials have told councillors there are plans to hold three gatherings a year for as many as 3,000 people at the farm.

Meanwhile the Welsh government has disclosed a report that says the flood risk at the site is "moderate to high".

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Ministers have repeatedly defended the project, saying it was necessary to secure the future of the festival in Wales.

It has caused a row with opposition politicians who questioned why the Welsh government bought it before Green Man had submitted a full business case.

The boss of the festival, Fiona Stewart, said the festival submitted an "extensive vision document" and said she would employ a local farmer to manage the land.

"I just don't think it's a good use of resources," Mr Hedges, Member of the Senedd (MS) for Swansea East, told BBC Wales.

"We've got things we can do with that sort of money."

"I don't believe the Welsh government should be out there getting involved in funding tourism projects."

While he said the Urdd and National Eisteddfod, which receive Welsh government subsidies, were "slightly different," he asked: "How much do music festivals dotted around Britain get from local authorities or the Westminster government?

"These people run it - they make money and they run it as a commercial venture.

"I think it's about time some organisations decided whether they were commercial or not."

Mr Hedges said the Welsh government "should never have got into it in the first place".

'Obsessed with tourism'
Asked if the Welsh government should sell, he said: "Yeah."

"If Green Man want to buy it, I have no problem with selling it to Green Man at the price we paid."

"One of my real worries in Wales is that we seem so obsessed by farming and tourism is that we don't seem to realise that they're not the industries that make you wealthy.

"We almost seem to have an economic policy that looks at Greece and says we can emulate that."

Meanwhile, the Welsh government has published a report from 2022 which says the overall flood risk for the site is "moderate to high".

"While the built area of the site does not appear to be at risk of river flooding, large areas of arable land could flood to significant depths," it said.

"As a result, crop yield could be lost during a flood event, with potential financial implications," the report said.

The document was published in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The same FOI request has disclosed two valuation reports - one by Knight Frank estimating the site to be worth £4.325m, and another from Powells which assesses the site's land, house and buildings at £4.25m.

The Knight Frank valuation details that the 241 acre farm includes a grade II listed farmhouse with seven bedrooms, a tented site, and community orchard.

Green Man was also approached for comment.

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: "Labour clearly cannot be trusted with public money and it looks like members on their own benches are coming around to agreeing."

link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-64574928