Farming

NVZ rules driving family farms out of business

Published

5 years ago

May 6, 2021

GLAMORGAN beef and sheep farmers Richard Walker and his partner Rachel Edwards run Flaxland Farm – a 120-acre beef and sheep holding just outside of Barry, Glamorgan. The couple say they will have to give up keeping cattle if current Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations are not adjusted to incorporate recommendations made by industry stakeholder groups.

Richard and Rachel keep 35 breeding cows and 130 breeding ewes and are at the end of their tether.

“We’ve had a session with Farming Connect to see what we need to be doing, and it didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know, apart from that we have enough ground to cope with how much slurry we produce. So we wouldn’t have to export. But we would have to cover one of the existing yards, which is an awkward shape, plus cover where we scrape slurry to, and also put in a slurry store. Which we don’t have at the moment,” said Rachel Edwards.

“Judging on what the shed we had to put up recently has cost us, I don’t think we’ll have any change out of £50 thousand if we try to meet the requirements of the new regulations. 35 cows don’t bring in that sort of money. Where do you get that money from? And you still need to pay it back at the end if it’s borrowed. We’re looking at the kids probably still paying off what we’d spend. It would be far more stressful having to pay all that money back than getting rid of the cows.

“These regulations are going to have a huge impact on our farm business. If nothing is done to amend or annul what we are facing now, I’ll have no choice but to get rid of the cattle. Trying to comply with these regulations is just going to be too expensive for us,” said Richard Walker.

Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths announced the plans in a written statement in November last year, after which it became apparent that the majority of the plans had simply ‘been cut-and-pasted’ from the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) rules currently affecting just 2.4% of Wales.

While the Welsh Government announced in January that £11.5 funding would be made available to help farmers comply with the new rules – an allocation it had already announced previously in September 2020 – this represents just 3% of the £360 million the Welsh Government’s own impact assessment estimates the costs could be for Welsh farmers.

“There’s clearly nowhere near enough money to go around, and the total estimated bill is more than Wales’ annual farming budget.

“The margins are tight on lowland sucklers as it is. We’re looking at spending tens of thousands of pounds to comply. Is it really worth it?” adds Richard.

At Flaxland farm the muck gets spread on around 30 acres of fields in September when the fields are clear and it is left for a couple of months to rot down and go into the ground before being used as grazing for the new season lambs.

“It saves us using artificial fertiliser. It’s organic fertilizer versus the artificial stuff which is £300 a tonne. We spread the slurry over winter, it helps the grass grow and we can turn the lambs and sheep out early. The spring lambs have fresh good grass and it hasn’t cost us a fortune in bagged fertiliser.

“I look at what it does to my ground – new season lambs have lush green grass, a couple of inches tall and they rocket on it. We can produce 12 week old lambs ready for slaughter on grass and milk with no concentrate. Without it, the grass wouldn’t be as beneficial to the new season lambs as it is now. There would be a shortage of grass around February and March. The way we do things here works in rhythm with all the livestock and the environment. We also deal with the carbon footprint of our produce by selling our lambs locally to I.G. Nicholas butchers in Cowbridge, which means they have very few miles to travel from farm to plate,” said Richard.

Being the third generation to farm the land, Richard says the farming system hasn’t changed much over the years and pollution here has never been an issue.

“I have had the cows all my life, my grandfather used to milk and they gave up milking in the 60s, and then we have had suckler cows ever since. The way we keep them hasn’t changed, back then it was open yards and they were fed on a concrete pad and whatever was left was scraped up and went out. It has never been an issue and we’ve never had a pollution incident here. The river near us has been tested many times and never comes back with any problems.

“I, like so many other farmers, take our responsibility to look after the environment, including our waters, very seriously. We have always been clear that one pollution incident is one too many and those who are guilty of polluting our rivers and watercourse should be held to account. Not many will argue with that. But to introduce these regulations across the whole of Wales, which goes against the recommendations the Welsh Government has received from their own task and finish group, beggars belief and will see many small and medium sized family farms go out of the cattle business,” he said.

Farming

‘Poor decision’ New Creamston housing condition overturned

Published

6 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A “POOR DECISION” agricultural worker-only imposed nearly 40 years ago has been removed from a Pembrokeshire property by county planners.

In an application recommended to be approved at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County council’s planning committee, Tim and Cathy Arthur sought permission for the removal of an agricultural worker-only condition at New Creamson, Creamston Road, near Haverfordwest.

An officer report for members said the agricultural condition was imposed when the dwelling was built in 1988/89, with a later certificate of lawful development granted this year after it was proven the site had been occupied for more than 10 years on breach of that condition.

An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to stay at a development if they can provide proof of occupancy over a prolonged period.

Speaking at the meeting, agent Andrew Vaughan-Harries of Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd told members the original agriculture-only condition was a poor decision by planners back nearly four decades ago.

“When this application was made in 1988-89 we go back to the Preseli District Council – I was still in school – it was only a 50-acre farm, it should never have been approved as it shouldn’t have been viable.

“The current applicants have owned it for the last 20 years; they’ve tried to grow apples but couldn’t make a go of it and then went in to holiday lets. We can’t enforce redundant conditions from bad decisions made years ago.”

Approval was moved by Cllr Brian Hall and unanimously supported by committee members.

Business

Cwm Deri Vineyard Martletwy holiday lets plans deferred

Published

20 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

CALLS to convert a former vineyard restaurant in rural Pembrokeshire which had been recommended for refusal has been given a breathing space by planners.

In an application recommended for refusal at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Barry Cadogan sought permission for a farm diversification and expansion of an existing holiday operation through the conversion of the redundant former Cwm Deri vineyard production base and restaurant to three holiday lets at Oaklea, Martletwy.

It was recommended for refusal on the grounds of the open countryside location being contrary to planning policy and there was no evidence submitted that the application would not increase foul flows and that nutrient neutrality in the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC would be achieved within this catchment.

An officer report said that, while the scheme was suggested as a form of farm diversification, no detail had been provided in the form of a business case.

Speaking at the meeting, agent Andrew Vaughan-Harries of Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, after the committee had enjoyed a seasonal break for mince pies, said of the recommendation for refusal: “I’m a bit grumpy over this one; the client has done everything right, he has talked with the authority and it’s not in retrospect but has had a negative report from your officers.”

He said the former Cwm Deri vineyard had been a very successful business, with a shop and a restaurant catering for ‘100 covers’ before it closed two three years ago when the original owner relocated to Carmarthenshire.

He said Mr Cadogan then bought the site, farming over 36 acres and running a small campsite of 20 spaces, but didn’t wish to run a café or a wine shop; arguing the “beautiful kitchen” and facilities would easily convert to holiday let use.

He said a “common sense approach” showed a septic tank that could cope with a restaurant of “100 covers” could cope with three holiday lets, describing the nitrates issue as “a red herring”.

He suggested a deferral for further information to be provided by the applicant, adding: “This is a big, missed opportunity if we just kick this out today, there’s a building sitting there not creating any jobs.”

On the ‘open countryside’ argument, he said that while many viewed Martletwy as “a little bit in the sticks” there was already permission for the campsite, and the restaurant, and the Bluestone holiday park and the Wild Lakes water park were roughly a mile or so away.

He said converting the former restaurant would “be an asset to bring it over to tourism,” adding: “We don’t all want to stay in Tenby or the Ty Hotel in Milford Haven.”

While Cllr Nick Neuman felt the nutrients issue could be overcome, Cllr Michael Williams warned the application was “clearly outside policy,” recommending it be refused.

A counter-proposal, by Cllr Tony Wilcox, called for a site visit before any decision was made, the application returning to a future committee; members voting seven to three in favour of that.

Farming

Farmers Union of Wales Warns: Labour’s 5G Expansion Risks Rural Blackspots

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

FUW Joins Landowners in Urgent Call to Pause Controversial Telecoms Reforms

THE FUW (Farmers’ Union of Wales) has warned that rural communities face worsening mobile blackspots and farmers risk losing essential income if the Labour Government expands a telecoms policy blamed for stalling Britain’s 5G rollout.

In a letter to Digital Economy Minister Liz Lloyd, the FUW aligns with landowners, investors, and property experts demanding a halt to Part 2 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act 2022. Extending the 2017 Electronic Communications Code (ECC) would “entrench failure,” the group argues, sparking more stalled renewals, site losses, and legal battles just as Wales needs swifter rural connectivity.

The 2017 reforms empowered operators to cut mast rents—often by 90%—from hosts like farmers, councils, and NHS trusts. Far from boosting rollout, they’ve ignited over 1,000 tribunal cases since 2017, versus 33 in the prior three decades. Rural goodwill has eroded, with hosts now eyeing exits.

“Every lost mast isolates households, schools, and businesses,” the FUW states. “No public subsidy can fix this systemic damage.”

A survey of 559 hosts (via NFU, CLA, BPF) shows:

35% considering full withdrawal.
70% of expired lease holders facing operator legal threats.

Landowner Ted Hobbs in New Tredegar shares the pain: “My 1995 Vodafone lease was £3,500 yearly, renewed in 2010 at the same rate. It expired May 2025—now they demand a slash, backed by the Code. This is confiscation, not partnership.”

Labour’s push forward—despite earlier opposition and a critical consultation—ignores these red flags.

FUW President Ian Rickman adds: “Farmers hosted masts in good faith for rural connectivity. Punishing them with rent cuts sabotages Wales. Halt this now, restore trust, and incentivise real progress.”

The coalition urges ministers to reopen dialogue before deepening rural divides. Wales can’t afford more policy missteps.