Labour ministers in Wales sparked fury today after it was revealed they spent £4.25million of taxpayers’ money on a farm to play host to a music festival, only for the plan to be scuppered by a pair of ospreys.
The Welsh Government shelled out for Gilestone Farm in Powys in 2022 to provide a permanent base and spin-off site for the Green Man festival – because organisers did not have the money.
But last year a pair of the imposing fish-eating raptors set up home at the site 60 miles from Cardiff, the furthest south they have nested in Wales in 200 years.
Because ospreys are a protected species, a 750m restricted zone has been put in place around the nest.
In a written statement today, economy minister Vaughan Gething said that ‘the full commercial and charitable objectives of the Green Man Group, as set out in its business plan for the use of Gilestone Farm, can no longer be realised’.
But Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said: ‘Labour should explain why they wasted over £4million on a non-existent music festival when they should have been cutting waiting lists.
‘The only song and dance arising out of this farce will be from taxpayers who want to know why their money has been wasted.’
Last year a pair of the imposing fish-eating raptors set up home at the site 60 miles from Cardiff, the furthest south they have nested in Wales in 200 years.
The main Green Man Festival has been running from a site near Crickhowell in Powys since 2003 and regularly attracts crowds of up to 25,000.
In a written statement today, economy minister Vaughan Gething said that ‘the full commercial and charitable objectives of the Green Man Group, as set out in its business plan for the use of Gilestone Farm, can no longer be realised’.
The main Green Man Festival has been running from a site near Crickhowell in Powys since 2003 and regularly attracts crowds of up to 25,000.
Headliners last year included Spiritualised and Young Fathers, with Kraftwerk among previous bill-toppers.
Gilestone Farm, near Talybont-on-Usk, was not planned as a replacement site but an extra, permanent facility for the company that would have hosted smaller events with up to 3,000 people.
But the government attracted criticism for buying it before Green Man submitted a business plan for it.
Mr Gething, who is the frontrunner to become the new First Minister when Mark Drakeford steps down later this year, said the festival was ‘a great commercial and cultural asset for Wales’.
‘The arrival of the ospreys, and the presence of their nest, is a hugely significant development from a nature perspective, but despite the exclusion zone now in place at Gilestone Farm, there still remain opportunities for sustainable farming and economic development at the site,’ he said.
‘We are engaging with relevant partner organisations around the potential to develop these opportunities for the longer term. While we undertake this work, we will continue to manage the farm appropriately.
‘We are also extending the existing Farm Business Tenancy to allow conversations around future potential uses for the site to take place. The Welsh Government’s well-established principles for use and disposal of land and property assets will provide a basis for making decisions about the future of the farm. ‘
