03/28/2024

Wales News Online

Local & National News for Wales

HE’S prepared for a “rough time” at a public meeting about a Solva farm, but Cllr Bob Kilmister says he has no option to withdraw it from auction.

Cllr Kilmister will attend the meeting arranged for June 14 to attempt to save Trecadwgan farm from auction next month – a decision made in May 2018.

During discussions at policy and pre-decision overview and scrutiny on June 13, Cllr Kilmister said that he was not in a position to withdraw surplus buildings from auctions despite “11th hour” requests.

The majority of the farmland – around 70 acres – has been let, tracadgwan he added, and it is the buildings that are for sale. They require significant investment.

He added that other suitable options have been identified for the interested community group.

A task and finish working group has been reviewing Pembrokeshire County Council’s county farm estate.

It is a “large piece of work”, said Cllr Mike Evans.

“There’s so much work to do just in getting a background to it. We’ve been trying to get a handle on the estate and understanding where the authority are.

“They are valuable assets and we are trying to work on a way forward for the future for those assets,” he added.

Cllr Michelle Bateman said that they were more than assets, they were people’s homes, and an issue that needed to be looked at was the re-homing of farmers at the end of tenancy.

The working group will also take a closer look at diversification and how tenancy periods impact on the ability to make investments and returns.

Cllr Tony Baron said that the “elephant in the room” was the potential of a no deal Brexit to be “disastrous for farming communities throughout the UK” due to its reliance on grants and subsidies.

The task and finish group are due to meet again next month to consider how their farm visit observations can feed into the policy review and identify other areas for consideration.

Image: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk

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