Welsh Government purchase of prime agricultural land to plant woodland criticised

The Welsh Government's announcement on Friday last week of their purchase of 94 hectares of Brownhill farm in Carmarthenshire to plant a memorial woodland, has prompted rural campaigners to call for an urgent re-think of land use policy.

Brownhill sits in the heart of the Towy Valley, between the farming villages of Llanwrda and Llangadog and has until now been rented to farmers under a grazing and mowing licence.

While there are some rougher patches of ground in the mix, most of the land purchased by the Welsh Government is described by the selling agent as being "Towy Valley agricultural land and meadows".

It is also an area in the county where the shrill of one of Wales's most endangered species, the Curlew, has still been heard in recent years. The land was sourced and recommended for purchase by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which risks driving an even deeper wedge between the quango and local farmers.

Rachel Evans, Director of Countryside Alliance Wales said: "Whilst a Covid memorial woodland is a welcome proposal in principle, I strongly question why they have selected a predominantly productive agricultural parcel of land on the banks of the River Towy. This decision risks irreversibly changing the Welsh countryside as we know it to be."

The rural campaigning organisation has accused the Welsh Government of fuelling the ever-increasing cost of agricultural land and undercutting and outbidding local farmers whilst progressing with their wider "Woodland Creation Programme" under which this project falls.

Ms Evans said: "It is fundamentally wrong for any Government to step in and buck the trend, forcing inflated prices of agricultural land favouring forestry over food production and gives a strong sense of where their priorities lie ahead of the proposed Agriculture (Wales) Bill expected this year. It risks contributing to the fragility of rural communities- those who put food on our tables during the pandemic- by out-pricing any other interested parties who have farmed this area for generations and were no doubt attempting to secure a future for the next."

In contrast to their plans for Brownhill, the Welsh Government have worked alongside the National Trust at Erddig near Wrexham and will establish another memorial woodlands on the National Trust Estate there.

Miss Evans added: "Why then, did they not strike the same deal with the National Trust at Dinefwr in Llandeilo just 14 miles further west of Brownhill?"

Miss Evans believes that rural communities are growing increasingly anxious over the number of corporate companies seemingly buying up land to offset their carbon emissions.

In January, London based company Foresight, which had bought a farm with the intention of planting trees in nearby Pumsaint, indicated that they would modify their plans after a petition was set up by concerned residents.

She said: "We have been fearful for some time of large corporations following the trend of land grabbing farms in Wales to offset their carbon emissions. Now it seems that our own government- those tasked with spearheading agricultural policy- are possibly as big a threat.

"Tree planting projects while well intentioned, require very careful planning and must be carried out using the principle of the right tree in the right place. We urgently request the Welsh Government think very carefully about this and all future proposals. Local people must be part of any future consultation and evidence of engagement must be transparent".