Decision due on Model Farm application

Ted Peskett, Local Democracy Reporter

A major decision is due on controversial plans to concrete over a piece of land which has been farmed on for generations and turn it into a business park.

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s planning committee will today make a decision on whether or not they wish to approve Legal & General’s application for the business park, which is intended to support the aviation industry.

The proposed location of the development is for land at Model Farm, Port Road in Rhoose. Gethin Jenkins, whose family has worked and lived on Model Farm for generations, said the farm means “everything” to them.

He said: “The only thing I ever wanted to do was farm and we have taken great pride in farming the Model for all these years.

“My son has got two daughters and they just love it out on the farm. It is a way of life, and it has been a way of life for the Jenkins family for nigh on 90 years now.”

The original planning decision to grant the application back in July 2021 was quashed due to a lack of viability information.

Although the council will have a say on whether or not to approve the application, it is still subject to a Holding Direction from the Welsh Government.

This restricts the grant of permission until the Welsh Government decides whether the application should be referred to the Welsh Ministers.

Mr Jenkins feels the loss of the farm, which is used for rearing beef cattle and growing wild flowers to sell wildflower seeds, would be a blow to the whole of the Vale as well.

He said: “In current times, it is hugely important. With everything that has gone on with the war in the Ukraine, now is a time that this country should be looking to provide food for the people of Great Britain from within our own shores.

“Why take away a productive working farm that grows crops to feed its own livestock? It is very much self sufficient and any surplus goes on to help other farmers feed their stock or to provide basic essentials for the general public.

“It just seems crazy to take this away for a purely speculative development, which has been proven to be a non starter by two independent viability reports.”

Viability report

One of the viability reports, conducted by independent experts Avison Young, states in one section: “We think it is unlikely that this level of demand exists in this location.

“We are of the opinion that the take up rate proposed is unachievable as evidenced below.

“Competition from existing business parks and the recently launched Brotathan Development will undoubtedly have a detrimental impact on take-up.”

Mr Jenkins added: “We can’t just magic up some alternative ground to farm. They stopped making land a long time ago and people who are into farming tend to carry on farming.

“We can’t just say ‘well instead of farming 200 acres at the model, we will just go across the road and we will farm 200 acres over there’ because that ground is just not available.”

A Legal & General spokesperson said: “We remain committed to obtaining planning permission for the Model Farm site and await the outcome of today’s committee meeting. Job creation is now more important than ever, and creating over 4,000 new jobs must be seen as essential for the future of the Welsh economy.

“In addition to foretasted new jobs, the development will bring wider social and environmental benefits, including the transfer of 48 hectares of land to the Vale of Glamorgan Council to form an extension to Porthkerry Country Park, providing a significant biodiversity net gain.

“This is a plan led development, within one of eight Enterprise Zones designated by the Welsh Government. The merits of this development were outlined at the Vale of Glamorgan Council Planning Committee meeting last year, as a major opportunity for economic growth.”

The council’s planning committee will meet to discuss the plans today at 4pm.

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said: “The viability information in full has not been attached as an Appendix to the Committee Report, but it has been made available on the Council’s website for all Members to view.”

On the matter of a Holding Direction and whether the application should be referred to the Welsh Ministers, the spokesperson added: “WG have indicated that they are awaiting an updated report from the Council prior to making that decision.

“That means the application is again being reported to Planning Committee following the production of this updated report by officers. Committee Members will be asked to consider its contents and whether they agree with Officer’s recommendation for approval.

“Should there be a resolution to approve the application from Members, the Council would await a decision from Welsh Government on whether it should be referred to Welsh Ministers.