Trees: Powys farmer fined £15k over government scheme errors

David Mills planted trees as part of a government scheme, but was fined after being told some were in the wrong place

A farmer said he was given a £15,000 fine after some of the trees he planted in a Welsh government scheme were in the wrong place - some by a few inches.

David Mills, from Lower Chapel, Powys, decided to plant 13,000 trees on 20 acres of his land as part of the Glastir Woodland Creation scheme.

Earlier this year, Mr Mills was told he had contravened the original plans.

The Welsh government said it could not comment on a case which was subject to an appeal.

It added it had a "statutory obligation" to enforce the rules, but it was reviewing the current rules of the scheme.

Mr Mills's farm is in the heart of the Brecon Beacons

Mr Mills said he felt like he had "done his bit" to encourage biodiversity on his farm and tackle climate change when he planted the trees.

But he received a letter from Rural Payments Wales telling him he had contravened original plans - using satellite images as evidence - and that he faced a £15,000 fine.

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He said: "We'd planted the right number of trees, I'd got someone from Welsh government to plan and draw up all the diagrams. He organised the planting and a contractor did the fencing.

"I just assumed everything was correct. It's a ridiculous situation."

He said he had to borrow money from his son to pay the fine straight away, as it was accruing heavy interest, and that he had been unsuccessful in an appeal.

He said Rural Payments Wales told him the tree planting differed from the original plan, in some cases by as little as 10cm (4in).

Mr Mills has planted 13,000 trees on his 156-acre farm

"It's been horrific," Mr Mills added.

"I feel like I've been tricked and cheated, and the hypocrisy when you see someone [from Welsh government] saying 'we want to plant more trees' and this is the way I'm treated for doing what I thought was environmentally friendly.

"I want to increase biodiversity - I'm not doing it for any other reason other than I care."

Mr Mills said farmers should be supported, rather than penalised, for planting trees and maintaining them.

He said: "I would have expected a pat on the back, but instead of that I get a £15,000 fine."

His appeal has been supported by National Farmers' Union (NFU) Cymru, which said it is representing two other farms in similar situations but facing even higher fines.

Stella Owen, from NFU Cymru, said fines for farmers trying to do the right thing would put people off tree planting

Stella Owen, a county adviser, said she was concerned about the reputational damage to the tree planting scheme.

She said it was not just about the financial penalty as farmers found it "scarring" to have committed to the scheme and then feel like they have failed.

"That's no help to anybody, that doesn't deliver the aspirations of what Welsh government want," she added.

"That doesn't do anything for the mental health of the farmer and to all intents and purposes, it will just put people off.

"If they want that uptake, then there has to be more leniency in terms of a simple, robust scheme which can allow changes.

"There is absolutely no need for this level of financial penalty to be imposed five years down the line."

What does the Welsh government say?

The scheme was launched in 2015 with the aim of combating climate change, increasing biodiversity and establishing habitats for wildlife.

Farmers were offered grants to plant trees and payments to maintain them over 12 years, which feed into plans for a National Forest for Wales.

The Welsh government said: "Contracts can be verified by on-farm visits or the use of latest available aerial imagery.

"When the scheme verification shows the conditions of the contract have not been met, the Welsh government has a statutory obligation to apply European Commission rules concerning the recovery of payments and application of over-declaration penalties.

"We are committed to supporting farmers to create more woodland in order to tackle climate change."

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