£1 tenant found for £1m Parc Farm on Great Orme

A tenant has been found for a £1m farm who will pay £1 a year rent to look after it and its "fragile" landscape.

The National Trust will hand the keys to Parc Farm on the top of Great Orme, near Llandudno, Conwy county, to 38-year-old Dan Jones from Anglesey.

It stepped in to protect the land last year as it was on sale as a potential site for a golf course.

The site has rare habitats and species - some of which the charity said existed nowhere else on Earth.

"I couldn't quite believe it when I got the call to say I was successful. I was in shock," said Mr Jones.

"My wife Ceri, son Efan and I are just super excited. This opportunity will change our lives.

"Y Parc is a dream farm, it is such a beautiful location, the views are amazing and I'm really looking forward to farming in a different way to make a difference for nature.

"With the tenancy at just £1, it allows us to be able to farm far less intensively, focus on improving the habitats, share more of what we'll be doing with visitors and still produce great food."

This is not the first time Mr Jones, who farms 1,000 sheep on Anglesey, has won a National Trust search.

Two years ago, he was given the role of support shepherd on the slopes of Snowdon for the National Trust.

William Greenwood, National Trust general manager, said: "All applicants had to show how they could make the farm work with a clear vision and business plan, and explain how they could use their knowledge and experience to implement a specific grazing regime as a written application.

"These applications were measured against a strict set of criteria and only the top seven were shortlisted for interview."

The best candidates then faced practical assessments and had to do presentations in front of a panel.

Mr Greenwood added: "We are convinced that in Dan and Ceri, we found that elusive combination of skills and experience we were looking for, and have a couple who view a productive farm as one which maintains healthy wildlife and encourages visitors to act for nature, as well as produce good, healthy food."