Green Man: Talks with government to lease farm site begin

Talks to lease a farm bought with £4.25m of taxpayers' money are starting between the Welsh government and the Green Man festival.

Opponents criticised the decision to buy Gilestone Farm, in Powys, last March without a full business plan.

The organisers of the music festival want to host smaller events and food businesses there.

Ministers have announced the next stage of the process, but Conservatives said it showed there was no agreed plan.

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In a written statement, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething, who signed off on buying the farm, said Green Man would be allowed to survey it and formal commercial lease negotiations would start.

A "full and final options appraisal" will be prepared by civil servants before he makes a final decision.

In the meantime, the farm's previous owners are still there as tenants.

The annual festival will stay at its current site on the Glanusk Estate, six miles away near Crickhowell.

Instead, the business behind it is "looking to create a new 'sustainable rural enterprise'" at Gilestone, creating 38 jobs, Mr Gething said.

Weddings and other, smaller events will be held there. It will also continue working as a farm and be a base for food production.

Green Man is one of five large outdoor independent festivals in the UK

Mr Gething said Green Man made a "significant contribution to the local economy" and backing it met the goals of the Welsh and UK governments' Mid Wales Growth Deal.

"It is important we support interventions that take forward the shared ambitions set out in the deal to help the fast-moving creative sector develop and thrive in Wales," he said.

Green Man boss Fiona Stewart welcomed "the Welsh government's support for our Gilestone Farm business plan".

"We will now be working at pace with the government, Powys Council and others to ensure the plans for the farm meet all the necessary requirements so we can get the project up and running," she said.

"In parallel, we will also be starting a conversation with the wider local community on our plans and the exciting opportunities they offer for Powys and mid Wales."

Conservative MS James Evans said: "The Labour government has spent millions without a full, open tendering process.

"Public funds must be spent with care and due diligence, the money wasted on purchasing the farm could have been better spent on our Welsh NHS."

Plaid Cymru's Mabon ap Gwynfor said: "This shows quite clearly that no plan was in place prior to the Labour government hastily purchasing the farm.

"If the government's plan is for the private use of this asset then it should be done via an open and competitive tendering process, not what looks from the outside like a mates rates."