​1.    In February of this year, Ms Fiona Stewart registered a new business with Companies House called Cwningar Ltd, which is listed as being in the business of "Buying and selling of own real estate," and "Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate."  
Its registered address is the same as that of Green Man Festival Limited.
Welsh Government documents show that Cwningar Ltd is the business entity which was set up for the purposes of managing Gilestone Farm.
Is this correct? 
If this is correct will Cwnigar Ltd be sub-letting/leasing/renting Gilestone Farm to the Fiona Stewart’s Greenman companies? 
If Cwnigar Ltd are leasing Gilestone Farm to the Greenman companies what will happen to this lease if the Greenman companies are sold?  Will the lease be terminated as the whole reason for purchasing Gilestone Farm was to secure a permanent site for Greenman and not a festival site for Cwnigar Ltd?

2.    Could you confirm that Gilestone Farm will not ever be used as an extension to the Green Man Festival as stated by Mr Mark Isherwood MS in his audit of The Welsh Government’s Purchase of Gilestone Farm
‘the property acquisition was being progressed to support future expansion of the Green Man Festival.. because the current festival is constrained by the lack of available land to accommodate the number of visitors that could be attracted to the event. In our view, these statements suggested that increasing the festival’s visitor capacity was the primary objective’

3.    Will there be a clause in the lease which guarantees that there will be no more than three events a year and it will be capped at no more than 3000 per event as has been previously stated by WG and Fiona Stewart.

4.    WG have already informed Talybont Community Council about plans for a brewery and bakery.  It there plans for a shop and café/restaurant on the site.  

5.    When will the consultation with the WG, Fiona Stewart and the local residents from Talybont-on-Usk community take place, as promised in the meeting on the 17th November 2022.
       

These are questions for the meeting at Y Gaer

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1. there have been statements in the press by our local MS, james evans, regarding a lack of due process and unsuitability for greenman at gilestone, have you been contacted by him or his office for clarification? if so what was the result?
2. there have been statements in the press by our local MP, fay jones, announcing ‘that the concerns of local residents have been dismissed in this whole initiative’. have you been contacted by her or her office requesting a meeting to hear residents concerns? if so what was the result? 
3. as we have had extremely limited information of what is planned, making any affect on the talybont community speculative, do you feel that residents concerns have been heard? how many letters have you received and responded to from our community? 
4. one of the major concerns has been traffic, parking and the pressure events of 1-3000 will put on the infrastructure of the area. at our only meeting with fiona, when this issue was one of the first raised, she spoke of shuttle busses and traffic management to alleviate stress on an already busy minor road system. has this been explored in greater detail? if so what plans are being considered? How will it affect our community?
5. at our meeting with the WG in november, a question was raised about their large financial investment in the farm and cwningar and if they would equally invest in improving infrastructure in the surrounding village to alleviate potential problems they may encounter from a burgeoning influx of tourists. the question was passed to Haydn (the senior manager of business solution, economy, science and transport) to pursue. has this been further explored? what possible mitigation has been identified? is it an option? if this has not been pursued, then why? can it be explored in the future? any benefits of potential growth to the economy should be met with careful consideration for those who may be affected. 
6. at the november meeting, we were informed the wg would be meeting with powys and bbnpa the following week. were the concerns of the council raised at the meeting? how were they addressed and responded to? would it be possible to have a representative of the council as a stakeholder in future discussions to satisfy the ‘need to be heard’? 
7. you stated you would be pursuing your due diligence for the environment.  have you been refered to the planning ecologist at BBNPA? will a CEMP and bat survey be required? will an EPS license be required? what methods will be undertaken to prevent further phosphate pollution in the river? is the welsh government required to undergo these processes? Will cwningar be required to as lessees?
8. have you consulted with NRW about the SSSI/SAC river and protected species on the farm? Flood risk? Water management? is the welsh government required to? Will cwningar be required to as lessees?
9. have you consulted with cadw about the listed monument and building on the farm? is the welsh government required to? Will cwningar be required to as lessees?
10. According to a pronouncement by the government concerning GMF, “… is a  major employer in mid-Wales making a significant contribution to the local economy”. The evidence for the companies servicing the 2022 Festival was obtained by observation on the Glanusk site and is listed attached. With the exception of the taxi service  all the companies are based outside Wales. Of the 53 caterers, only 15 were from Wales.   what can be done to ensure the money from this ‘investment’ is actually staying in wales?

 

​1. We would suggest the Strategic Business Case, Programme Brief or Outline Business Case, Justification and Vision are not corporately sensitive and ask when these may be shared with the Community Council?
2. What are the desired outcomes from the investment at Gilestone Farm, and how will these be realised over 3, 5 and 10 years?  When will benefits be realised and by whom?  How will dis-benefits or adverse impacts be mitigated and managed through the investment programme?
3.  What are the governance arrangements for the management of public money at Gilestone Farm, and to protect the asset, environment and our community?  Will WG be willing to share the Risk Register in respect of this?
4. When will WG be sharing the Communications Plan?
5. How will the benefits of the investment by WG be tracked and measured?
6. What is defined within the Target Operating Model?  What does the future look like, how is it defined and how is success measured?

The above questions all relate to standard management ahead of a Business Case being submitted.  A Business Case would detail funding, costs project detail and management arrangements.  As we don't know what is planned, its difficult to raise specific questions.

Gilestone Farm 
Gerwyn Evans of the Welsh Government has arranged a meeting regarding Gilestone Farm on Friday 17th of March at 11am in Agair, Brecon. This meeting is strictly under invitation and Cllr Simon Baldwin has been invited to represent the Community Council. Other attendees will be Anita Cartwright as our County Councilor, Fiona Stewart from Greenman, and representatives from BBNP and Powys CC. 
Cllr Baldwin requested councilors to forward questions they wish to be raised at the meeting prior to his attendance. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

In a letter to the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee of the Senedd, Mr Crompton noted that the Welsh government had been in discussion with Green Man about potential sites for some time but he said "with more time the Welsh government could have undertaken greater due diligence before making any decision". 
"By buying Gilestone Farm when it did, the Welsh government accepted an avoidable financial risk, albeit one which officials have emphasised to us was, in their view, low and manageable," he says.
"And, in our view, if the Welsh government had concluded its consideration of Green Man's plans before taking any decision about buying or not buying the farm, the Welsh government's external communication of its actions could also then have been clearer."

He notes that the purchase was supported by an independent professional valuation but that "the Welsh government has accepted financial risks that would not have arisen if it had delayed a final purchase decision until after its full consideration of Green Man's plans, and the suitability of Gilestone Farm for intended future uses, had been concluded".
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The Welsh government said it welcomed the review.
"It is clear from the review that the acquisition of Gilestone Farm followed the appropriate processes, was value for money and is clearly aligned to our economic ambitions," the spokesperson said.
"Due diligence work continues on Green Man's detailed and comprehensive business plan which will conclude in the coming weeks. 
"No final decision on the future of Gilestone Farm will be made until the due diligence process is complete."

Gilestone Farm – 
​Matters arising from the validation of the UVCG survey by Cllr Burdon, Advice from OVW and the notice agreed by all Councillors which was posted on the Community Councils Facebook page and website 
 
The Clerk was asked by the chair to explain the item.
Cllr. Burdon confirmed that the community poll organised  by UVCG was verified by himself.
Following this verification, the clerk received inquiries regarding the independence of the Community Council in relation to this matter.
These inquiries were being made due to the fact the UVCG had stated on their website that the poll had been verified by the Acting Chair of the Community Council, Cllr Burdon. 
 
Cllr. Burdon has explained that the verification was carried out in a personal capacity only and not in his capacity as a member of the council. The Community Council  at no time had given Cllr. Burdon the authority to undertake this action on behalf of the Community  Council. 
Following his explanation, advice was sought from OVW, who advised that a retraction needed to be issued confirming that Cllr Burdon had carried out this verification, not as a member of the council, but in  his own personal capacity as a private individual. 
After this discussion had taken place, Councillor Moorman asked what the council could do to address the fact that  the UVCG had also previously tried to  indicate that they were working with the Community Council. 
In order to clarify the fact that Council is not and has never been working with the UVCG against the Green Man at any point , either in the past or at present, a proposal was put forward seconded and unanimously  agreed,  to issue a public statement that “the Usk Valley Conservation Group keeps making statements that are not true, regarding the Community Council. The Clerk said that the  Community Council had not yet taken a decision concerning its  position relating to the Green Man, as it is still waiting for the business plan to be published and circulated. 
Only following the publication and review of this document by the Council will they  then make an informed decision on their position.
In addition, it was suggested that the statement should indicate that any persons or any organisations currently trying to suggest that they are working with the Council against the Green Man are in fact incorrect.
The  draft statement to be circulated to all Councillors for agreement prior to it being published on the Community Council Website and Facebook page. 
 
The Community Council awaits a date to meet with Welsh Government to discuss the business plan.

Message from Talybont-on-Usk Community Council
With regards to the publication of the results of the UVCG Poll on the UVCG website, where it was reported:- 
“The poll has been verified by the acting head of the Talybont Community Council, Councillor Craig Burdon with review of the process and responses. Councillor Burdon has confirmed the result is an accurate representation of the returns.”
The Community Council wants it made clear that the Community Council has no involvement with the UVCG, and that no Community  Councillor is a member of UVCG.
Councillor Craig Burdon role in verifying the poll was carried out in a personal capacity and as a member of the public. At no time did the Community Council provide him with the authority to undertake this role on its behalf.  
Talybont-on-Usk Community Council was not involved in conducting the poll, however the Community Council will continue to listen to residents' views and represent all residents' perspectives and attitudes, when more details are known, concerning Welsh Governments’  purchase of Gilestone Farm.

The UVCG pole results were published as such:
“Please Note; The poll has been verified by the acting head of the Talybont community council, Councillor Craig Burdon with review of the process and responses. Councillor Burdon has confirmed the results is an acute representation of the returns.”’ 
Subsequently the Council was contacted by the Welsh Government asking is we had changed our position. The media was attempting to interview the Clerk.
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