The Welsh government has been accused of spending over £4m on ‘the most expensive birds’ nest in history’ after buying land for a music festival – which cannot be used due to ospreys.
The Labour-run administration paid out £4.25m for a farm to host a spin-off event from the annual Green Man music and cultural festival held each August.
The land, at Gilestone Farm, near Brecon, Powys, has even lost £500,000 in value since it was purchased in 2022 – and not a single note of music has been played there.
Now a Welsh Parliament committee has raised ‘serious concerns’ over the purchase and demanded a full review.
The Senedd’s public accounts and administration committee said the decision to buy the farm was taken with a ‘lack of thorough due diligence’.
The report said plans were ‘not sufficiently robust and had not been communicated effectively to the community’.
The proposed festival spin-off, which would have been held alongside events at its current base at Crickhowell, near Abergavenny, caused opposition from conservationists.
And when the pair of ospreys – a protected bird of prey – landed in 2023 and built a nest in an oak tree, it scuppered the plans.
Gilestone Farm, Powys, bought by the Welsh Labour government for £4.25m to host a festival spin-off which cannot be used after pair of protected ospreys began nesting on the site
Labour Ministers had faced questions over their friendships with festival chief Fiona Stewart, amid claims a business plan for the festival had not even been submitted.
James Evans, Conservative Welsh assembly member for Brecon and Radnorshire, said: ‘The next time the Labour government reaches for the cheque book, they should listen to local concerns and act with far greater transparency.
‘In the meantime, Gilestone Farm remains the most expensive publicly owned ‘bird nest’ in history.’
Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price, who sits on the public accounts and administration committee, said: ‘This whole saga, that has unravelled under the chaos of three Labour first ministers, serves as proof of the extent of this Labour Welsh government’s mismanagement of the public purse.’
The committee said there was a lack of adequate record of meetings between ministers and Green Man officials which meant politicians were ‘unable to fully scrutinise and evaluate decisions taken by the Welsh government’.
It said the ‘haste’ in completing the purchase may have inhibited the ability to identify risks – including the presence of wildlife ‘that would affect its proposals for the site, and potentially, its value’.
The report added: ‘This is particularly notable as the site has now been valued at £3.75m, meaning that the Welsh government’s asset has lost half a million pounds in value’.
An osprey pictured mid-flight with its prey. An exclusion zone was set up around their nest
Committee chairman Mark Isherwood said: ‘The arrival of the ospreys on the site was unexpected and it’s acknowledged that the Welsh government has responded positively to this development to preserve their habitat, albeit there was evidence of other protected species being present at the site at the time of purchase.
‘However, the future of the site now appears to be very uncertain, with the most recent valuation showing that the asset has decreased in value by £0.5m compared to the purchase price. This is highly regrettable.’
The land is currently leased commercially.
A Welsh parliamentary committee savaged the decision to purchase the farm for festival plan
An earlier report by auditors for the Welsh government found the ‘most significant factor’ for the farm purchase was using up unspent money by the end of the financial year.
A Welsh government spokesman said: ‘Gilestone remains one of the Welsh government’s property assets and is being managed on our behalf as a working farm.
‘We continue to explore potential opportunities for its future use, in keeping with our commitment to seek a sustainable outcome that helps local communities thrive.
‘We will read the committee’s report with interest and respond in due course.’
