How I finally found ex-Tory leader’s ‘hidden’ constituency office Just 24 hours earlier, our Chief Reporter Martin Shipton tried to find Andrew RT Davies’ constituency office...
THERE aren’t many politicians who locate their constituency office in a cabin 50 yards beyond a vehicle security barrier on a farm estate.
Mostly they want to demonstrate they are accessible to voters by having a town-centre presence.
Welsh Conservative Assembly leader Andrew RT Davies is an exception. Finding the office from which he serves more than half a million people in the South Wales Central region he represents as an AM is not easy. Despite him occupying the cabin for 18 months, according to the manager of the farm estate on which it is situated, Mr Davies’ website makes no reference to it.
The fact that it exists was, however, disclosed to a member of Mr Davies’ own party who submitted a freedom of information request to the Assembly Commission, which funds AMs’ offices out of the public purse. The Commission’s response said Mr Davies’ office was located at Penllyn Estate, Llwynhelig, Cowbridge CF71 7FF.
This is, by all accounts, a 1,200acre mixed farm operation run by businessman Johnny Homfray.
When photographer Mark Lewis and I visited what would more accurately be described as Penllyn Farm Estate, the existence of a political office where researchers and case workers work for their AM boss and his electorate was not apparent.
A number of small businesses had their names prominently displayed on buildings scattered around the estate. The receptionist at a vets’ practice said we had to drive round the corner to the estate office.
We did so and went into a building housing a business called Cowbridge Compost. Could this be a front for Mr Davies, himself a local farmer whose utterances are often described by a less polite term than “compost”? I went in and saw a closed door with a sign saying “Meeting in progress – do not disturb”. This looked promising.
A dog groomer – whom I inadvertently made jump by saying “excuse me” – said Mr Davies’ office was “somewhere round the other side”. Back round the other side, I approached a man who was getting out of a car. He said Mr Davies’ office was beyond a vehicle barrier which had a sign saying: “All visitors to report
to the farm office. Do not proceed onto the farm without permission”.
The man said we should seek to get to Mr Davies’ office by calling from another vehicle barrier round the corner. The second vehicle barrier had a sign giving two phone numbers for Andrew and Damien. Both numbers had recorded messages. I left my details. Damien called me back. He agreed that it was not easy to get to Mr Davies’ office. Damien said we could walk past the first barrier and would find Mr Davies’ office 50 yards ahead in a cabin
I thanked him and we did as he suggested. By now I felt like Christian in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Mr Davies’ office the equivalent of the Celestial City. The cabin was locked up.
I walked over to the farm estate office, where I talked with the manager, Andrew Shackell. It seems the politician has occupied the office for 18 months. A spokesman for Mr Davies said: “Following a security incident at Andrew’s previous office on Cowbridge High Street, he took the decision to locate his office at a more secure location. Andrew regularly hosts constituents and organisations at his office and if he knew a Western Mail journalist had intended to visit he would’ve been there to welcome him with the kettle on.”