‘HORRIBLE TO SEE WHAT IT’S DOING TO EVERYONE’
AFAMILY fighting to save their farm from developers have opened up about the emotional impact of potentially losing their home of almost 90 years.
The Jenkins family were asked to leave their farm near Cardiff Airport by the end of July next year as the landowners want to build a 45-acre business park there.
Since 1935, four generations of the family have worked at Model Farm, on Port Road in the Vale of Glamorgan.
“We’ve got photos of mum and dad on the farm when they were kids, and me and my sisters were brought up here on the farm,” said Rhys Jenkins, who lives at Model Farm with his wife Kelly Jenkins, their two daughters, aged one and three years old, and Rhys’ father Gethin.
Gethin, 68, was born and raised on the farm and has spent his entire life there.
“It’s devastating. It’s had a real effect on Dad, to be honest,” said Rhys. “It’s horrible to see what it’s doing to everyone, but especially to Dad. He’s spent pretty much every day of his life on this farm since he was born until this day. To see what he’s going through is not nice at all. It’s not doing his health any good, I know that.”
Rhys added: “Dad has always had the ambition to pass the farm on to me. He’s worked on building everything up on this farm from a young age.
“When his father was first on there, there were no water tanks, no fences, there was nothing. You couldn’t have livestock here at all because there was no water supply. So that’s something they’ve had to do is dig every hedgerow and put water pipes and water tanks in every field to be able to put livestock in them. Build up the soil and condition it and get good soil, and that’s not something that happens overnight.
“That’s taken 50, 60 years at least to get right and to get to the point where we are now where we’re very produc
tive and the soil is in good condition.
“Like I said, I can’t imagine what he’s going through. He’s poured all of his blood, sweat and tears into this farm and just like that it can get taken away.”
Legal and General, a financial services firm which owns the land Model Farm stands on, received planning permission last month to build a business park on the farm.
A campaign group set up to save Model Farm is quickly gaining thousands of supporters, raising money for legal fees to appeal the decision, and yesterday morning held a protest at the Senedd building.
Politicians have slammed Vale of Glamorgan Council for granting planning permission, which in the same month declared a “nature emergency” and pledged to protect the environment.
Legal and General said the business park would create more than 3,000 jobs and bring in £94m of wages each year. The council said it would help support the local economy.
Kelly Jenkins said the family is still in shock and is unsure where they will move to next year.
She said: “We’ve been given 12 months, until July 31 next year. They handed our notice to us on July 31 just gone, with a letter delivered by an enforcement officer.
“We have had no contact with Legal and General whatsoever. We thought they would at least have the decency to sit us down and talk to us about it. It’s shocking how they’re treating us.”
Model Farm lies north of Porthkerry Country Park. As part of the plans, Legal and General will give about 49 hectares of land towards extending the country park.
But despite the extension, local campaigners are claiming the business park will have a negative impact on the local environment, harming biodiversity and increasing congestion.
Vale Communities Unite, a community group set up to save Model Farm, has launched a fundraiser for legal fees, and organised yesterday’s protest.
Gail Elizabeth, one of the campaigners, said: “I didn’t think it would get this far. When permission was granted I was horrified. There’s huge opposition from locals, and over 1,000 residents opposed it.”
Maxine Levett, another campaigner, said: “We’re not opposed to development or building or jobs for locals, but we feel there are more appropriate sites in the Vale of Glamorgan within a couple of miles that could have been used. We have got huge areas of brownfield sites in the area that could have been used.
“What’s the point of a public consultation and having a planning meeting if all your comments are going to be dismissed? The planning system needs to have a rethink.”
They both highlighted potential issues with traffic congestion the business park could cause.
This summer both the Senedd and Vale of Glamorgan council declared a “nature emergency”, pledging to protect biodiversity and prevent the loss of ecological habitats.
Janet Finch Saunders MS, Welsh Conservative climate change spokeswoman, said: “The Labour council’s decision is disastrous for the environment, will mean more congestion and greater pollution, and goes against everything their colleagues say about climate change in Cardiff Bay.”
Councillor Ian Johnson, Plaid Cymru group leader on the Vale council, said: “We need an urgent statement from the Welsh Government about how the climate emergency and nature emergency affect planning regulations and guidance, and whether or not they support these plans for development at Model Farm.”
The Vale council’s planning committee approved planning permission on July 14. Nine Independent and Labour councillors voted in favour, while eight Plaid and Tory councillors voted against it.
The council defended its decision by saying the land has been included in the local development plan since 2011, while Legal and General said the plans would create local jobs, bring in millions in new wages, and would give some land to Porthkerry Country Park.
A Vale of Glamorgan council spokesperson said: “This planning application was approved by the council’s planning committee last month following full consideration of all relevant factors, including those relating to its environmental impact.
“It also notes that recently adopted Welsh Government policy supports the principle of this development given its strategic location, with connections to Wales’ only airport.
“Cardiff Airport is an essential part of Wales’ transport infrastructure. As an international gateway, it connects Wales to the rest of the world and helps drive the country’s economy.
“The wider Cardiff Airport and Bro St Athan Enterprise Zone also offer opportunities for investment, both within its parameters and surrounding areas of the Vale.
“This site has long been identified as a location for large-scale employment. It was first designated for this purpose in the council’s 2011 local development plan (LDP), a document that was subsequently adopted by the then Conservative-led council in 2017.
“That followed an examination in public led by a Welsh Governmentappointed planning inspector.
“The LDP has been monitored on an annual basis since its adoption, with a report submitted to the Welsh Government every October. It is a legal requirement that all planning decisions are taken in accordance with the LDP unless material considerations indicate otherwise.”
A spokesperson from Legal and General said: “Forming part of the council’s local development plan since 2017, this important project has a strategic role to play in delivering wider economic, social and environmental benefits, including the capacity to accommodate over 3,000 jobs and supporting £94m in wages each year.
“An environmental assessment underpins the plans for the site and the management and enhancement of natural habitats and wildlife are a key priority. In addition, over half the site – equivalent to circa 67 football pitches – will be handed over to Porthkerry Country Park, extending leisure and recreation facilities.
“Consideration of development opportunities of other alternative sites would have been extensively consulted on as part of the council’s local plan process.
“We sympathise with the tenant, Mr Jenkins, and will continue to communicate with him as part of the next steps in the process of enabling the delivery of this site and its wider community benefits.”
The campaigners vowed to continue fighting the decision. Ms Levett, the Vale Communities Unite campaigner, said: “We’re going to fight this decision all the way. We’re not nimbys and it’s not just about us. You’re saying don’t build on green land and here you are still building on green land.”
Dad has always had the ambition to pass the farm on to me
RHYS JENKINS