Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:48 pm on 28 September 2022.
I thank the Minister for that response. I want to turn my attention now to the issue of tree planting on farms. The Minister will be aware of the case of Tyn y Mynydd farm in Anglesey and the fact that the Government's forestry department bought good arable land there for the purposes of tree planting. Now, good agricultural land is rare in Wales, and the Government has taken steps to protect the best lands. Only around 7 per cent of Welsh land is considered the best and most versatile land—BMV land—and this land is graded as 1, 2 and 3a land. This land is so important that planning guidance from Government mentions the need to safeguard it for the purposes of agriculture. Indeed, the Minister for environment prevented the development of a solar farm in Denbighshire recently because it was BMV land.
So, consider my shock in going on the Welsh Government's mapping portal and seeing that the land at Tyn y Mynydd in Anglesey is graded as 2 and 3a, which is the most fertile land and land which needs to be protected. Seeing a Government department ignoring the Government's own guidance sets a dangerous precedent. If Government data is correct, then we must see plans for Tyn y Mynydd changing and the land should be rented back to a young local farmer. We must also strengthen guidance in order to safeguard the best agricultural land in Wales. Does the Minister for agriculture agree with me that it's entirely unacceptable that some of the best land of Wales, which is to be protected for the purposes of agriculture, has been purchased by the Government for the purposes of forestry, and does she agree that the plans should be changed forthwith?