3. Will the Minister provide an update on the future use of Gilestone Farm by the Welsh Government? OQ59204

Thank you for the question. Due diligence on the proposal received from representatives of Green Man is in the final stages of assessment. I expect to receive advice from officials with regard to the next steps before the end of March.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. You've said, and other Ministers have said, on a number of occasions that the Government bought this site in order to secure the future of the Green Man Festival. However, it has come to light that the agreement that your Government is entering into is not with the Green Man Trust Ltd; it's a separate company called Cwningar Ltd, assigned to one person. That company is listed to buy or sell real estate, and it's also listed to operate leased real estate. So, can you explain how entering into an agreement with a company that, translated to English, equates to 'rabbit warren' is safeguarding the future of the Green Man Festival? To me and many others, Minister, it looks like the Welsh Government has really gone down a rabbit hole over this purchase.

I admire the consistent silliness of the Member's response to rabbits, but, look, when it comes to the opportunities around this piece of land, we've been clear about why we've entered into the purchase. We've also been very, very clear about the fact, as I said in my initial answer, that I will expect to receive final advice before the end of March, and I can then make a decision. The Member talks about what might happen; I will have a decision to make when due diligence is completed, and I will then not just make a decision, but I will also expect to face further questions in this Chamber in announcing any choice that I make. But, economic development in this part of Wales is the key purpose for the purchase, and that will be in my mind when I make the choice.

Thank you very much to James for tabling this question. We know that, in providing public funds to any organisation, the attention is to secure public good. We know that Gilesstone itself is a collection of holiday accommodation with the potential of developing far more holiday units. Now, I'm not entirely confident that the response that you gave answered James's question, so if we could pursue that a little further. On 22 February 2022, just a month before the Minister agreed that the Government should purchase the farm, the owner of Green Man Festival established a company, as we've heard, called 'Cwningar Ltd'. Now, this company is described as a company that is:

'Buying and selling of own real estate',

and further,

'Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate.'

Now, does the Minister therefore believe that it's an unfortunate coincidence in terms of the timing of this purchase, or does the Minister, or his department, know of any further plans for the use of Gilestone, which does relate to real estate and Cwningar?

Well, the end purpose for the use of that land is economic development. We're interested in how we secure an increase in economic activity within this part of Wales. It aligns with the ambitions that Powys County Council have for events, and the economic benefit that they'll provide for local people as well.

When I make a decision, I would expect, in the due diligence, not just the proposal and the business plan but the company structure behind anyone who wants to do that. And, as is usually the case, if we're looking at then a lease or a different arrangement, I'll then expect there to be targets and measures to make sure that that benefit is genuinely being realised. So, I can't comment much further on that because, of course, I haven't had the final advice from my officials; I need to see what that looks like, and I then may have questions myself on the advice, and I then will have to make a decision. And there is no guarantee of one definitive decision. I may decide not to proceed with what comes before me; I may decide to do so. Whatever I do, I fully anticipate, given the significant interest in this site, that I will need to not just make a statement to confirm what choice I've made, but also, inevitably, there will be further questions. I'm more than happy to do so.