THE owner of popular annual music festival Green Man has claimed the Welsh Government bought a £4.25 million farm for them to use as a site for a new festival, it has been revealed.
An email seen by the Argus following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent from Green Man owner Fiona Stewart to head of Powys County Council, Rosemarie Harris, in January of this year shows that Green Man had plans "to run another festival in a new location in Powys, as well as a number of smaller and separate events.
"It is difficult to find a location with enough conjoining flat land for us to undertake an event but have found it at Gilestone Farm in Tal-y-bont on Usk."
The email was sent from Ms Stewart as she looked to gain the local council's support for a new festival, saying that the Welsh Government "would like assurances that it would be welcomed by Powys Council".
READ MORE: Revealed: Welsh Government bought festival farm without music industry advice
When approached for comment, a representative for Green Man Festival said that "Green Man aren't making any comment on Gilestone Farm".
Economy minister Vaughan Gething, whose department bought the farm on behalf of the government, told the Senedd in May that the purchase was about securing the festival's long term future in Wales. He said that the purchase would give the festival's management a "greater level of certainty... to invest in the festival."
Two Welsh Government ministers stepped aside from any decisions regarding Green Man Festival, after it was revealed in August that they attended an off the record dinner party in May with Ms Stewart at the home of political lobbyist Cathy Owen, who includes the festival as a client.
Climate change minister Julie James and the education minister Jeremy Miles accepted advice that they should ‘recuse themselves’ from any future decision making over the Welsh Government’s agreement to buy the farm.
In October 2021, Ms Stewart submitted an outline business plan to the Welsh Government for a new venture, something she has since described as a "vision document".
Repeated requests to Green Man, the Welsh Government and Powys Council for this document have been refused on the grounds of commercial sensitivity. The Welsh Government confirmed that it had paid £4.25 million for the farm, although a full business plan was not submitted by Green Man until the end of June - more than three months after the purchase had been completed.
When asked about the possibility that Gilestone Farm had been bought by the Welsh Government as a location for a new festival, a government spokesperson said that plans for a new festival reflected early discussions before Gilestone Farm had been identified for the project.
In a statement they said: "There are no plans to start a new festival on the Gilestone site.
"The Welsh Government purchased the site to support and grow the Green Man brand and establish a permanent base in Wales for their administrative headquarters and associated business ventures. The full business plan is subject to robust due diligence processes and consultation with the local community. No final decision on the future of Gilestone Farm will be made until the due diligence process is complete."
When told that the Argus had seen Gilestone mentioned as the potential location for a new festival, the Welsh Government referred us to public documents from July this year which say that Green Man notified the Welsh Government in February 2022 of a "suitable agricultural holding in the desired locality."
This is despite the fact that Ms Stewart had emailed Powys Council the previous month while explicitly mentioning Gilestone as the location for a new festival.
In February of this year, Ms Stewart registered a new business with Companies House called Cwningar Ltd, which is listed as being in the business of "Buying and selling of own real estate," and "Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate."
Its registered address is the same as that of Green Man Festival Limited.
Welsh Government documents show that Cwningar (Welsh for 'rabbit warren') is the business entity which was set up for the purposes of managing Gilestone Farm.
When Green Man were asked about this, we were told, "Green Man and Fiona aren’t making any comment on that either."
James Evans is the MS for the area, and attended a meeting with residents in Talybont-on-Usk in June where proposals for Gilestone that involved promoting mass events were unanimously opposed.
In a statement to The Argus, he said: “I am supportive of the long-term future of Green Man. However, public funds must be spent with care and due diligence, so we need proper scrutiny of the Labour Government’s role in purchasing Gilestone Farm.
“The public are not getting the answers they are entitled to, and the whole process is incredibly murky with £4.25m of taxpayer money and the integrity of the Welsh Government on the line. People are rightly demanding answers, and the Welsh Conservatives won’t rest until we get them.”
Responding to the Argus's revelations, Plaid Cymru MS Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “Initially we were told the purchase of Gilestone was to supplement the activities of the Green Man Festival, then we were told that it was for other activities, and now this information suggests that it was for a new festival. These are public funds which should be open to public scrutiny, and it’s not good enough to refuse to answer. I urge the Government to be entirely open regarding their intentions with Gilestone.”
The Welsh Government continues to review the full business plan submitted by Green Man Festival at the end of June.
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