NFU president to visit endangered ANOB farm

NFU Cymru President, Ed Bailey, will be visiting concerned farmers later this month regarding CCW’s proposals to extend the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) southwards, to include Ruabon and Llantysilio Mountains and the Vale of Llangollen from Chirk upstream to Corwen.

The consultation period on the proposed boundary, robustly opposed by NFU Cymru, closed at the end of January. The CCW Board met just 14-days after and agreed to press ahead, much to NFU Cymru’s dismay, to the next stage - a consultation on a draft Designation Order which closes on the 22 March.

Ed Bailey is urging local farmers and others to make their views known and respond to this next stage, he said, "I am very concerned that the process of designation is being rushed and that the genuine concerns and questions that have been raised have not been answered. I think CCW is wrong not to have done an impact assessment of the proposal. Nothing seems to have been done to weigh up the potential benefits against the possible disadvantages and no assessment has been done as to whether the proposed designation is the most appropriate route to take or whether alternative options exist."

Eifion Davies NFU Cymru Glyn Ceiriog Branch Chairman whose farmland is affected by the proposals said, "Local farmers have numerous concerns regarding these proposals and my message to farmers, local businesses and the public is that we need more time to consider what is at stake. Our views shouldn’t be simply ignored. Do not leave it to your neighbor or think someone else will be responding. It really does matter that you make your views known."