GAME of Thrones star, Jerome Flynn, has thrown his weight behind the campaign to retain Trecadwgan Farm, near Solva, for the local community, saying that the council had “gazumped its own people” and asking whether the law should be changed to stop this happening.
The Save Trecadwgan group wants to buy the farm, along with its 11 acres of land and historic outbuildings, off Pembrokeshire County Council. The group intends to run eco-agri business and training at the site.
In mid-December the group submitted a successful bid for the farm in a sealed envelope bidding process.
However, on January 7, members were told that they had been “gazumped”; a higher offer had been made despite the process having closed at 12 noon on December 13. They were then asked if they wanted to submit a counter offer.
Local supporter, Jerome Flynn, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, that we had to start bringing food production back to the community, saying that the farm could set a precedent for the whole of the UK.
“It’s a very holistic model the community has put together for this farm,” he said.
“There is a different value to this farm. It should be treated differently as a business model and I’m sure the council need help from the Welsh Government and the government to change the law.
“Surely for our local people, for a farm which is effectively owned by the people, should we be not looking at a different practice so that this can set a precedent for a holistic model for the whole country?
“The price was already accepted. Should the council be gazumping their own people? That seems to be a business model which should be applied perhaps to a different situation.”
Pembrokeshire County Council said that It had a duty, set out in section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972, to dispose of the land for as much as could be possibly obtained.
