Notice of Motion by Councillor Gethin Glyn Williams
In
accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, Councillor Gethin Glyn Williams will propose as follows:-
Over the centuries
the lands and resources of Wales have been used for
extraction of all manner of
commodities for the benefit of others. The latest 'commodity' being seized upon
from our landscape is the potential in carbon, as investment
companies from outside Wales are purchasing farms, gaining large Glastir Woodland
Creation (GWC) grants and using the land for afforestation to offset their
carbon emissions.
The council
calls on the Welsh Government to:
·
Urgently amend the eligibility of their GWC grant so that only active
farmers in Wales are able to apply.
·
Introduce planning development legislation to enable local planning
authorities such as Gwynedd to control afforestation projects.
It is vital
the Welsh Government moves
to protect Wales’ rural environment and resources for the benefit of a new Green circular economy and to strengthen Welsh industries, communities and services.
Additional documents:
Decision:
To adopt the motion, namely:
Over the centuries
the lands and resources of Wales have been used for extraction of all manner of
commodities for the benefit of others.
The latest 'commodity' being seized upon from our
landscape is the potential in carbon, as investment companies from outside
Wales are purchasing farms, gaining
large Glastir Woodland Creation (GWC) grants and
using the land for afforestation to offset their carbon emissions.
The Council calls on
the Welsh Government to:
· Urgently amend the
eligibility of their Glastir (GWC) grant so that only
active farmers in Wales are able to apply.
· Introduce
planning development legislation to enable local planning authorities such as
Gwynedd to control afforestation projects.
It is vital the Welsh
Government moves to protect Wales’ rural environment and resources for the
benefit of a new Green circular economy and to strengthen Welsh industries,
communities and services.
Minutes:
Submitted - the following
notice of motion by Councillor Gethin Glyn Williams, in accordance with Section
4.20 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-
Over the centuries the lands and resources of
Wales have been used for extraction of all manner of commodities for the
benefit of others. The latest 'commodity' being seized upon from our landscape
is the potential in carbon, as investment companies from outside Wales are
purchasing farms, gaining large Glastir Woodland Creation (GWC) grants and
using the land for afforestation to offset their carbon emissions.
The Council calls on the Welsh Government to:
· Urgently amend the eligibility of their Glastir (GWC) grant so that
only active farmers in Wales are able to apply.
· Introduce planning development legislation to enable local planning
authorities such as Gwynedd to control afforestation projects.
It is vital the Welsh Government moves to
protect Wales’ rural environment and resources for the benefit of a new Green
circular economy and to strengthen Welsh industries, communities and
services."
The member set out the context to his motion,
members expressed their support of the motion, noting:-
·
There was no clarity as to who the investment companies buying the farms
were.
·
That this practice had to be stopped, and ensure that the resources
remained in the hands of the people of Wales.
·
That people did not
understand how reliant farmers were on grants such as Glastir, and it should be
legislated that farms should be run as farms by local people, rather than being
used to plant trees.
·
It was claimed that using farming land in this way was an offset for
carbon emissions. However, removing
farming land from Wales meant that we were producing less food, and the
inevitable result of that was having to import food, which added to carbon
emissions.
·
That some farmers in Pen Llŷn had applied for the Government's
woodland grant, but had been refused.
RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:-
Over the centuries the lands and resources of
Wales have been used for extraction of all manner of commodities for the
benefit of others. The latest 'commodity' being seized upon from our landscape
is the potential in carbon, as investment companies from outside Wales are
purchasing farms, gaining large Glastir Woodland Creation (GWC) grants and
using the land for afforestation to offset their carbon emissions.
The Council calls on the Welsh Government to:
· Urgently amend the eligibility of their Glastir (GWC) grant so that
only active farmers in Wales are able to apply.
· Introduce planning development legislation to enable local planning
authorities such as Gwynedd to control afforestation projects.
It is vital the Welsh Government moves to
protect Wales’ rural environment and resources for the benefit of a new Green
circular economy and to strengthen Welsh industries, communities and services.