Fears over 'dual use' under new Glastir scheme

The association says the issue is of “utmost concern” to several thousand businesses in Wales.

Wales chairman, John Homfray, has written to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones, outlining his disappointment over the decision by the Assembly Government and asking him to pursue it at the highest level.

It follows a report in 2006 by the EU’s Court of Auditors and backed by the European Commission stating that only the farmer is entitled to SPS payments and rural development aid.

But Mr Homfray maintains that the landlord and tenant system has arisen over many generations and centuries with landlords often retaining certain activities on their land, even when the principal farming operations are carried out by a tenant or several tenants.

“Examples of this might be vernacular buildings, forestry, shooting or other sporting ventures.

“As a result, when Wales-based agri-environmental schemes, such as Tir Cymen, Tir Cynnal and Tir Gofal have been introduced, you could find the landlord claiming the agri-environment payment and the tenant the Single Farm Payment on the same piece of land.

“Until last year this seemed to be an arrangement that all parties were happy with but then the Assembly Government told the farming organisations in Wales that the EU auditors in their 2006 report had declared the practice unsound.

“In other words, only one party could claim for EU support on a parcel of ground. Otherwise claims would be invalid.”

Mr Homfray says Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, seems adamant that she would not risk incurring fines or infraction proceedings by standing up to the auditors’ interpretation of the regulation.

The WAG would no longer accept more than one claim for any payments on the same parcel of land.

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