Usk Valley Conservation Group

Statement 4th December 2022 following Facebook Comments

Before reading (The Poll - For info) it has sadly been necessary to publish the following Statement.

The poll which was posted out on behalf of UVCG seems to have generated a strong response amongst some members of the Facebook Community Group . We have asked our members not to engage with comments on social media , many of which are inaccurate ,vitriolic and unhelpful . This note clarifies some factual issues :

Firstly the poll is not a hoax , it is an attempt to get a clear view from the community on the single question of whether or not large music festivals should be held at Gilestone farm .

Secondly the link to the online survey tinyurl.com/gilestonesurvey is working well and the poll question can easily be answered there .

Thirdly it is being said that this type of question should await more information . We know the farm has been bought by the Welsh Government to lease to a festival company whose head is on record as saying in writing earlier this year that she has found a site for festivals . At a recent meeting with Welsh Government officials, we and the Community Council ( whose excellent work we are keen to support) were told up to three events per year were planned with up to 3000 people per event. The Welsh Government were not able to say if even these numbers would not be exceeded in future years . These facts are ,as far as we are concerned ,sufficient evidence of the intention to use the site for regular large music festivals .

Fourthly , there are claims the poll is biased . The UVCG makes no secret of its opposition to the use of the site for festival activity , ourselves and the wider community has some excellent , innovative ideas which can be put to the Welsh Government around the future use of the site .The question that was put in the poll was deliberately simple ,not coercive and does not contain evidence either for or against festival activity , residents are simply encouraged to give their opinion , whatever it may be . The views of both individuals and the community must be respected ..

Finally . The timing reflects the window of opportunity we have until Christmas to influence the decision of the Welsh Government in this matter . Please do take part in this poll .

All data is confidential.

Thank You

You will find background articles and reports on this website.

If you have any other comments or questions please email enquiries@uvcg.org

UVCG - Talybont on Usk Community Poll

For Information

The UVCG is conducting a poll asking all households in the Talybont Community Council ward if they are in favour or not of large scale music events taking place at Gilestone Farm, recently purchased by the Welsh Government .

The Community Council and two UVCG representatives met with three Welsh Government officials on the 17th November . We were NOT given full details of the festival companies business plan but it was confirmed that the plan contained proposals for music festivals of between at least 1000 to 3000 people on each occasion to take place at least up to three times per year . The Welsh Government officials could/would NOT give us any firm undertaking that both the frequency and numbers attending these Festivals would not increase .
The final decision to offer the lease to the festival company is now pending and we were told that the Welsh Government expects to make the decision on whether it approves the business plan by the end of this month. We wish to make it clear this Business Plan still has NOT been made available for us to see! We believe however there may be a very brief window of opportunity in which we might be able to influence this vitally important decision which will without doubt have a major impact on the whole of this Community, our surrounding Communities and the natural environment we live in including its Wildlife all within a National Park . This is the reason why this single issue poll is crucial at this point and therefore we would be extremely grateful if you take part.