Wales’ hard left First Minister Mark Drakeford has been accused of “flushing £4.25million down the portaloo” after the Welsh government wasted money taking over the annual Green Man music festival.
Drakeford’s administration spent the cash buying Gilestone Farm in Powys to help host the music festival which prides itself for its woke “non-corporate” credentials.
But a pair of nesting ospreys has thwarted their plans.
A 200-year-old law imposing a 750m (2,460ft) restriction area around osprey nests means that the farm cannot be used by revellers leaving taxpayers out of pocket.
Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that Drakeford’s government “is the model” he would use if he wins power in Westminster and the saga has raised concerns over Labour’s penchant for vanity projects.
Fay Jones, Tory MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said: “It’s totally unacceptable that the Labour Welsh government ploughed ahead with buying the site before a full business plan was provided. Clearly, Labour ministers didn’t do their homework.
“This is an extraordinary waste of taxpayers’ money and serious questions now need urgently asking.”
James Evans, the Tory Welsh Senedd member, added: “The purchase of Gilestone Farm should never have happened in the first place.
“Conservation concerns were raised early on in this process, as were concerns about the purchase of the farm itself, and now the Labour government finds itself holding an expensive asset for a purpose completely alien to their initial plan.
“The next time the Labour government plans to get the cheque book out, they should listen to local concerns and conduct themselves with far greater transparency.”
A Welsh Tory source suggested that the money “had been flushed down a portaloo.”
Welsh Secretary David T.C. Davies Tweeted demanding an explanation from Drakeford.
He said: “Labour should explain why they wasted over £4 million on a non-existent music festival when they should have been cutting waiting lists. The only song and dance arising out of this farce will be from taxpayers who want to know why their money has been wasted.”
In a statement Economy Minister and leadership contender Vaughan Gething said the Welsh government was “surprised and delighted” to learn about the nesting ospreys.
Mr Gething said it was clear “that the full commercial and charitable objectives of the Green Man Group, as set out in its business plan for the use of Gilestone Farm, can no longer be realised”.
