A petition demanding a comprehensive review and debate of Pembrokeshire's county farm policy, which it calls "not fit for purpose", has secured nearly 2,000 signatures and will face additional council examination at a specialist committee.
The Pembrokeshire County Council e-petition was initiated by tenants facing eviction from their council-owned farm, which houses a Good Food Guide recognised restaurant.
Paternoster Farm near Hundleton features a restaurant operated by former family solicitor Michelle Evans in the converted milking shed, earning Good Food Guide recognition for three consecutive years.
But the enterprise developed over four years faced closure as a decade-long farm tenancy with Pembrokeshire County Council came to an end.
Subsequently, the farm has received a temporary reprieve, Pembrokeshire County Council members learnt at their 17 July gathering, with a grace period permitting them to continue operations until at least August 2027.
The e-petition presented to Pembrokeshire County Council at the July 17 session said: "We call for a motion of no confidence in both county farm policy, and the county farm estate department. We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to commission an independent review of farm policy by suitably qualified (independent) third parties."
The petition continued: "Current county farm policy has been shown to support neither farm diversification nor integration into the community. This has been illustrated by the recent treatment of the current tenants of Paternoster Farm."
Pembrokeshire County Council has previously stated that Paternoster proposals aligned with council policy, whereby novice farmers receive smaller holdings whilst establishing themselves in the sector before progressing to larger enterprises. It said the 10-year lease reflected this approach.
At July's meeting, Michelle Evans explained the 2020 policy was implemented when they were already four years into their 10-year tenancy and remained unaware of its existence until five years later, with relocation costs proving "prohibitive".
Leader Cllr Jon Harvey accepted there had been communication failures, confirming a formal review was scheduled for later this year.
Cllr Jamie Adams concurred there was inconsistency throughout the county farms policy but emphasised the need for detailed impact assessment, describing Paternoster as delivering "the very best of produce to both visitors and locals alike".
He suggested the recommendations be examined further by the county farms working group, rather than making "a knee-jerk" reaction within the 15 minutes allocated for petition discussions. Chief executive Will Bramble explained that the original policy aimed to prevent 'bed blocking' of county farms, but acknowledged that details of the 2020 policy weren't communicated effectively due to a "failure of communications".
Cllr Aled Thomas, chair of the county farms working group and former tenant farmer himself, expressed his understanding of how "gut-wrenching" such changes could be.
Members voted to refer the petition to the county farms working group.
