Concern has been expressed by Brecon and Radnor farmers over proposed changes to access legislation in Wales, at the county NFU Cymru Annual General meeting.

Brecon and Radnor NFU Cymru county chairman, Stuart Morris, said: “NFU Cymru recognises that some reform is required to access legislation to allow for modernisation of the public rights of way network, through a process of prioritisation and rationalisation. In our response to the recent Green Paper we have made clear that the current system does not take into account modern-day farming. The procedures to divert or close public rights of way must be made far easier and less expensive.”

During the summer months, the Welsh Government carried out a consultation exercise to explore views on the potential for simpler, more integrated, legislation on access to the outdoors and public rights of way. Most alarmingly, concern was raised with regard to the proposal for an entirely new access settlement in Wales which would allow access for responsible recreation to all land in Wales.

Mr Morris said: “Farmers are deeply concerned that any proposals to extend access will impose severe limitations on the day to day running of their farming businesses. Our farms are our factory floor and consideration must be given to the fact that we have grazing livestock and cropping decisions to take.

“We have already seen the consequences of the vast spread of phytophthora ramorum and we would not wish for any repeat of this type of disease spread in any of our agricultural crops. There are also health and safety factors to consider such as access to emergency services if an accident were to occur.

“Overall, NFU Cymru is supportive of reform to simplify current legislation to allow a sensible rationalisation of the network. The county of Brecon and Radnor already has a very extensive network of paths and access land and it is time that existing routes are maintained and clearly signposted. We would urge members to continue to lobby their own AMs on this important matter.”

NFU Cymru carried out a successful postcard campaign in response to the consultation and a copy of NFU Cymru’s full response is available on the website.

At the county annual general meeting, Colin Millichap was successfully elected as Brecon and Radnor county chairman for a two-year term, taking over from Stuart Morris.