A farm bought by the Welsh Government for £4.25 million to help expand the Green Man Festival has dropped in value by nearly 12 per cent.

Gilestone Farm, a 240-acre site in Talybont-on-Usk, was purchased in March 2022 to "support the growth of the creative sector in mid Wales" with the intention of leasing it to Green Man where new activities would be based.

But plans to develop the site were halted following the discovery of a pair of nesting ospreys - triggering a legally enforced exclusion zone that severely limits activity on parts of the farm.

Now, figures published by the Welsh Government last week confirm the property was valued at £3.75 million in March 2025, representing a £0.5 million fall in value - or 11.8 per cent - in just three years.

MS for South Wales Central Andrew RT Davies described the situation as “one of the most farcical blunders I’ve ever seen from the Welsh Government.”

But the Welsh Government has defended its purchase, stating the farm was acquired “in keeping with market values at the time” and stressing the ecological importance of the site following the return of ospreys to the Usk Valley.

Mr Davies said: “It never made sense to spend so many millions on a farm for a festival, without a full business plan, and now taxpayers have ownership of Wales’ most expensive bird watching spot, with its value down by 10 pence in the pound.

“This should be an opportunity to reflect for the Welsh Government, who would be better off spending people’s hard-earned cash on delivering key services and driving down waiting lists rather than playing Monopoly with farms in Mid Wales.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson told the B&R: “The acquisition of Gilestone Farm in 2022 followed the appropriate processes, in keeping with market values at the time.

“We were delighted to learn of the arrival of the pair of mating ospreys in August 2023. The first egg hatched in early June 2025, which is believed to be a first for the Usk Valley in at least 250 years and marks an important milestone in the protection of this important species.”

The nesting pair triggered a 750-metre protection zone which significantly restricts activity on large areas of the farm. Welsh Government officials confirmed that the presence of ospreys “inevitably brings some uncertainty” to the site’s valuation.

The purchase of the farm has been clouded by controversy since its announcement, with both local critics and Senedd politicians questioning then-Economy Minister Vaughan Gething’s decision to proceed without a detailed business plan in place.

A 2023 report by Audit Wales found that ministers had acted “with avoidable haste” in the purchase of the farm. An investigation by Adrian Compton revealed that the most significant factor in the decision to buy Gilestone was the need to spend unallocated funds before the end of the financial year.

The acquisition took place before a full business plan had been submitted by Green Man Festival organisers.