A CALL to allow a Pembrokeshire farm to keep welfare facilities to care for rare breed breeding Tamworth pigs has been given the go-ahead.
In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Sharron Nicolas, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, sought a certificate of lawfulness permission for the creation of a welfare flat within a previously-approved agricultural building, plus a rear lean-to extension and the erection of two further sheds at Fairybank Fields Farm, Bethesda, near Clynderwen.
An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to keep a development if they can provide proof of occupancy or use, without any enforcement taking place, over a prolonged period.
The previous agricultural building application was granted back in 2003.
A supporting statement accompanying the application said the two-level welfare unit in the 2003-granted shed “contains the necessary elements to allow overnight stays which are essential when the pigs are farrowing.”
It added: “Mr Allan and Mrs Sharron Nicholas have been owners of Fairybank Fields since 1998. Unfortunately, Mr Nicolas died in February 2025. Although managing the farm at Bethesda, they lived at Pleasant View, Cold Blow, Narberth meaning a round trip of some 12 miles per visit – a visit which was required on a daily basis because of the need to feed and generally care for their animals – which were and still are rare breed pigs together with a number of beef cattle.
“It is essential that the pigs require continuous care when farrowing or when there are other pressures on animal health. When such occasions occurred, it was the practice of Mr Nicholas to spend the night at the farm and to use the welfare provision.”
It said Mr Nicholas would have spent approximately three months’ worth of nights (circa 90 nights) staying over at Fairybank Fields – a period of some 12 years when the bedroom above had been created to late 2024 when his brother assisted Mrs Nicholas in caring for the pigs as Mr Nicholas was too ill.
It went on to say: “Whilst the principal activity at the Farm is the breeding of the rare breed, the Tamworth Pig of which there are only currently 290 breeding sows in the UK, Mr and Mrs Nicholas also have had beef cattle on their farm and Mrs Nicholas intends to re-start that element in 2026.”
An officer report recommending approval said a site visit had been undertaken finding no evidence of the unit being occupied as a separate residential dwelling, nor as a primary residence.
It said a range of evidence was submitted in support of the application, including a detailed timeline, aerial imagery and multiple witness statements “which consistently indicate that the rear extension to Building 1 was constructed circa 2008, Shed 2 was completed in September 2012 and Shed 3 was erected in 2015”.
It said historic aerial photographs and witness statements demonstrated “on the balance of probability, that the operational development was substantially completed well in excess of four years prior to the submission of the application and has not been subject to any material interruption,” considered to be lawful by virtue of immunity from enforcement action.
It was granted approval on that basis.
