At the Anglesey Show: Ministerial Engagement and a Memorable and Productive Two Days

The summer period is often the quiet time for many organisations, but for CLA Cymru it is show season. We spend a lot of time on the road attending many shows and showgrounds right across Wales. It is long, hard work, but the team really do enjoy getting out there and meeting members, partners and businesses operating in rural Wales. These events give us the chance to strengthen relationships, share updates and hear directly about the issues that matter most to rural communities.

On Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 August we were delighted to be at the Anglesey Show, known in Welsh as Sioe Môn. We took our brand-new events trailer with us and were part of the large exhibition area of the field, just in front of the horse showjumping ring. This excellent location meant we also got to watch a lot of the action taking place throughout the two days, adding to the lively and enjoyable atmosphere. CLA Cymru officers were at the show for the duration, ready to welcome visitors, answer questions and engage in valuable conversations with everyone who stopped by.

We were joined at the show by some much valued partners: Cadnant (planning and development consultants), Carter Jonas (estate agents and property consultants), Rathbones (investment management) and CLA Energy. We thank them for coming along too and for their continued support. Between us all having drinks and ice cream, we managed to survive the blistering heat on the island, which peaked well over 30 degrees at some points of the show. The warm weather made for a true summer show experience and the shared refreshments helped keep energy levels high.

A particular highlight was welcoming the First Minister of Wales, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, to the CLA Cymru trailer along with the Welsh Government Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd MS. A useful roundtable discussion took place with CLA Cymru leading and also CLA Cymru member Francesca Pridding, Chair of the CLA Cymru North Wales Branch, and Sioned Edwards, CLA Cymru member and Managing Director at Cadnant.

Really useful discussions covered planning and the challenges experienced by CLA Cymru members, the 182 rule around holiday lets in Wales and CLA Cymru’s call for this number to be reduced and for more exemptions to be realised, the new proposed economic development agency and why rural Wales needs a seat around that table, plus other useful discussions that underscored the importance of strong rural voices in shaping policy. These conversations proved incredibly constructive and demonstrated the value of direct engagement between policymakers, members and the CLA Cymru team.

Overall the Anglesey Show was a massive success. The combination of productive meetings, partner collaboration and the chance to connect with so many people from rural Wales made the two days thoroughly worthwhile. Congratulations to Sioned from Anglesey too who won a bottle of champagne for getting most questions correct in our Quiz for Fizz competition we ran over the two days.

We very much look forward to coming back next year and continuing these important conversations and engagement.