Welsh housing association uses sheep to maintain development site

The former government buildings were originally built in the final years of World War II for use as an emergency hospital, but were never needed. Instead, for 70 years, they were used by government departments as offices.

Daniel Hall, director of customer and communities at Cartrefi Conwy, told BBC News: “It was apparent, given the vastness of the site, that we needed to be having some sort of sustainable maintenance of the site while we developed our plans.”

Employing the sheep, he explained, “fitted in with our carbon neutral agenda. But also it was a low-noise, cost-effective way of maintaining the land.”

The housing association owns 4,100 homes throughout the country of Conwy in North Wales, and is aiming to build 1,000 new homes in the area over the next 10 years.

Gethin Davies, a farmer from the village of Llansannan 13 miles away, owns the sheep and checks up on them twice a week.

The sheep will head back to the hills in late October when the grass-growing season ends.

However, Cartrefi Conwy’s new homes are yet to receive planning permission, so the sheep could return to continue grazing the site in the spring.

“I don’t mind the sheep at all,” said Tracy Baguley, whose garden backs on to the land where the sheep are grazing. “I quite like hearing them. It’s better than all the traffic, that’s for sure.”

Welsh landlords are currently waiting for a significant judgment from a landmark case in October, after hearings concluded this month with barristers arguing over whether residents would have withheld rent.

The test case focuses on whether tenants should be repaid rent because of landlords’ failure to provide them with physical copies of electrical safety certificates.

Part of the discussion in court centred on whether the contract holders (residents) can claim restitution for unjust enrichment on the basis that they mistakenly thought they had to pay rent.