29/02/24 Welsh farmers protest at Senedd; Natural flood management; Battery storage plans

Thousands of Welsh farmers have protested outside the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, in Cardiff. They are angry at plans for a new Welsh system of subsidies: The Sustainable Farming Scheme. They say proposals to use 10% of their land for growing trees and a further 10% for wildlife habitats are unworkable. The Welsh Government insists it is listening to their concerns and the scheme is under consultation. Many farmers say the scheme would jeopardise their businesses and feel the government isn’t listening. Forty new Natural Flood Management projects across England are to share £25 million of government funding to help alleviate flooding. Tree planting, creating wetlands and reconnecting rivers with their floodplains all help ‘slow the flow’. Farmers can apply for grants to help manage river catchments as part of agri-environment schemes. The Ribble Rivers Trust in Lancashire has been allocated more than a million pounds for four new projects. We visit one of them, which uses a series of dams to hold water upstream longer. Campaigners in rural Buckinghamshire have called plans to build one of the largest battery storage facilities in Europe on their doorstep 'outrageous'. The proposals would see nearly 900 storage containers built on 26 acres of land in the village of Granborough near Aylesbury. The company Statera says the battery farm is needed to support the rapid growth in renewable energy.

Presenter = Caz Graham

Producer = Rebecca Rooney