A PLAN to produce up to 8,000 cans of flavoured spring water per day at a sheep farm has been given the go-ahead by councillors. 

Farmer Mark Williams had applied for planning permission for a new steel framed shed to be used as a canning plant at Tump Farm on Usk Road, one mile from the small village of Llantrisant in Monmouthshire. 

His partner Sara Jones plans to launch a firm, Tumptonics, that will can the farm’s natural spring water and add fruit flavours to it. 

Members of Monmouthshire council’s planning committee were told the proposal meets farm diversification policies but had to be decided by councillors due to three objections which prevented the authority’s delegated panel from considering the application. 

Owners of neighbouring properties had complained about the abstraction of water, potential noise and the impact on the highway from the new use. 

But planning officials said water abstraction – the process of extracting water from a natural source – wasn’t relevant as it is regulated by Natural Resources Wales.  

A licence would only be required if the abstraction exceeds 20 cubic meters a day and Mr Williams had said there is no plan to do so. 

Objector Jonathan Eady, who addressed the committee, said he spoke on behalf of residents of three homes, which he said were 50 per cent of those in the postcode, excluding Mr Williams’ properties. 

He said they are concerned at the impact of using the water on their supplies and said the plan had taken no account of the drought condition declared following the prolonged dry spell this summer and criticised the planning department’s report as “superficial and unbalanced”. 

Mr Eady also claimed similar operations in Pembrokeshire had been subject to “international buyouts”, resulting in round-the-clock operations. However the committee was told any expansion beyond the new shed would require a new application. 

Applicant Mr Williams told the committee the water, which will be diverted by a pipe to the new shed, emerges from the ground naturally and is currently used on the farm yard with any that is unused returned to a stream or the ground. 

He said: “We are not looking at putting in bore holes.” 

The farmer said creating new revenue was vital for the future of the farm.

“We are a fourth generation family farm and in the current climate cannot continue to sustain the farm as the costs are too high and the revenue too low,” he said. 

He said the local hospitality industry has expressed an interest in the products and the application supports the council’s vision of a sustainable farming industry and of residents consuming locally produced products. 

Mr Williams said: “This isn’t just any planning application it’s an opportunity to sustain a family farm and give my children, the local community and the members of this council something to be proud of in years to come.” 

The committee was told the council’s highways department, while concerned at any potential expansion, was satisfied the existing road network and farm access could cope with the expected traffic increase of one additional HGV journey and three small vehicle movements a week required based on the capacity of 8,000 cans being produced a day at a rate of one thousand every hour. 

Councillor Jayne McKenna said she supported the application and noted that the nearest neighbouring homes were half a kilometer away. 

The Conservative councillor for Mitchel Troy and Trellech said: “There is a common misconception that farmers are wealthy but in reality many are asset rich but cash poor. Members of the farming community can’t survive and therefore need to come up with innovative and sustainable ways such as this to survive.” 

Conservative councillor Maureen Powell added she thought the farm’s turkeys, which were “gobbling” during the committee’s site visit, would “make more noise than the canning operation” and welcomed the new business as people are being encouraged to drink more water. 

She added: “A lot of younger people don’t want to drink plain water out of the tap.” 

The committee approved the application, with an amendment after Mr Williams said local timber would be used to clad part of the building rather than just ‘juniper green’ metal sheets as stated in the application. 

A noise management plan was also imposed as a condition and full drawings showing how the building will be “cut into” a bank, near to other farm buildings, will also be required.