Tir Gofal

The scheme operated under the Common Agricultural Policy, and was jointly funded by the European Union and the United Kingdom Government.

Tir Gofal was a whole-farm scheme available to any person with control over at least 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of agricultural land in Wales.

Elements of the scheme included: the voluntary creation of permissive access to the site; capital payments to protect and manage habitats, create features and support new access provision; and optional training courses in such skills as hedge-laying, dry stone wall building, care of woodlands and management of wetland habitats.

The scheme had at that time paid out more than £100 million to landholders since it began in 1999, and management agreements had been made with around 3,000 farms, covering about 20 per cent of the total agricultural land in Wales.

The report concluded that the scheme was contributing towards its objectives, but that its impact was difficult to assess because of lack of evidence of the extent to which its aims had been achieved.