Well-known farm shop to close down as owner fears losing home and business
A popular farm shop on the outskirts of Cardiff has announced it is closing down due to "unbearable trading conditions". Cefn Mably Farm Park's shop, the Moody Sow, will shut down on Sunday, January 25, with the owner saying rising taxes have made the business unsustainable.Owner Rhys Edwards said rising employer National Insurance contributions, brought in by the UK Government in April last year, rising business rates, which are controlled here by the Welsh Government, and rising inflation had left him with no other choice."If I don't do this, to put it simply, I'd lose my house and my business as a whole," Rhys said."It's an awful decision – to let down the workers I have been forced to put at redundancy, to let down my butcher, my own brother-in-law, but this is the reality at the moment. Carrying on as we are is just unsustainable."With all the costs businesses are expected to pay these days we have never been able to recover from when we had our terrible flood and from Covid-19. Let me tell you – if I wasn't as strong or as positive as I am I wouldn't still be here today."I think the mismanagement of pretty much everything in this country at the moment by our government is hurting everyone with businesses – especially hospitality, especially the shops, especially the small businesses."The food inflation we've had is crazy. The taxes, the PAYE that we've had to put on the wages last year has absolutely killed us and many others."At the moment we lose money every day by opening. This decision has hurt us very much, it is terribly sad, but I have no other choice but to do this."Rhys and his family have run their farm shop for 15 years. He is now urging everyone to continue to support the popular farm park so they don't lose that too."My message to everyone would be this: support local, come and see us when it's raining, when it's sunny, whenever you can. Get your children off their iPads."Businesses need your support. If you don't use us you will lose us – it's simple really."A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Almost half of all businesses already benefit from full non-domestic rates relief meaning that they pay no business rates at all."We are providing an extra £78m this year in non-domestic rates relief – the sixth successive year of additional support for the retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors. This recognises the economic pressures faced by these businesses and builds on £1bn of support allocated since 2020-21."Our Business Wales service helps to build more resilient businesses and people can access a wide range of information and advice to develop their business practices."The UK Government has also been approached for comment.Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.
