Farmers left needing to find a new home for their 26 cows and bull living in council-rented fields – because travellers are going to live there instead

• Farmer Denis Waters, 30, and wife Shauna, 26, could be forced to sell their cattle

A  husband and wife have been kept in the dark as their council-rented farmland is earmarked for a caravan site for travellers without them being told.

Farmer Denis Waters, 30, and wife Shauna, 26, rent three fields to keep their 26 cows and a bull called Rory.

But their beloved home is under threat after the shock discovery on Facebook that the land is being considered as a site for 13 permanent traveller pitches. 

The couple, of Magor, Monmouthshire, say they would be forced to sell their cattle if the council’s plans go ahead.

Shauna said: ‘We only found out a few days before there was a council meeting, we didn’t find out from the council.

Farmer Denis Waters, 30, and wife Shauna, 26, now fear daughter Winnie will not have the opportunity of following her parents, grandparents and great grandparents into farming

.Farmer Denis Waters, 30, and wife Shauna, 26, rent three fields to keep their 26 cows and a bull called Rory

The couple have rented just over five acres from Monmouthshire County Council for the past two years

‘We were told by a friend who had seen it on Facebook and said: “You need to have a look at this.” It has been really stressful with all the not knowing what will happen.’

The couple have rented just over five acres from Monmouthshire County Council for the past two years.

They live with their 11-month-old daughter Winnie and also farm on land around Chepstow which is owned in partnership with Denis’ family.

They say they could no longer keep cattle if the council decides to end the tenancy instead of renewing it.

Shauna said: ‘We wouldn’t have anywhere to put them as we need a designated field for the cows over the winter.’

The couple supply a major supermarket while they also have some 400 sheep which they take to market.

A husband and wife were stunned when their farmland was earmarked for a caravan site for travellers – without them being told.

The couple, of Magor, Monmouthshire, say they would be forced to sell their cattle if the council’s plans go ahead

Denis said: ‘If we sold the cattle we would still have the sheep but one of us would probably have to get another job.’

They now fear daughter Winnie will not have the opportunity of following her parents, grandparents and great grandparents into farming.

Shauna said: ‘If we can’t continue she won’t have the option as farming is not easy and farms are very hard to get. This is about her future more than us.’

The council has assessed a need for 13 permanent Gypsy Traveller pitches and in July published a shortlist of five sites that could be suitable.

It has since ruled out three but is currently considering whether it should hold a consultation on the remaining two sites.

The couple say they could no longer keep cattle if the council decides to end the tenancy instead of renewing it

The council has assessed a need for 13 permanent Gypsy Traveller pitches and in July published a shortlist of five sites that could be suitable

A decision on the site’s use – farmland or traveller site – is pending 

Magor independent councillor Frances Taylor told a council scrutiny committee that the couple had not been directly informed the land was being considered.

Cllr Sara Burch, the Labour cabinet member responsible for housing, said: ‘I would like to express my apologies to tenants if the first they were informed is when the proposals were in the public domain.

‘We should have anticipated when the report went out it would be news in the communities and we should have written to them.’

A decision is set to be made on the future of the site.

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