A forest school established by singer Charlotte Church on a former pig farm in Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, could be forced to shut after council planners refused retrospective permission for the site. The Awen Project began operating in 2024 without planning consent, and Church applied to legitimise it in October 2025, but that application was turned down. She has since lodged an appeal with the Welsh government's Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW).
Church founded the Awen Project with her husband Jonathan Powell in 2019, describing it as an attempt to reshape education so children could learn in a way that felt meaningful to them. The school does not charge fees but operates on a donation basis.
Why did the council refuse permission?
Vale of Glamorgan Council cited multiple concerns, including noise levels, the impact on nearby residents, and the risk to pedestrians from inadequate parking provision. It also found that the project had not demonstrated how it would protect or improve green infrastructure on the site.
According to reporting from a national tabloid, planning officers noted that no ecological reports had been submitted with the application, and they raised doubts over whether the site complied with policies protecting habitats and species. The same report says the council judged the location unsuitable partly because children and staff would need to travel along a narrow, unlit private lane that lacks pavements, creating safety risks for anyone on foot.
A council spokesperson said the refusal reflected concerns about the sustainability of the site's location, adding that the potential effect on neighbouring residents was a further factor in the decision. The council also said there was not enough supporting evidence to address worries about the proposal's impact on biodiversity and the wider natural environment.
What was the site being used for before the school moved in?
The same tabloid report indicates the project had been running out of a former piggery, relying on temporary facilities such as a compost toilet, and that nearby residents had questioned whether such a remote site was appropriate for young children.
How did the project end up here?
The Awen Project was originally hosted in Cwm George and Casehill Woods near Dinas Powys under a licence from the Woodland Trust. In 2023, the charity withdrew that agreement, citing what it called multiple breaches that created health and safety concerns for both visitors and wildlife.
Following the termination, the project posted on social media that it had made every effort to preserve the arrangement.
best efforts to salvage
Separately, a national newspaper's coverage reports that the Woodland Trust had actually offered the Awen Project a new Forest Schools licence even after ending the earlier deal over the breaches and safety issues, suggesting the relationship, while strained, had not been entirely severed at that point.
This is not the first time Church has sought planning approval for an educational venture. In 2019, Vale of Glamorgan Council granted retrospective consent for a separate home-schooling scheme for 20 children based at her own property in Dinas Powys, according to earlier coverage from a Welsh news service. In previous remarks reported by a Welsh regional outlet, Church said the Awen Project was designed to give pupils a voice in how the school is run, and noted that the education inspectorate Estyn had responded positively to the plans.
What happens next?
Church has declined to comment publicly on the refusal but is pursuing her appeal through Planning and Environment Decisions Wales. According to a further report, no date has yet been set for that appeal hearing, meaning the future of the site remains unresolved for now.
Key Facts
- The Awen Project was founded in 2019 by Charlotte Church and Jonathan Powell.
- It began operating at the Wenvoe site in 2024 without planning permission.
- Vale of Glamorgan Council refused retrospective permission in October 2025, citing noise, safety and biodiversity concerns.
- Planning officers said no ecological reports had been submitted with the application.
- Church has appealed to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, with no hearing date yet confirmed.
