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There aren’t many politicians who locate their constituency office in a wooden cabin 50 yards beyond a vehicle security barrier on a rural farm estate.



Mostly they want to demonstrate they are accessible to voters by having a town centre presence, invariably displaying their name on wall or window in giant letters.



Welsh Conservative Assembly leader Andrew RT Davies is an exception.



Finding the office from which he serves more than half a million people in the South Wales Central region he represents as an AM is not easy.



Despite occupying the cabin for 18 months, according to the manager of the farm estate on which it is situated, Mr Davies’ website makes no reference to it.





The fact that it exists was, however, disclosed to a member of Mr Davies’ own party who submitted a freedom of information request to the Assembly Commission, which funds AMs’ offices out of the public purse.



The Commission’s response said Mr Davies’ office was located at Penllyn Estate, Llwynhelig, Cowbridge CF71 7FF.

This is, by all accounts a 1,200-acre mixed farm operation run by Vale farmer and businessman Johnny Homfray.

This is how the farm estate looks from the roadside

(Image: Mark Lewis)

When photographer Mark Lewis and I visited what would more accurately be described as Penllyn Farm Estate, the existence of a political office where researchers and case workers work for their AM boss and his electorate was not apparent.



A number of small businesses had their names prominently displayed on buildings scattered around the estate. The receptionist at a vets’ practice said we had to drive round the corner to the estate office.



We did so and went into a building housing a business called Cowbridge Compost. Could this be a front for Mr Davies, himself a local farmer whose utterances are often described by a less polite term than “compost”? I went in and saw a closed door with a sign saying “Meeting in progress – do not disturb”.



This looked promising.

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To the right was a kitchen with cartons of long life milk, a purple lamp and two tables – one with seven chairs around it and the other with five.



One of the tables had a copy of The Big Issue on it (showing the compassionate side of Mr Davies’ nature?).



There were also copies of Farmer’s Weekly and another magazine I hadn’t heard of called Sheep Farmer.



But despite circumstantial evidence that this could be the Tory leader’s office, there was nothing concrete.



A dog groomer – whom I inadvertently made jump by saying “excuse me” – said Mr Davies’ office was “somewhere round the other side”.



Back round the other side, I approached a man who was getting out of a car. He said Mr Davies’ office was beyond a vehicle barrier which had a sign saying: “All visitors to report to the farm office. Do not proceed onto the farm without permission”.

(Image: Mark Lewis)

The man said we should seek to get to Mr Davies’ office by calling from another vehicle barrier round the corner.



The second vehicle barrier had a sign giving two phone numbers for Andrew and Damien. Both numbers had recorded messages. I left my details.



As I was contemplating whether to be intrepid and walk in past the first vehicle barrier, Damien called me back. He agreed with me that it was not easy to get to Mr Davies’ office: “Maybe that’s the way he likes it,” he said.



Damien said we could walk past the first vehicle barrier and would find Mr Davies’ office 50 yards ahead in a wooden cabin

(Image: Mark Lewis)

I thanked him and we did as he suggested. By now I felt like the protagonist in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, with Mr Davies’ office the equivalent of Jerusalem.



It would have been nice to find someone working in the cabin, but it was locked up.

(Image: Mark Lewis)



I walked over to the farm estate office, where I talked with the friendly but suspicious manager, Andrew Shackell, who said he had known Mr Davies for 25 years.



It seems the politician has occupied the office for 18 months. A lease is still being drawn up, which explains why no rental claims have so far been made by Mr Davies to the Assembly Commission. He will be entitled to claim back rent once the lease is signed.



A source inside the National Assembly said: “While it is of course a decision for individual AMs as to where they locate their offices, most choose a location accessible to residents. Residents shouldn’t have to rely on Google maps and directions from a local dog groomer to find the offices of their ‘local’ AM.”



A spokesman for Mr Davies said: “Following a security incident at Andrew’s previous office on Cowbridge High Street where police attended to support a female employee, he took the decision to locate his constituency office at a more secure location.



“Andrew regularly hosts constituents and organisations at his office and if he knew a Western Mail journalist had intended to visit he would’ve been there to welcome him with the kettle on.”