The family owned forestry and land management contractor, trading for 19 years, plans
to double its workforce within two years as efforts rise across Wales for peatland
restoration, flood prevention and conservation work.
A forestry and land management contractor with roots in the Cynon Valley has opened a new
headquarters in Aberdare and made two senior management appointments, as it positions itself
for a larger share of the growing market for peatland restoration, flood prevention and
conservation work in Wales.
Cwm Agricultural Ltd, incorporated in April 2007 and now in its 19th year of trading, has
appointed Neil Maycock as Sales and Operations Manager and Cameron Maycock as Contracts
Manager. The appointments coincide with a move to new offices in Aberdare, a rebrand and the
launch of a new website. The company currently employs nine full time staff alongside around a
dozen regular contractors, and says it hopes to double the size of its team within two years if it
can secure further contracts and widen its geographical reach.
The business was founded by managing director Simon Cook and has built its work delivering
forestry, environmental land management and conservation contracts across Mid and South
Wales. Its clients include Natural Resources Wales, national park authorities, local councils,
private estates and conservation organisations. Past work ranges from clearing dangerous trees
in woodland managed by Natural Resources Wales and restoring degraded upland peatland, to
building drainage that reduces flood risk to communities and controlling invasive species on
protected sites.
The two appointments are intended to give the company dedicated commercial and contractual
capacity for the first time. As Sales and Operations Manager, Neil Maycock is responsible for
developing new client relationships and ensuring the work behind each contract is planned and
resourced. Cameron Maycock, as Contracts Manager, oversees compliance and delivery on
larger and more complex programmes, including framework contracts and publicly funded
conservation schemes. “For most of our 19 years we have let the work speak for itself,” said Neil
Maycock. “We have grown by doing the job properly and being asked back. What has changed
is that we now have management in place so we can take on bigger programmes without losing
the standards that got us here. The move to Aberdare gives us a proper base to coordinate that
work.”
Maycock said demand for the company’s services was rising. “There is more publicly funded
work coming forward for peatland, flood prevention and habitat creation. The challenge for the
bodies commissioning that work is finding contractors who can operate on sensitive upland and
protected sites and meet the standards the funding requires. That is the gap we are building the business to fill.”
The timing reflects a period of increased public investment in land management. Natural
Resources Wales, through the National Peatland Action Programme and Welsh Government
funding, has set out plans to roughly triple the rate of peatland restoration in Wales, with a
target of 1,800 hectares a year by 2030. Local authorities across the Valleys and rural Wales
continue to manage extensive woodland and countryside estates under tight budgets, and
water companies are funding catchment and natural flood management measures. Across the
border in England, the requirement for Biodiversity Net Gain on most new development is in force
since February 2024, is creating additional demand for habitat creation that contractors in the
border counties are placed to serve.
For a business that started in Cwmaman, the new Aberdare headquarters keeps the company
in Rhondda Cynon Taf while giving it room to grow. Cwm Agricultural is one of a number of
specialist rural businesses operating from the Cynon Valley, a part of Wales where skilled
outdoor and land based employment remains valuable to the local economy.
The company said the rebrand and new website, at cwmagricultural.co.uk, bring its full range of
services together in one place for the first time, from tree surveys and selective harvesting to
peatland restoration, wetland creation, natural flood management and timber dam installation.
Cwm Agricultural said it is open to discussions with commissioners across Wales and the
neighbouring English counties about forestry, land management and conservation work.
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