Summary
There is profound disappointment Shire Hall chiefs are planning to ‘continue to flog off the family silver’ in the form of selling council-owned farmland. Gloucestershire County Council Liberal Democrat leaders agreed to continute to implement and update the authority’s rural estate strategy.
Details
Council chiefs say the current 2016 to 2030 plan, which was set up during the previous Conservative administration, includes a “long-established policy of progressive rationalisation” and has a target estate size of around 5,600 acres across around 40 retained holdings.
But Green Party councillor Chloe Turner (Minchinhampton) raised serious concerns over the Lib Dem approach as they had previously supported a motion which called for buying an acre of farmland for each one which is sold. “I find it profoundly disappointing that cabinet are proposing to continue to flog the family silver in the form of ‘rationalising’ the rural estate,” she said in a written question.
“The ‘acre for acre’ policy was proposed by the Lib Dems as a revision to the council’s strategy in February 2022. “The party’s councillors supported the Green motion 904 in July 2022 to maintain the current acreage, and Lib Dem members of the Rural Estate Task Group in 2023 joined other members including me and my Green colleague in supporting an acreage replacement policy.
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“Voters would have fairly assumed that a Lib Dem administration was ready to value and maintain the county farms and indeed grow this important asset.” She asked why Councillor Colin Hay (LD, All Saints and Oakley), who is the cabinet member for the rural estate, had “turned his back on this consistent support” for the “acre for acre policy” and how he justified the change in position.
Cllr Turner also asked if the council’s vast built estate had been thoroughly audited for potential sales ahead of the county farms with all their societal, nature and environmental benefits. Cllr Hay said in his written response that the refreshed plan does not simply focus on disposals and that a key element of the update is the creation of a formal acquisitions policy for the rural estate.
“Officers have been tasked with developing criteria for future acquisitions and identifying opportunities where land purchases could support the council’s strategic priorities and strengthen the long-term sustainability of the estate,” he said.
“While this is not an explicit ‘acre for acre’ replacement policy, it does establish a delivery model that provides the council with the flexibility to acquire land where doing so delivers strategic, environmental, operational or financial benefits.” He said the intention is to ensure that long-term setup of the estate is fit for purpose, financially sustainable and capable of delivering a broad range of outcomes, including supporting new entrants into farming and environmental enhancement, He also said the council continuously reviews its wider property holdings and that the “rationalisation” is not limited to the rural estate and forms part of their broader strategic approach.
Report source: Gloucestershire Live
