Powys County Council leaves farm tenants in the lurch

Powys County Council has come under fire for making moves to sell its county council farms in a bid to boost finances.

Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr MP Steve Witherden has raised concerns over changes the council is making to its farm estate, which could leave some tenant farmers homeless.

See also: Peterborough Council puts more farms up for sale

With 133 holdings and more than 4,000ha of land, Powys County Council’s farm estate is the largest of its kind in Wales and the fifth largest in the UK.

Mr Witherden told Farmers Weekly the moves to sell the farms will be a tremendous blow for his farming constituents.

“Their eviction from a farm they have cherished, their loss of a home, the sale of treasured livestock, and loss of livelihoods after many years of tenancy will feel like a betrayal,” he said.

“Tenants who have invested considerable sums into the homes and farmland deserve compensation too, so I have pushed the council to provide this.

“In some cases, the focus seems to be to repossess the farm, evict the tenants, sell their home with some small amount of land, and then try to rent out the remaining land.”

Selling the family silver

Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) chief executive George Dunn added: “It is never a good idea when local authorities focus on selling farmland in order to cover up poor financial management.”

Mr Dunn added that, given the history of such farm sales in England and Wales, many would be hard pushed to see where the benefit of those capital disposals can be seen now.

“Sadly, much of that family silver has been sold and frittered away with the same local authorities who were in financial difficulty then continuing to be in financial difficulty.”

The TFA, he told Farmers Weekly, has no difficulty with local authorities selling land where they are looking to invest in the remainder of their estates, but this, he said, “is rarely the case and is clearly not going to be the case with Powys”.

Powys County Council response

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said the sale of two smallholding properties has been approved and both sales are expected to be completed shortly.

“The council is undertaking a strategic rationalisation of its property estate including its commercial and county farms portfolio,” said the spokesperson. 

“This is to ensure that our assets are managed efficiently, sustainably and aligns with the evolving needs of our communities.

“By reviewing and streamlining our property holdings, we aim to reduce maintenance liabilities, improve operational efficiency, and release capital from underutilised or surplus assets.”

They added that the capital receipts generated through this process will be reinvested to support the delivery of the council’s priority projects.

This includes enhancing essential services, modernising infrastructure and driving forward their long-term vision for a more sustainable Powys.