Herefordshire Council has been accused of ‘pulling the ladder’ from under the next generation of farmers and stripping the county’s assets for short term gain.

The NFU and Tenant Farmers Association slammed the county council on Friday, over its decision to sell off its tenant farms. The union said it is “devastated” for its members who will lose their livelihoods, after the authority announced it would sell its farms on Thursday.
 
The move came despite a recommendation from the council’s general, overview and scrutiny committee of only a partial sale of the estate – along with the reorganisation of the remaining farms into a “more progressive and commercial entity.”
 
45 farming families will be affected across the estate which comprises of around 4,800 acres. The NFU lobbied the council to retain as much of its estate as possible, and to work with tenants, to improve estate management, rather than viewing the farms “as a balance sheet asset.”
 
Clare Greener, NFU Herefordshire county adviser, commented, “We gained widespread support when the estate’s future came into question, so to see the council farms axed is a devastating blow.
 
“Herefordshire farming families have faced serious upheaval throughout this process, unable to plan for the future, and they will be inconsolable that they are losing their businesses. The NFU will continue to support them through this difficult process and we will now see what options are left on the table.”

Greener added, “The union, together with the Herefordshire Tenants Association, offered to help the authority develop a strategic plan for the estate’s future, this has not been taken up and it appears a report from Fisher German on the estate and the scrutiny committee recommendations have been side-stepped. We understand there are pressures on council budgets but they are a valuable resource and properly managed can provide sustainable long term income; we remain convinced that they should not just be cashed in.”    

The county council came under fire from the Tenant Farmers Association over the sell-off when it went against the recommendations of its own Scrutiny Committee in late November.

 The TFA also said the report from consultants Fisher German, mentioned by the NFU’s Clare greener, was withheld in the run up to the council’s announcement.

On Wednesday, ahead of the meeting at which the Council’s decision was announced, TFA chief executive George Dunn said, “The tenant farmers who live with their families on the estate and stakeholder organisations were given assurances that the report would be placed in the public domain as part of the evidence base for the review.  Eighteen months down the line and this report has not seen the light of day.  Despite many attempts including a Freedom of Information request, the Council has refused to publish this report.”