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Calls for pause on council farm sales dismissed

17 Oct 2024 3 minute read
Shadow Rural Affairs Minister – James Evans

Chris HainesICNN Senedd reporter

The Senedd narrowly rejected calls to temporarily halt the sale of council-owned farms amid concerns they are disappearing at an alarming rate due to financial constraints.

James Evans led the debate calling on the Welsh Government to impose a Wales-wide temporary ban on the sale of council-owned farms.

He said: “These farms are not just pieces of land, they’re the lifeblood of rural communities. For generations, they have provided opportunities for our young farmers….

“But now, these farms are being sold off at an alarming rate. And the consequences can be devastating, not just for farming, but the way of life in our rural countryside.”

The Conservative said council-owned farms offer young people who are “locked out” of the agricultural sector a chance to get on the farming ladder through affordable tenancies.

“Without them, we risk shutting the door on the next generation,” he warned.

‘Urgency’

Mr Evans pointed to 2023 statistics showing there are 972 council-owned farms, covering 21,000 hectares – “a huge proportion of our farms across Wales”.

Calling for a moratorium, the shadow rural affairs secretary said: “We need to pause. We need to take a breath and fully assess the long-term impacts of these sales.

“It’s about giving ourselves time to develop a proper, sustainable strategy for the future of farming in Wales.”

Mr Evans, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, said many of the farms are in Welsh-speaking communities as he raised concerns about risks to the language.

He told the Senedd: “I urge this Welsh Government to act with urgency. We cannot sit back and watch as our council farms disappear one by one.”

‘Grasp the nettle’

Backing the motion, his Plaid Cymru counterpart Llŷr Gruffydd said all parties need to hold their hands up about the issue becoming a “political football”.

He said: “The biggest irony, maybe, is that much of this is being driven as a result of Conservative-led austerity, which has put – [interruption] no, no, no – that’s the irony of the situation but I will desist from making that point.

“Look, they have been left with no other option, many of these councils.”

Mr Gruffydd, who has been calling for a national summit on the future of council farms since 2016, urged the Welsh Government to grasp the nettle.

He said: “Ultimately, yes, the responsibility rests with local authorities but the government can’t wash its hands of the problem.

“These farms are a national asset and there’s a pressing need for leadership.”

‘Misplaced’

Responding to the debate on October 16, Huw Irranca-Davies said council farms are important assets offering an invaluable route into agriculture for young people.

Wales’ rural affairs secretary told the Senedd the 2023 Agriculture Act does not give ministers powers of control over councils to sell land.

Mr Irranca-Davies, who is also deputy first minister in the Welsh Government, said: “The sale of land and decisions about how they approach it is for local authorities.”

He added: “We do not have a statutory basis to intervene in the sell-off of land, so the call for a moratorium is misplaced.”

Senedd members voted 25-22 against the Conservative motion. The motion as amended by the Welsh Government was agreed 25-13 with nine abstaining.


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Brychan
Brychan
14 days ago

This Welsh Labour Government are not interested in agriculture. Force councils to sell farms to shore up their slashed capital budgets while at the same time spending millions buying farms for pop concerts and dishing out wedges of cash to ‘eviro-colonial groups’ from across the border.

John Ellis
John Ellis
14 days ago

‘He said: “These farms are not just pieces of land, they’re the lifeblood of rural communities. For generations, they have provided opportunities for our young farmers…. Not often that I find myself agreeing with anyone who has still stuck with the Conservatives in this era of their peculiar madness! But James Evans is absolutely right on this issue. For young people with a yearning to to farm but who have no hope of inheriting their opportunity because their parents, or maybe some other close older relative, aren’t farm owners, local authority owned farms are one of the very few ways… Read more »

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