Powys councillors vote to pause controversial farm sales
At a meeting of Powys County Council on Thursday, July 10 a cross-group motion was placed before councillors to debate the future of the county farms estate.
Cllr Gareth D Jones (Powys Independents group, Llanfair Caereinion and Llanerfyl) put forward the motion to and was backed by Plaid Cymru group leader Cllr Elwyn Vaughan officially seconded the motion.
Cllr Benjamin Breeze (Conservative) reminded councillors that a meeting organised by Kerry community council in May and held in Sarn near Newtown had discussed concerns about the sale of council farms and the idea for the motion came from that meeting.
Council leader Liberal Democrat Cllr Jake Berriman said: 'We would love to be in a position to make grand statement about keeping our farm estate as it is and invest properly in it.
"We're not in that position and let's not kid ourselves, we've not been in that position for a long time.
'We are operating a policy that stems from 2018 and that's prior to this administration.'
He said that in 2000 there were 216 tenanted farms, 2010 there were 154 and currently there are 133.
Cllr Berriman continued: 'The farms are not being sold more quickly under this administration than in the past.
'We do not have a target in terms of farm receipts.
'Previously from 2015 to 2018 there was a specific target."
He explained that they formed part of an 'overarching' target of £10 million and that assets were not being sold off for 'laughs and chuckles' but to invest in education and roads and other building projects.
Cllr Gwynfor Thomas (Conservative) said: 'I will be supporting this (motion) because we need to take stock.
'I don't think we've explored it enough, I think there's an opportunity for green investment.
'We can have biodiversity schemes and attract green grants from Welsh and UK Governments.
'I think these are important considerations when we are looking at the management policy of the farm estate.'
He recalled that when he was chairman of the Place scrutiny committee in the past and the current policy came before the committee around eight years ago there had been talk about investing in renewable energy scheme in partnership with tenants.
Cllr Thomas said: 'It wasn't done, and I wonder where we would be today if it had.'
Former council leader and cabinet member for more prosperous Powys, Cllr James Gibson-Watt said: 'There is a new rural enterprise policy which is being drafted and will be presented to the farm estates advisory group.'
He wanted councillors to vote to keep the status quo until the new policy could be studied by them in the autumn.
Cllr Jones was brought back in to sum up and said: 'I didn't bring this motion forward for laughs or chuckles.
'I went to that meeting in Sarn and made a pledge to everyone there that I would do everything in my power to stop this and that's what I'm doing.
'I agree 100 per cent that previous administrations got this wrong.
'Let's not get it wrong now.'
He added that he looked forward to seeing the new policy
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