Why do we have farms and how are they managed?
Why do we have farms?
We have farm estates to:
- fulfil our statutory duties: Local Authorities acquired farms because the Smallholdings and Allotments Acts 1907 and 1908 required all councils to meet the demand of applications by young people to enter into farming. The Agricultural Act 1970 replaced the Smallholdings legislation and it requires councils to provide opportunities to people with agricultural experience to farm in their own right
- contribute to wider public benefits: in addition to providing an essential route into farming, farms also help local authorities to deliver important economic, countryside, and environmental outcomes.
Management of the farm estate
We have developed a Farm Estate Plan detailing the approach to managing the farm estate. The plan will enable:
- the provision of farming opportunities for new entrants, established tenants and contract farmers to contribute to the food chain and rural business on an estate of not less than 2,000 hectares
- occupation of around 30 well-equipped and well-maintained holdings, on modern tenancy terms at market rents generating enhanced income from farm diversification
- best environmental practice in accordance with the new Government 25-year environmental policy providing ‘public goods’ and supplementing farm returns with payments under agricultural and environmental support schemes
- a network of holdings through our area that enhance the environment, enjoyment of the countryside, recreation, health and wellbeing and the visitor economy
- retention and acquisition of land that meets our wider objectives for place