A new Powys County Council Farm Estate Policy – Supporting Sustainable Rural Futures – will be the subject of public consultation from September 1, following Cabinet approval.
The draft policy which sets out the proposed strategic vision, management objectives and working practices for the council rural estate, will replace the existing 2018 County Farm Estate Policy and Delivery Plan and will be the subject of six-week consultation.
The draft policy will be available to view and comment on the council’s website www.powys.gov.uk
Council Leader, Cllr Jake Berriman said:
“The draft Farm Estate Policy has already been tested and modified by the Farm Estate Advisory Group established to advise myself and Cabinet on the operational framework for the council rural estate. They will also help me to consider the consultation responses to help ensure that the new policy approach works for tenants, the environment, communities, and the council.
“The policy aims to ensure that the estate is a dynamic, resilient, and forward-looking asset, which supports the council’s broader ambitions set out in our Stronger Fairer Greener Corporate Plan, delivering our sustainable Powys approach. Used in conjunction with the Council’s Corporate Asset Policy, the draft policy will support the Council’s medium Term Financial Plan, but it is categorically not a route map or programme of asset sales.
“It is, however, an approach that seeks to rationalise our assets, dispose of liabilities and retain land wherever possible to maximise new opportunities to support resilient local food networks and farming, to create a resilient, productive, and inclusive rural estate that nurtures the land, supports communities, and contributes to a prosperous, sustainable rural economy.
“Along with the chair and vice chair of the Farm Estate Advisory Group I have already met with the three main farming unions representing our tenants and we have a diary date set to meet out Tenant Farmers Association, but this is a consultation for everyone.
“We are keen to hear from young farmers and all those with a genuine interest in the estate and its future,” he added.
