County Farm Estate management

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Management of the Estate

The Estate mainly comprises of dairy farms with an average size of 49 hectares (122 acres) which are predominantly located in the northern half of the County.

Rents on the estate vary from £75 per hectare (£30 per acre) for seasonal short-term grass keep-type lets to over £370 per hectare (£150 per acre) on the larger dairy farms.

Service purpose and specification

Following a Best Value Review of its County Farms Estate during the turn of the millennium, Members of the Council approved a New Service Purpose and Specification for the Estate to 2013. In 2009, as part of a mid-term review of the Asset Management Plan 3mb for the estate, the aims were focused to the following:

1. Opportunities to farm

Purpose of the service

To provide opportunities for existing tenants to advance their farming businesses and enhance their opportunity to either purchase their own farm or to move from the estate into the private sector. This mobility will provide opportunities for new entrants.

2. Provision of Capital Receipts

Purpose of the service

To promote the Development Estate and to continue to dispose of the Surplus Estate to provide capital receipts to assist the funding of investment in the Core Agricultural Estate and contribute funds towards other corporate needs.

3. Maintaining the rural fabric through the ownership and letting of farms together with the provision of strategic advice on rural matters

Purpose of service

To effectively and efficiently manage the County Farms Estate.

4. Promoting biodiversity

Purpose of service

To promote sustainability and biodiversity by encouraging and supporting, as appropriate, the inclusion of the Estate into the Environmental Stewardship Schemes and to assist tenants with the provision of hedge and tree planting.

5. Promoting the use of County Farms for education

Purpose of the service

To support tenants wishing to use their farms for educational purposes.

Last updated: 21 June 2011