THE possible sale of some of Cornwall Council’s farms estate has triggered widespread alarm among local farmers and campaigners.

The council decided last week to consider the future of its 10,800-acre estate, but a cabinet member says it is not the administration’s intention to get rid of the whole estate.

Cornwall Gateway Community Interest Company (CIC) has now issued a public letter to Cornwall Council expressing disquiet over the possibility the council will get rid of some of its farms. The council’s potential move has led to serious concern among local farmers and campaigners, who see it as a short-term financial fix with long-term consequences for food security, public health and rural livelihoods.

“Farms are not just assets on a balance sheet,” said Joy Bassett, director of the CIC. “They are the foundation of our food system and a vital part of Cornwall’s resilience. Selling them off might ease budget pressures now but at what cost in ten or 20 years?

“As campaigners working across Cornwall’s food and farming community, we believe it’s time to come together around a shared vision, one that protects land, livelihoods and our long-term food security.”

It was recently reported that Cornwall Council could help reduce its £1.2-billion debt if it sold off its farms estate – though a sell-off has not been agreed at this stage. Following a long debate by its sustainable growth scrutiny committee, councillors agreed that there should be an inquiry into the future of the estate, which includes 10,800 acres of land and 81 farms.

The farms estate is the council’s single largest land asset and features 1,600 acres between Liskeard and Blunts village, about 1,000 acres between Mitchell and Trerice in Newquay, with the remainder of the estate dispersed across the rest of Cornwall. A report to the scrutiny committee suggested there could be alternative land use for its farms, including the provision of schools, housing and solar farms.

Cllr Tim Dwelly, portfolio holder for assets, said at last week’s scrutiny meeting that if the council were to reduce its multi-million-pound debt, the “number one thing” would be to sell off the farms estate.

However, he added: “This is about this local authority owning farms and what it does with them. My own hunch is there might be some new uses for some of the land, but I don’t expect there to be a radical getting rid of council farms. I don’t want people to pretend that’s what’s happening as it clearly isn’t going to be the priority for the administration to do that.”

Strategic director Phil Mason told councillors that as the largest land asset owned by the council the farms estate has to be on the table when it comes to considering making savings. He said it was one area the inquiry should look at.

Cllr Dwelly added: “As I said at the committee meeting, the administration does not seek to sell off the farm estate. We will, however, want to look at how the estate can be better managed and will consider all options for reforming it in the future to make best use of the land.”

It is understood this means that although the whole estate is unlikely to be sold, there is the possibility that some of the farms/land will go on the market.

Cornwall Gateway CIC has called for a pause on any sale plans and urged the council to work with stakeholders to find more strategic solutions. In a letter sent to the authority’s Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Leigh Frost, the organisation proposes collaboration to explore viable alternatives including shared processing infrastructure, shorter supply chains and sustainable land use models.

“We’re not just raising the alarm, we are offering a plan,” said Mrs Bassett. “But that plan depends on keeping the land in public hands and working with the people who know how to care for it.”

The letter has been shared with Cornwall’s six MPs and key government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department of Health and Social Care.

The move has also raised concern with one of North Cornwall’s councillors and farmers, Cllr Adrian Parsons.

Cllr Parsons (Altarnun and Stoke Climsland) has said that the move will ‘add extra unnecessary pressure on those who are trying to make a living on our Cornwall Council Farms’.

He said: “How Cornwall has changed! Reckless rhetoric will no doubt add extra unnecessary pressure on those who are trying to make a living on our Cornwall Council (CC) Farms. This is part of our history and heritage with an unrivalled ethos to provide new entrants and the next generation an opportunity to enter an industry that for many without would be inaccessible and why for me any sell off is non negotiable.

“My concern is that so many people have become detached from our rural way of life that they just don't get it. Having once been a member of the farms panel, at the time and even up to now, I feel it was a massive mistake removing this. It allowed officers all but control and a free reign with the opportunity of real hands on scrutiny taken away. We've seen the loss of good land agents to the point the service is stretched to the limit with work now being outsourced to outside firms at what cost? If a farm becomes vacant at times houses are sold off and farms are amalgamated, supposedly to make them more viable.

“More often than not when assets are relinquished only a fraction is retained for investment on the farms estate and as we know CC are notoriously poor when it comes to delivering new infrastructure at a price that's value for money. As far as I'm concerned the farms have so much potential, as with any business it's important to work with our tenants and maximise opportunities and in some respects get back to the traditional basics of running a good estate, anything else is inexcusable!”