SHIRE Hall chiefs have agreed to continue selling off county council farmland.

But the move by Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet has been described as continuing “to flog off the family silver”.

At a meeting of Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet last week Liberal Democrat leader last week agreed to continue to implement and update the authority’s rural estate strategy.

Council chiefs say the 2016 to 2030 plan, set by the previous Conservative administration, includes a “long-established policy of progressive rationalisation”.

It has a target estate size of around 5,600 acres across around 40 retained holdings.

The strategy says “the Gloucestershire County Farms Estate plays a strategically important role in sustaining rural communities by providing gateway opportunities into agriculture and ancillary businesses.”

Cllr Chloe Turner (Minchinhampton) raised concerns as the Liberal Democrats had previously supported a motion which called for buying an acre of farmland for each one sold.

“I find it profoundly disappointing that cabinet are proposing to continue to flog the family silver in the form of ‘rationalising’ the rural estate,” she said in a written question.

“The ‘acre for acre’ policy was proposed by the Lib Dems as a revision to the council’s strategy in February 2022.

“The party’s councillors supported the Green motion 904 in July 2022 to maintain the current acreage, and Lib Dem members of the Rural Estate Task Group in 2023 joined other members including me and my Green colleague in supporting an acreage replacement policy.

“Voters would have fairly assumed that a Lib Dem administration was ready to value and maintain the county farms and indeed grow this important asset.”

She asked why Cllr Colin Hay (LibDem, All Saints and Oakley), the Cabinet member for the rural estate, had “turned his back on this consistent support” for the acre for acre proposal and how he justified the change in position.

Cllr Turner also asked if the council’s built estate had been thoroughly audited for potential sales ahead of the county farms.

In his written response, Cllr Hay said that the refreshed plan does not simply focus on disposals and that a key element of the update is the creation of a formal acquisitions policy for the rural estate.

“Officers have been tasked with developing criteria for future acquisitions and identifying opportunities where land purchases could support the council’s strategic priorities and strengthen the long-term sustainability of the estate,” he said.

“While this is not an explicit ‘acre for acre’ replacement policy, it does establish a delivery model that provides the council with the flexibility to acquire land where doing so delivers strategic, environmental, operational or financial benefits.”

He said the intention is to ensure that long-term setup of the estate is fit for purpose, financially sustainable and capable of delivering a broad range of outcomes, including supporting new entrants into farming and environmental enhancement,

He also said the council continuously reviews its wider property holdings and that the “rationalisation” is not limited to the rural estate and forms part of their broader strategic approach.