Campaigners have called on the new Government to stop the sale of council-owned county farms and to ‘give them a new purpose’.
A new study from the countryside charity CPRE has revealed that over 50% of county farm estates have disappeared over the past 40 years, with sales of land especially high in the last two years.
The charity blames the Government’s austerity measures, which have left councils short on funds and made the sale of farmland more appealing.
CPRE are urging the new Government to introduce legislation to stop the sale of county farms and to give them a new purpose.
They say they deliver benefits to local communities such as providing locally-grown food for nearby schools.
