AN Assembly member has urged the Welsh government not to follow Herefordshire's route but to safeguard local authority farms in Wales from a potential sell-off.

William Powell, the Welsh Liberal Democrat assembly member for Mid & West Wales, and a spokesperson for Rural Affairs, has put pressure on the deputy minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans AM to avoid what has happened here in light of Herefordshire Council's decision to sell off their county farms estate.

Mr Powell raised the issue during a scrutiny session with the Deputy Minister, and spoke of the vital resource which local authority smallholdings provide in enabling young people who aspire to enter the farming industry to have access to the land.

"Just the other side of Offa's Dyke in Herefordshire, the decision by the Tory-led council to sell-off the authority’s smallholdings is having a devastating impact.

"A number of families have been served Notices to Quit by the council, and there are serious concerns for those affected because in many cases they have nowhere else to go, and no other means of livelihood.

"One of the benefits of local authority owned farms is that they give those who might not otherwise have been able to consider a career in farming, the ability to do so.

"Farming remains an almost exclusively inherited occupation, and this is one way in which this can be addressed. To see increasing numbers of councils choosing to sell-off their land as they look to cut costs is really worrying and I urge the Labour Government to do all it can to stop this happening in Wales.

"Under the Agriculture Act 1970, all Councils in England and Wales must have regard to the general interests of agriculture and of good estate management, and thereby make it their general aim to provide opportunities for people to be farmers on their own account by letting holdings to them. I hope the Labour Government will work with local authorities in Wales to ensure a full understanding of and commitment to this duty."

NFU Deputy President Minette Batters, commenting previously on Herefordshire Council’s stance, said:

"We are deeply concerned for those farmers who have been given Notice to Quit their businesses so soon after the initial announcement. It should now be a priority for the local council to provide those issued with these notices clear and transparent information about the expected timescales involved. They have acknowledged they have a duty of care to treat their tenants fairly. They need to do this with respect and with an understanding of the complete lifestyle change that this decision will mean for many of them.

"We urge the council to give further assurances regarding tenant welfare; to do more to help their tenants through this process and express an understanding of the profound impact of receiving these notices just two months after the initial decision was made."

Meanwhile, Herefordshire's tenant farmers who are threatened with eviction have been told they are entitled to cash to help find support to help plan their future.

Each tenancy can claim up to £500 to put towards skills including financial planning or CV writing under plans confirmed by Herefordshire Council in the past week.

All 15 of the county's farm business tenants have received termination notices in light of Cabinet's controversial pre-Christmas decision to dispose of the land in the next year or so.

Part of the decision included an agreement to offer the affected tenants help so they could move forward.

The council says the money can be used for the likes of business/financial planning, financial advice on closing down, CV writing, or skills training relevant to a new business venture.

In drawing up the scheme, the council said: "To apply, tenants will need to complete a simple application form which asks what activity the funding is for, why it would benefit them and meet their objectives.

"Quotes/evidence to support the costs will also be needed along with details of when it will take place as timescales will be an important consideration for assessing the relevance of the activity.

"We would then need evidence that the activity took place in order for the grant to be claimed."

Funding for the scheme will come from the Property Services budget.