A STRUCTURED disposal plan for Herefordshire Council's smallholdings estate has been approved.

The recommendations, approved by cabinet members last week, include offering the smallholdings estate to the market by way of an informal tender to make sure the market is 'comprehensively canvassed' for the best buyers.

It is hoped that will generate the highest selling prices within a fixed timeframe.

Smallholdings will be offered as a whole, as sub-estates, individual farms, and as smaller parcels of land and groups of buildings, to widen market coverage and ensure best value.

Councillor Harry Bramer, cabinet member for contracts and assets, said: “Herefordshire Council is committed to its duty of care to the local community and to tenants. As we find alternative ways to fund the statutory services we have to provide, we need to prioritise which activities the council can support.

"The smallholdings disposal plan will help us ensure best value for money for taxpayers.”

Any existing farm business tenancies will be extended until September 2017 to allow tenants farming arable land to harvest crops before any sale and to optimise value by selling land and farms as properly farmed units.

The estate is to be marketed from spring 2017, so the completion of sales can be managed to coincide with tenancy end dates and the farming season.

However, confirmation that the council's decision to sell off its smallholdings estate was being investigated by the Local Government Ombudsman was not given.

Councillor Anthony Powers asked whether there was an update on the investigation, which was confirmed as having been referred by the Tenant Farmers Association in April.

But he was told that, under the LGO's own terms, the council was not able to comment whether an investigation was ongoing or not and if there was, no timelines were given.

Cabinet was also told the council had been working with a trust which supports people in agriculture looking to find another place.

Cllr Terry James said: "We must realise this is going to be heart-breaking for many families whose lives are going to be destroyed by this. It's going to be devastating for some hard-working people. "Politics talk about hard-working individuals and these are the very people who are and we are kicking them in the teeth."

Tenants will be provided with the opportunity to purchase their own holdings, provided best value is achieved and it does not negatively impact upon the value of the remainder of the identified estate for sale or retention.