A new Powys council farm estate policy has been backed by senior councillors, and shows they are not “disinterested landlords.”

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet on Tuesday, June 23, councillors agreed the update.

Powys has the biggest rural farm estate in Wales and the fifth biggest in the UK, and how it is run has seen it become a political football in recent years.

The major change is a move to 15-year farm tenancies from the previous eight years.

The updated policy is supposed to “establish a clear strategic framework for the council’s farm estate by defining its primary purpose as a long-term public asset that supports entry into farming, sustainable land management, resilient rural communities and wider corporate outcomes, while operating within the council’s approved financial framework.”

A consultation took place between September 1 and October 12 last year on the draft proposals.

Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said: “I’m really pleased to be able to bring this policy to you today, it’s been some time in gestation.

“We received not the most extensive response to that consultation, but some really detailed responses from people who understand and care about the sector, and I’m particularly glad we had quite a lot of tenant participation in those responses.”

Cllr Berriman continued: “What we wanted to do is ensure that the estate going forward is providing competitive and viable rent so that we are getting value for the council but not being prohibitive to those who wish to become tenants.”

He added that the estate was being used as a “powerful tool” to respond to the nature and climate emergencies the council has declared, and to ensure that farming practices are those “to be proud of”.

Finance portfolio holder Cllr David Thomas (Labour – Tawe Uchaf), while welcoming the new policy, pointed out that investment in the estate would be difficult to justify.

Cllr Thomas said: “I do hold some concerns, particularly in the long term, over resource implications.”

He drew attention to director of corporate services and Section 151 officer Jane Thomas’s comments in the report.

Cllr Thomas said that her comments “point out a number of objectives in the policy have the potential to require considerable investment and, with the current situation the authority is in, it will have to be carefully managed.

“She also reminds us that the council’s focus should be on statutory services in the long run.”

These are education and social services that the council is legally obliged to provide, while maintaining a farming estate is not.

He added that any investment in the estate would need to be supported by “business cases” and approval of projects to align with the council’s “wider priorities”.

Cabinet member for legal and regulatory services Cllr Richard Church (Liberal Democrat – Welshpool Castle) welcomed the policy and said: “It demonstrates that we’re not disinterested landlords who let out land without showing any interest in what the land is used for during a tenancy.

“We’re landlords who are acting as custodians of the land for the long term – this policy demonstrates that very clearly.”

Councillors went on to unanimously vote in favour of adopting the policy.