[Brijjy]

This is the reply I got from the council when I enquired about buying or renting land.

Dear Mrs Clacey,
 
Thank you for your email and I note your continued interest in purchasing some land adjoining your property at Gerynant.
 
I think the difficulty here is that there is no obvious corner or offlying section of the field that adjoins Gerynant that could be sold.  We need to maintain Bacaethlon at or around 3 acres so it retains its status as an agricultural property (irrespective of whether the current tenant is using the land)- hence we can't consider the sale of any significant proportion of the field.  On this basis I don't believe a sale of land is going to be possible. Regrettably we could not consider letting a parcel of land to you as this would be contrary to Farms Estate policy.
 
I regret that I can't offer a positive response to you enquiry- please don't hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss the matter further or if clariification of any point is needed.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Hugo Van Rees

It is so annoying that the land is not being used by the tenant and is being used by his neighbour the farmer. A chunk of the field has been sold to another neighbour so surely a precedent has been set? Grrrrr

[little blue]

grrr indeed!
how frustrating...

[Lesley Silvester]

One rule for one and a different rule for someone else.   

[SteveHants]

Id have asked the tennant (if it is a tennant farmer) as you could have had it on an informal basis, especially if it aint being used.

I find the question - 'would you like some money?' Is rareley answered in the negative.

[chairmanphil]

tuff and very irritating i would think. have you tried asking the council for some unused land they can let you have? you may be able to get some wasted scrub that you could clean up and start the soil improvement. good luck with it whichever way it goes.

[tizaala]

Brijjy, Powys cc has been systematicaly selling off it's holdings for a few years now , where they had two next to each other with about 15 acres each and one became vacant they would make the occupied one larger by 12 acres and then sell off the holding with 3 acres. this has been the pollicy to raise revenue , I find it sad as council holdings were the first foot on the ladder to farming for a lot of people. I know that one of their holdings is also being held by a couple who have bought their own place but won't relinquish their tennancy as they want the extra land for their own use. Greedy sods.

[hughesy]

The land is rented out by the council to a tenant? He pays rent for it. Put yourself in his shoes. Council turn up one morning and tell him they've just sold some of the land he's renting. He's not gonna be happy is he? Even if they sold it to you it would come with a sitting tenant which would mean you couldn't use it until the end of his tenancy which could be years away. Doesn't matter whether he's "using" it or not.

[Brijjy]

Brijjy, Powys cc has been systematicaly selling off it's holdings for a few years now , where they had two next to each other with about 15 acres each and one became vacant they would make the occupied one larger by 12 acres and then sell off the holding with 3 acres. this has been the pollicy to raise revenue , I find it sad as council holdings were the first foot on the ladder to farming for a lot of people. I know that one of their holdings is also being held by a couple who have bought their own place but won't relinquish their tennancy as they want the extra land for their own use. Greedy sods.

Yep that is also happening down the road although the couple still live in the house, they don't farm the land but sublet it to another farmer. I'm sure this isn't allowed but the CC doesn't seem to mind.

[Lesley Silvester]

There's an area of land behind out houses which, for years, the council owned and rented out to local householders to build garages on.  It was £50 a year and you HAD to put a garage on it, you couldn't just park on your bit.  A few years ago, someone found out by chance that the council had put the land up for auction.  Not only would people lose their parking spaces but also the garage that they had paid for.  We formed a consortium and bought the land ourselves but it could have been very different.  I know councils have a pressure to save money but they should consider their tenants.