City council selling arable farmland for £9m

The land is used to grow various different crops including potatoes, sugar beet and cereals

A cash-strapped council is selling a "highly productive" 1,218-acre (493-hectare) farm estate for £9m.

Peterborough City Council has listed the parcel of arable farmland as part of an ongoing quest to stabilise its finances.

It appointed the estate agents Savills to sell Newborough Estate, north-east of the city, which currently has several tenant farmers.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The council has been in the process of negotiating sales of its rural estate for the past two years, following a review of its finances carried out by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)."

They said areas of the estate had been offered to existing tenants on a "first refusal basis" and that it is in negotiations with some of those who had made offers.

"However, it is likely that parts of the estate will also be offered for sale on the open market and we will announce updates in due course," the spokesperson said.

Financial challenge

The council has been reviewing its rural estate for the past two years as it is currently on a financial improvement plan.

It follows a review in 2021 into council finances and governance by DLUHC and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

The council said in a recent financial update that it faced a "significant" challenge, projecting a shortfall of more than £11m in its net revenue this year.

It is currently in the process of selling off or repurposing community buildings to help balance the budget.

Savills said the sale was a "rare opportunity to acquire a large parcel of land in a productive farming area".

The land is used to grow various crops including potatoes, sugar beet, cereals, maize and oil seed rape.

There are four farmhouses, two of which are empty and the other two let out on a farm business tenancy agreement.