University says farm sale cash will be reinvested

Prof Robert Van de Noort said the sale would not prop up the university's general finances

A university has said the planned sale of farmland to build a new village will raise money for food science research.

Plans first emerged in 2021 for nearly 4,000 new homes around the River Loddon near Arborfield, Berkshire.

The land includes Hall Farm, which is part of the University of Reading's Centre for Dairy Research.

The university's vice-chancellor Prof Robert Van der Noort said the money would be reinvested in agricultural studies under the terms of a trust covering the land.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, he insisted the sale would not prop up the university's general finances.

He said: "We just bought another farm... The opportunity we get by generating an income from this by having houses built on it allows us to build new facilities, modern facilities.

"All universities find the current situation really challenging but... the money we generate from the sale of Hall Farm can only be reinvested in research in agriculture and food sciences."

Hall Farm is currently used to graze dairy cattle

In 2024, the university bought 650 acres of farmland at Farley for £16m.

Prof Van de Noort said the sale of Hall Farm would raise "multiple more" than that sum.

Campaigners have criticised the proposed development of 3,930 new homes.

Arborfield parish councillor Paul Stevens told the radio station: "They're calling it the Loddon Garden Village. We are not convinced it will be a garden. It doesn't sound like a village.

"Add it to the 4,000 houses at Shinfield and the 3,500 at Arborfield Green and what you've actually built is a large town."

The blueprint for the development includes a country park, as well as a main road leading to a new bridge over the M4.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to Wokingham Borough Council later this year.