2nd December 2006

Letter in response to various letters in local press: The Citizen (23/11/06), The Gazette (24/11/06) and Wilts and Glos Standard (23/11/06):

Conservative County councillors claim that Cotswold's ancient farmland including much in the Stroud area, is not at risk of being sold. However other councillors, along with farmers who protested outside Shire Hall last week are rightly concerned by the Tory move to establish a group to oversee farm land disposal.

Tories and Labour have both privatised public assets on a massive scale. It is important these farms don't go the same way and worse still end up as 'pony paddock weekenders'. Too many farms are going out of business. This makes our County farms all the more important for young people who want to start farming. Future oil price rises will also make a return to farming in Gloucestershire essential. If we sell the farms off now we will loose the possibilities of revitalising our local farming.

The community buy-out of Fordhall farm earlier this year by the 5,500 people provides one way forward (i): community land trusts which mutualise landholding using a cooperative, non-profit model. By mutualising land we can enable it to be forever affordable to individuals and accessible to the community. Land is effectively taken off the market, rather than at risk of being privatised by councillors now or in the future.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Note

(i) The Stroud Community Agriculture project is another model where a farm has direct support from people: monthly contributions from members ensure the farm keeps running and they get a regular share of the produce.