In accordance with the Council’s Committee Procedure Rules and Appendix on Public Speaking, a total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to put questions to the committee on any matter relating to this agenda. Each member of the public will be allowed up to two minutes each to speak, and the Chair will have discretion to vary this where they consider it appropriate.
Members of the public wishing to speak are required to provide notice of this at least three clear working days’ in advance of the meeting.
Minutes:
Sue Helliwell attended the meeting and spoke in relation to Item 5 – Farms Policy and stated that she had concerns about the Council selling off agricultural land and that the Council should be supporting any young person who wanted to start out in farming rather than selling the land for housing. She asked how the Council advertised that they had farms for tenancy. She stated that the report said that there could be solar panels on some farms and asked if this was the case, would the Council get the investment from renewable energy, or would it sell the land off and allow others to profit? She also asked if any farmland would be turned into allotments that town and parish councils would take on and that town and parish councils’ precept would reflect this, and what happened if a town or parish council does not wish to take on the allotment? She stated that no amount of tree planting was going to make a difference to a climate emergency as would just be replacing the trees that have been chopped down elsewhere for housing and in some cases, it would take over 30 years for some trees to fully mature. She appreciated that the Council was under considerable financial constraints, but selling off green and pleasant pastures was not the answer and stated that she had been told that thousands were being spent on adult social care, and asked how much was going on private care homes?
The Chair responded that this report was the start of the review and that there was no-preconceptions of what the outcome would be. A report would be brought back to the Committee come back with recommendations. It would be up to the Advisory Group to consider the selling of land and other uses for the land. The Chair confirmed that the farms were advertised on the Cheshire Farms’ website, in the local press and in the national farming press such as the Farmers Guardian and Farmers Weekly, and that the adverts were shared by other groups to their members - for example Cheshire NFU and Cheshire Young Farmers. In terms of renewable energy, the Council was looking to invest in renewable energy and reports relating to solar farm investment had previously been considered by the Committee. With regards to the question on land being used for allotments, this was for consideration as part of the review. This was not the committee for asking about social care. The Council did not own any care homes so will be paying the private sector for this as the Council had a statutory duty to provide care.
Councillor Rachel Bailey spoke in relation to Item 5 – Farms Policy and stated that she believed a policy of allowing new entrants to benefit from our Farm Estate also supported local communities and the Rural Economy. She stated that it was important for the Member Advisory Group to have a balance of representation and knowledge and asked for the inclusion of the Cheshire National Farmers Union, Cheshire Young Farmers and Reaseheath College in those presenting evidence. She also asked that the meetings were announced on the Council’s Website and open to public attendance. She referred to Table 1 para 15 Terminations & Grants 2012 to 2023 and stated that this suggested that farms had already been taken out of action, without a supporting policy and paragraph 23 which stated that ‘47.36 hectares identified for woodland creation this autumn and feasibility work on a further 88.60’ and asked what precedent did this set and how would Members ensure the updated policy was little more than a retrofit. Cllr Bailey also asked if the policy review included the land at Leighton Hall Farm, which whilst purchased as part of the farms policy, the supporting property remained empty and the land beyond the Biowise food and garden waste plant, was rented to a neighbouring farm.