PLANS put forward by Somerset County Council to sell off tenant farms have come under fire by Yeovil MP David Laws.

The LibDem has attacked cabinet members for agreeing on a ‘farm by farm’ assessment of some 62 estates owned by the authority in an attempt to reduce its £400million budget deficit.

More than 100 farmers attended a meeting at County Hall in Taunton yesterday to protest against the proposals and accused the Conservative administration of “selling the family silver”.

Farms under review include “core” estates in Donyatt, which had been protected in previous sales in 1983 and 2003.

The meeting heard councillors recommend that the farms, valued at £40million in total, “may” rather than “would” be sold.

But Mr Laws has called the decision an “act of rural vandalism”.

He said: ““The present county farm estate produces a good return for Somerset, and it allows new farmers to come into the industry in Somerset – without this first step on the ladder, it would be almost impossible for new entrants to come into the farming sector, given the huge size and cost of farms today.

“The Conservatives seem determined to flog these farms off for short term advantage, ignoring the long term asset which they represent for Somerset.”

David Huxtable, the authority’s Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “We understand the concerns that tenants have over their future, so will look at each farm on a case by case basis over the next two months.

“We are committed to cutting debt and we’ll have to work with far less money from government.

“The third biggest bill this Council faces is to pay off debt interest of £35m a year.

“These are tough times and we are facing up to tough decisions.”

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