Farm Near Llanfyllin to be Sold by Powys County Council Official

A DECISION has been taken by a Powys County Council cabinet member to start the process of selling a farm near Llanfyllin, which could net the authority upwards of £500,000.
Cabinet member for property, Liberal Democrat Cllr Jake Berriman has agreed to “grant delegated authority to the head of property, planning and public protection (Gwilym Davies) to accept the best offer received, following an appropriate period of marketing and negotiation, where that offer is in excess of the guide price”.
The property in question is Gadair Farm near Llanfyllin.
The property includes a six bedroom farmhouse, agricultural buildings, and 17 acres of grazing land and woodland.
It had been advertised online over the last 18 months and the asking price has varied from £450,000 to £575,000.
The sale of county farms has been a hot topic during the last year.
This followed a decision taken in secret by the Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet in September last year to sell 218 acres of the council’s farm estate at the village of Leighton near Welshpool.
The buyers were believed to be Welshpool based waste and recycling firm; Potters who were said to be willing to offer £5 million for the land.
The decision cause uproar amongst opposition councillors.
The deal was called in for scrutiny by the Economy, Residents and Communities committee back in October – and despite calls for the meeting to be held in public, the probe took place in secret.
Last December an opposition motion effectively stopping the sale of county farms up until the end of March, was agreed at a council meeting.
The council now has a target of £10 million to be made each year by selling assets, which would include county farms.
Alongside the decision on the farm another senior councillor has also taken a delegated decision on Tuesday, August 6, to buy a property in Newtown.
Deputy council leader and cabinet member for housing Labour Cllr Matthew Dorrance has agreed:  “to approve the purchase of the property for the sum
detailed in the report.”
The council has invoked parts of the Local Government Act 1972 to keep details of the sale as well as the price of buying the property in Newtown confidential
The council argues that: “the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”
Both decisions will come into force on Wednesday, August 14 which allows five clear days for any committee chairman or chairwoman to call in the decisions for scrutiny. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​