Transparency data

73rd annual report to Parliament on smallholdings in England

Published 16 January 2025

Applies to England

Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 59 of the Agriculture Act 1970.

© Crown copyright 2024

Introduction

This report is required under section 59 of the 1970 Agriculture Act (1970 Act). It provides statistical details to Parliament of the land let as smallholdings by local authorities across England, for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Local authority smallholdings, or council farms (or county farms) as they are now more commonly known, are administered under Part III of the 1970 Act. Under that legislation smallholdings authorities are required to make it their general aim to provide opportunities for persons with sufficient experience to be a farmer on their own account, as well as to have regard to the general interests of agriculture and of good estate management. These council farms are generally capable of providing full-time employment for not more than two people.

The 1970 Agriculture Act defines smallholdings authorities as county councils for England. However, there have been many changes to local authority structures since the 1970 Act and consequently, some unitary authorities and borough and district authorities have continued the responsibilities of former county councils in letting land as smallholdings. Hence, it was decided in 2015 that it is important to include data in this report from these authorities, as well as county councils where possible, to extend the coverage and value of this report in providing more accurate details of land let as smallholdings from councils across England.

Council farms have an important role to play within their communities as well as providing new entrants with opportunities to establish and develop farming businesses. These farms bring benefits to the wider public through educational visits, environmental enrichment and local food. The value of the council farm structure in supporting new entrants and progressive tenants as well as delivering wider public benefits is demonstrated in the case studies provided by Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire County Councils.

The data in this report are taken from the most recent annual survey on council farms conducted by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) which includes responses from 33 local authorities that let land as smallholdings. This report includes statistical information on the area and number of smallholdings held by reporting local authorities, and details on tenancies and the financial position of the authorities in relation to their farm estates.

Defra thanks CIPFA and all the local authorities who have kindly provided the statistical information presented in this report and to Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire County Councils for providing the case study information.

Statistical information on authority smallholdings

From the 43 authorities approached (21 unitary authorities and 22 county councils) 33 submitted details of the smallholdings they let. However, some authorities did not complete the survey in full. As a result, the totals for some sections of the survey (financial information, for example) might be represented by fewer authorities than responded to the survey.

Total area of smallholding land

As of 31 March 2023, the total area of land in England estimated to be let as smallholdings was 80,700 hectares (estimated from the 31 authorities that provided data). Table 1 provides a breakdown of the estimated area let as smallholdings by reporting authority. The land area reported as let for smallholdings was higher than the last financial year. However, it should be noted that there were 5 more authorities reporting area data this year. Furthermore, the area let as smallholdings is only an estimate based on the number and average size of smallholdings per authority. Therefore, the change in land area between surveys will not be accurate. The data on acquisitions and disposals indicate a decrease (0.4%) in the area of land held by reporting authorities (see Acquisitions and Disposals sections) which may be a better indicator of land area change between surveys.

Farming sectors

Each reporting authority classifies themselves to a farming sector based on the predominant farming activity (by area) carried out within that authority. The distribution (as at 31 March 2023) is shown in Figure 1. The most common sector was Mixed/General and the least common sector was Horticulture, which none of the reporting authorities stated as the predominant farming activity.

Figure 1: Percentage of authorities by predominant farming sector

Farming sector	Per cent
Arable	28.1
Dairy	12.5
Dairy/Stock Rearing	18.8
Horticulture	0.0
Mixed/General	37.5
Stock Rearing	3.1

Notes:

1. Each authority is classified to one farming sector based on the predominant farming activity (by area) carried out within that authority. The farming sector definitions were established and agreed as a result of consultations between the data provider (CIPFA) and the authorities themselves.

2. Data are for the 32 authorities that provided a farm business sector

3. Totals may not sum to 100% due to rounding

Numbers of smallholding lets

The 32 authorities that provided data reported that they owned and let 2,287 smallholdings as at 31 March 2023. Table 2 provides a breakdown by each authority.

Rent due for smallholdings

For the 28 authorities that provided rent data, a total of approximately £27 million in rent was due for smallholdings as at 31 March 2023. Table 3 provides figures for the rent due by each authority. Table 4 shows average rent per hectare values by farm business sector for the 28 authorities where sector, rent and area data were all available. Of the total area of land let as smallholdings, the average rent was £348 per hectare for the 28 authorities where both rent and area data were available. When this rental value is split into agriculture licences (equipped and bare land farms) it reveals that an equipped farm on average costs £34 (10.6%) more per hectare when compared to a bare land farm.

Acquisitions and disposals

There has been a decrease of 291 hectares (0.4%) in the area of land held by the 29 reporting authorities that provided data, as of 31 March 2023. Table 5 provides figures for land acquired and disposed of by each authority in 2022/2023: a total of 37 hectares were acquired by 2 authorities and a total of 328 hectares were sold or otherwise disposed of by 15 authorities.

Number of smallholding tenants

For the 32 authorities that provided data, there were 1,484 tenants as at 31 March 2023. Table 6 provides figures on the number of tenants by each authority in 2022/2023: 120 tenancies were granted and 153 tenancies were terminated. Table 7 provides a breakdown of tenancies granted and terminated. For the 33 authorities that provided data, a total of 48 tenancies (31 equipped farms; 17 bare land farms) were granted to new tenants. These are first time entrants to the individual estate, who have not previously occupied a council farm. In addition, there were 7 internal promotions, 1 tenancy was transferred from another estate, and 5 tenancies were ended due to the tenant leaving the estate to seek other opportunities.

Type of smallholdings tenancy

Of the 32 authorities that provided information there were a total of 278 lifetime tenancies, 147 retirement tenancies, 1,069 Farm Business Tenancies, as well as 330 secondary lettings. Figures for each of the authorities are provided in Tables 8. Farm Business Tenancies represent 71% of the agreements, however these can vary in duration. Figure 2 demonstrates the type of tenancy agreements in place. Lifetime tenancies represent 19% of all tenancy agreements, 19% were Farm Business Tenancies that run for less than 5 years, 16% were Farm Business Tenancies that run between 5 and 10 years, and 36% were Farm Business Tenancies that run for more than 10 years. Retirement tenancies represent 10% of all tenancy agreements.

Figure 2: Percentage of smallholdings by tenancy duration

Tenancy duration	Per cent
Lifetime	18.6
Retirement	9.8
Farm Business Tenancy < 5 years	19.3
Farm Business Tenancy 5 - 10 years	16.3
Farm Business Tenancy 10 - 15 years	17.3
Farm Business Tenancy > 15 years	18.5

Notes:

1. Equipped and bare land farms only

2. For the 32 authorities that provided tenancy information

3. Totals may not sum to 100% due to rounding

Financial position of authorities

Total revenue in the year ending 31 March 2023 for the 20 authorities that provided complete financial data showed a total operational income of £14,791,000 against a total operational expenditure of £8,115,200, giving an operational surplus of £6,675,800. Total non-operational income was £165,600, against a total non-operational expenditure of £2,446,000, giving a non-operational deficit of £2,280,400. The revenue account net surplus was therefore £4,395,400. Table 9 summarises the total revenue account for land held by authorities for the year ended 31 March 2023. Please note that the financial position is for the 20 authorities that provided a response for all constituent financial variables in their account. In addition, totals may be underestimations since an authority’s accounts are included even if the authority responded “Not applicable” for any of the account’s constituent financial variables. Therefore, totals are not comparable to those in other years.

Case studies

Cambridgeshire County Council

Louis Osman – Lynchets Farm, Great Chishill – this is a 140 acre starter holding

Lou is a first generation farmer. L G Osman Shepherding is a sheep farming operation across Cambridgeshire running a flying flock across grass land in the summer and arable cover crops in the winter. Lou is eager to become a leader within regenerative grazing focusing on improving the environment with a low input flock working on regenerative grazing strategies based upon nitrogen fixing grasses, legumes and herbs. His proposed land use will allow the soil to rest from intensive arable cropping.

George Smith – Bankside Farm, Ely – 208 acres

George grew up on his father’s farm and has been around agriculture and learning from an early age. He is a young and enthusiastic farmer who has gained the relevant experience and knowledge through working in the industry and has been responsible for all ‘on farm’ operations for his employer over the last seven years. George is interested in adopting new schemes, such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and implementing them on the farm.

James Griffin – Dockseys and Rampleys Farm, Hemingford Grey 18 acres

James is a first-generation farmer from the village of Hemingford and his business is based on producing high value breeding bulls and females with high genetic merit. The cropping on this holding would be centred around growing high quality legume-based forage crops to supply the existing nucleus herd of Hemingford Pedigree Simmentals. Being from the village himself, James’ business is also going to support and work together with the community by developing some form of educational interaction with a local school as well as producing quality products with an end use within the surrounding villages.

Jordan Abblitt – Jubilee Farm, Chatteris – this is a 113 acre starter holding

Jordan has an extensive farming career, running a farm and growing a variety of crops and is part of Abblitt family who are already tenants on the Estate. He has a growing family, and his partner Kelly shares his ambition to build a successful business. Jordan is very keen to adopt environmentally sensitive methods and techniques and use different methods of cultivation.

Wiltshire County Council

Lower Hawkstreet Farm, Bromham

Lower Hawkstreet Farm is a 116 acre mixed farm that came to tender in late 2022. As with all farms that become available to let, Wiltshire Council employ a local agency to openly market the property including advertising within the Farmers Weekly and open days. Lower Hawkstreet Farm welcomed over 140 potential applicants to the viewing days.

After a competitive bidding process Wiltshire Council chose Matt and Lucy Carnie to take on the 10-year tenancy of the farm. With their three young children it was decided that Lower Hawkstreet Farm would be the perfect starter farm for this young family to begin their adventure into farming.

Their business plan outlined Matt’s extensive background in the agricultural industry, and Lucy’s attention to detail and entrepreneurial skills. What stood out most, however, was their symmetry to Wiltshire Council’s policies, and willingness to work with the Council towards its environmental and educational objectives from the outset. Their business plan proposed working with Jamie’s Farm, a local charity supporting the development of young people, to provide a location to bring children to educate them on farms and food.

Their tenancy started in May 2023, and since then, they have taken Lower Hawkstreet Farm from strength to strength. There have been notable setbacks including the hay barn burning down, but now rebuilt, within the first 6 months but these issues have been resolved through an excellent working landlord and tenant relationship.

The couple have invested in the existing buildings, bringing them up to the standards expected by the RSPCA to meet their higher welfare assurance scheme and are now contract rearing dairy heifers with plans to establish their own wagyu beef herd. With animals on site and crops in the ground, plans are afoot to utilise the traditional farm buildings in conjunction with Jamies Farm, a charity with whom the tenants already have a fantastic working relationship.

Matt and Lucy have also found time to renovate the cottage, a secondary property on the farm. Their attention to detail with the renovation has been superb. Since Summer 2024 the cottage has been run as a successful 5* Air BnB known as Three Woods Farmhouse.

In addition, the tenants have committed to working closely with Wiltshire Council to enhance the environmental aspects of Lower Hawkstreet Farm through a pilot biodiversity scheme.

It has been encouraging to see so much interest in Council Farms such as Lower Hawkstreet farm. The quality of new tenants such as Matt and Lucy Carnie coming through is excellent and their willingness to work collaboratively with the Council is commendable.

Closing summary

This report indicates that council farms continue to play an important role in the tenanted agricultural sector across England. Although the data set is incomplete it reveals that council farms cover approximately 80,700 hectares of agricultural land. This land provides approximately 2,287 holdings for around 1,484 tenant farmers.

Approximately 51% of the lettings are equipped farms (1,158 equipped holdings) and 48 lettings were made to new entrants during 2022/2023. The report shows that the 20 reporting authorities who submitted full financial information generated a revenue account net surplus of around £4.4 million in 2022/2023.

Tables

Table 1: Area of smallholdings land held by smallholdings authorities as at 31 March 2023 (hectares)

Local authority	Equipped farm let area	Bare land farm let area	Agricultural license let area	Total let area
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	3,188	815	33	4,036
Buckinghamshire	1,822	0	0	1,822
Cambridgeshire	11,260	1,711	12,885	25,856
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	1,727	0	108	1,835
Cheshire West and Chester	421	0	356	777
Cornwall	3,702	186	271	4,159
Cumbria	0	61	24	85
Devon	3,344	101	402	3,847
Dorset	2,090	123	133	2,346
Durham	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
East Riding of Yorkshire	1,512	945	0	2,457
Essex	68	11	0	79
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	[x]	85	[x]	85
Herefordshire	108	94	0	202
Hertfordshire	1,088	237	238	1,563
Hillingdon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	2,232	63	430	2,725
Lincolnshire	1,123	5,489	0	6,612
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	107	10	[x]	117
Norfolk	5,038	1,465	90	6,593
North Lincolnshire	0	14	0	14
North Somerset	90	76	0	166
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	189	317	0	506
Oxfordshire	16	322	6	344
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	710	334	29	1,073
South Gloucestershire	321	43	0	364
Staffordshire	2,253	77	304	2,634
Suffolk	3,544	616	673	4,833
Surrey	646	129	20	795
Swindon	480	32	3	515
Warwickshire	1,588	345	[x]	1,933
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	104	276	1	381
Wiltshire	1,249	304	369	1,922
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	50,020	14,281	16,375	80,676

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

2. Values are estimates of the area of land let as smallholdings by each authority. This is calculated by multiplying the number of lettings by the average size of those lettings in hectares.

Table 2: Number of smallholding lets held by smallholdings authorities as at 31 March 2023

Local authority	Equipped farm lets	Bare land farm lets	Agricultural license lets	Total smallholdings lets
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	16	17	9	42
Buckinghamshire	117	0	0	117
Cambridgeshire	153	104	229	486
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	49	0	11	60
Cheshire West and Chester	22	0	10	32
Cornwall	82	11	10	103
Cumbria	0	5	11	16
Devon	65	6	30	101
Dorset	41	7	9	57
Durham	1	17	[x]	18
East Riding of Yorkshire	48	76	1	125
Essex	2	2	0	4
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	[x]	2	[x]	2
Herefordshire	3	1	0	4
Hertfordshire	34	16	13	63
Hillingdon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	66	3	34	103
Lincolnshire	79	84	0	163
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	3	2	[x]	5
Norfolk	90	63	34	187
North Lincolnshire	0	3	0	3
North Somerset	4	9	0	13
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	7	16	0	23
Oxfordshire	2	26	6	34
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	21	11	9	41
South Gloucestershire	6	6	0	12
Staffordshire	56	6	23	85
Suffolk	63	26	36	125
Surrey	34	12	11	57
Swindon	14	1	1	16
Warwickshire	46	31	0	77
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	7	22	2	31
Wiltshire	27	15	40	82
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	1,158	600	529	2,287

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

Table 3: Rent due for smallholdings by smallholdings authorities as at 31 March 2023 (£)

Local authority	Rent due for equipped farms	Rent due for bare land farms	Rent due for agricultural licenses	Total rent due for land let as smallholdings
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	544,400	149,900	30,600	724,900
Buckinghamshire	1,119,400	0	0	1,119,400
Cambridgeshire	4,359,200	627,600	4,774,200	9,761,000
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	667,000	0	35,200	702,200
Cheshire West and Chester	153,100	0	92,800	245,900
Cornwall	1,294,700	49,800	53,500	1,398,000
Cumbria	0	13,300	4,200	17,500
Devon	1,186,600	18,400	82,500	1,287,500
Dorset	590,600	27,000	32,400	650,000
Durham	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
East Riding of Yorkshire	378,600	375,900	100	754,600
Essex	8,500	2,800	[x]	11,300
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	[x]	31,700	[x]	31,700
Herefordshire	38,700	12,100	0	50,800
Hertfordshire	398,200	85,100	55,600	538,900
Hillingdon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	795,900	14,200	117,200	927,300
Lincolnshire	369,600	1,764,000	0	2,133,600
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	19,500	1,100	[x]	20,600
Norfolk	1,884,100	418,800	29,000	2,331,900
North Lincolnshire	0	2,100	0	2,100
North Somerset	34,100	10,900	0	45,000
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	53,900	107,500	0	161,400
Oxfordshire	5,100	47,600	6,300	59,000
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	118,500	283,200	12,500	414,200
South Gloucestershire	57,200	9,300	0	66,500
Staffordshire	922,500	18,600	75,000	1,016,100
Suffolk	1,045,300	202,600	213,300	1,461,200
Surrey	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Swindon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Warwickshire	737,600	78,100	0	815,700
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	114,300	85,100	800	200,200
Wiltshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	16,896,600	4,436,700	5,615,200	26,948,500

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

2. All values are rounded to the nearest £100.

3. Rent due refers to what could be collected if every farm paid (see ‘Glossary of terms’ section for a definition of ‘Rent from holdings - operational account’).

Table 4: Rent/hectare values for smallholding farms, expressed in terms of the authority’s farm business sector, as at 31 March 2023 (£ per hectare)

Authority sector	Rent per hectare due for equipped farms	Rent per hectare due for bare land farms	Rent per hectare due for agricultural licenses	Total rent per hectare for land let as smallholdings
Arable	364	326	365	356
Dairy	359	228	261	344
Dairy/Stock Rearing	353	235	230	337
Horticulture	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Mixed/General	331	340	554	335
Stock Rearing	319	148	1,050	172
ALL TENANCIES	355	321	351	348

Notes:

1. For authorities that provided a business sector as well as complete rent and area data (i.e. 28 out of 43 authorities).

2. No authorities stated themselves as primarily Horticulture so no data are available (indicated by ‘[x]’).

Table 5: Total area acquired and disposed of by smallholdings authorities between April 2022 and March 2023 (hectares)

Local authority	Acquired - Newly acquired	Disposed - Sold/exchanged	Acquired - Formerly leased	Disposed - Leased land	Total land acquired	Total land disposed
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	0	0	0	0	0	0
Buckinghamshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cambridgeshire	0	9	0	0	0	9
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cheshire West and Chester	0	19	0	0	0	19
Cornwall	0	75	0	0	0	75
Cumbria	0	5	0	0	0	5
Devon	0	10	0	0	0	10
Dorset	0	0	0	0	0	0
Durham	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Riding of Yorkshire	0	22	0	0	0	22
Essex	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	0	0	0	0	0	0
Herefordshire	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hertfordshire	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hillingdon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	0	11	0	0	0	11
Lincolnshire	0	19	0	0	0	19
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	[x]	7	[x]	[x]	[x]	7
Norfolk	13	33	0	0	13	33
North Lincolnshire	0	0	0	0	0	0
North Somerset	0	0	0	0	0	0
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	0	3	0	0	0	3
Oxfordshire	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	0	9	0	0	0	9
South Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Staffordshire	0	100	0	0	0	100
Suffolk	0	3	0	0	0	3
Surrey	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swindon	0	0	0	0	0	0
Warwickshire	0	0	0	0	0	0
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Wiltshire	24	3	0	[x]	24	3
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	37	328	0	0	37	328

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

2. Total areas, comprising freehold (the number of hectares let as council farms/rural estates and owned by the authority) and leasehold (the number of hectares let as council farms/rural estates but not owned by the authority) areas.

Table 6: Number of smallholding tenancies granted for the first time or terminated by smallholdings authorities between April 2022 and March 2023

Local authority	Number of tenancies in 2023	Net change since 2022	Tenancies granted	Tenancies ceased
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	33	0	1	1
Buckinghamshire	50	-67	16	16
Cambridgeshire	182	-1	8	9
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	45	0	1	1
Cheshire West and Chester	13	-4	0	4
Cornwall	93	-1	7	8
Cumbria	5	0	0	0
Devon	71	-2	14	16
Dorset	48	0	3	3
Durham	7	-8	0	0
East Riding of Yorkshire	90	-1	4	5
Essex	3	0	0	0
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	2	0	0	0
Herefordshire	4	0	0	0
Hertfordshire	48	-2	[x]	2
Hillingdon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	61	1	1	0
Lincolnshire	163	0	22	22
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	5	0	1	1
Norfolk	95	-10	4	14
North Lincolnshire	3	0	0	0
North Somerset	13	0	0	0
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	23	1	3	2
Oxfordshire	28	-1	3	4
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	32	1	3	2
South Gloucestershire	12	2	2	0
Staffordshire	62	-3	4	7
Suffolk	89	-5	1	6
Surrey	44	0	0	0
Swindon	12	0	1	1
Warwickshire	77	-5	12	17
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	29	-6	3	9
Wiltshire	42	3	6	3
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	1,484	-108	120	153

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

2. Equipped and bare land farms only.

Table 7: Specific details of smallholding tenancies granted and ended by smallholdings authorities between April 2022 and March 2023 (number of tenancies)

Local authority	New tenants - Equipped farms	New tenants - Bare land farms	Internal promotion	Transfer to other estates	Leave estate for other opportunities
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	0	0	0	0	0
Buckinghamshire	1	0	0	0	0
Cambridgeshire	8	0	0	1	1
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	1	0	0	0	0
Cheshire West and Chester	0	0	0	0	0
Cornwall	1	0	3	0	2
Cumbria	0	0	0	0	0
Devon	6	0	1	0	2
Dorset	3	0	0	0	0
Durham	[x]	0	[x]	[x]	[x]
East Riding of Yorkshire	0	1	1	0	0
Essex	0	0	0	0	0
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	0	0	0	0	0
Herefordshire	0	0	0	0	0
Hertfordshire	0	0	0	0	0
Hillingdon	[x]	0	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	1	0	0	0	0
Lincolnshire	1	2	0	0	0
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	3	2	[x]	[x]	[x]
Norfolk	1	2	1	0	0
North Lincolnshire	0	0	0	0	0
North Somerset	0	0	0	0	0
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	0	3	0	0	0
Oxfordshire	0	0	0	0	0
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	0	3	0	0	0
South Gloucestershire	1	1	0	0	0
Staffordshire	3	0	1	0	0
Suffolk	0	1	0	0	0
Surrey	0	0	0	0	0
Swindon	0	0	0	0	0
Warwickshire	1	0	0	0	0
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	0	2	0	0	0
Wiltshire	0	0	0	0	0
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	31	17	7	1	5

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

2. Equipped and bare land farms only.

3. ‘New tenants’ are lettings to first time entrants to the individual estate (i.e. those who have not previously occupied a smallholdings authority farm).

Table 8: Breakdown of the number of smallholding tenancies held between April 2022 and March 2023

Local authority	Lifetime	Retirement	Farm Business Tenancies	Secondary lettings	Total lettings and tenancies
Bedford	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Brighton & Hove	13	0	20	0	33
Buckinghamshire	18	2	30	0	50
Cambridgeshire	31	[x]	152	80	263
Central Bedfordshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Cheshire East	16	10	19	2	47
Cheshire West and Chester	6	3	4	0	13
Cornwall	10	11	72	16	109
Cumbria	0	0	5	0	5
Devon	7	4	60	26	97
Dorset	4	4	40	8	56
Durham	[x]	15	1	[x]	16
East Riding of Yorkshire	18	12	60	34	124
Essex	0	0	3	[x]	3
Gloucestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hampshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Hartlepool	0	0	2	0	2
Herefordshire	0	1	3	1	5
Hertfordshire	9	3	36	13	61
Hillingdon	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Leicestershire	8	12	41	20	81
Lincolnshire	44	17	102	0	163
Medway	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Milton Keynes	[x]	[x]	5	[x]	5
Norfolk	6	8	81	58	153
North Lincolnshire	2	0	1	0	3
North Somerset	1	0	12	0	13
North Yorkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Nottinghamshire	4	0	19	0	23
Oxfordshire	1	0	27	0	28
Shropshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
Somerset	9	13	10	8	40
South Gloucestershire	1	2	9	1	13
Staffordshire	6	5	51	19	81
Suffolk	24	9	56	27	116
Surrey	15	0	29	1	45
Swindon	1	0	11	3	15
Warwickshire	10	11	56	[x]	77
West Berkshire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
West Sussex	5	2	22	[x]	29
Wiltshire	9	3	30	13	55
Worcestershire	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
York	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]
TOTAL	278	147	1,069	330	1,824

Notes:

1. Column totals (‘TOTAL’) are underestimations due to an absence of information (indicated by ‘[x]’).

2. Equipped and bare land farms only.

Table 9: Revenue account for land held by smallholdings authorities between April 2022 and March 2023

Table 9a: Operational account income

Operational account - Income	£
Rent from holdings	13,332,000
Other rents	561,200
Other income	897,800
TOTAL	14,791,000

Table 9b: Operational account expenditure

Operational account - Expenditure	£
Repairs and maintenance	4,719,400
Rents, rates, annuities and water charges	616,300
Net tenant rights valuations	235,500
Estate management	2,177,700
Other expenditure	366,300
TOTAL	8,115,200

Table 9c: Non-operational account income

Non-operational account - Income	£
Indirect income	165,600
TOTAL	165,600

Table 9d: Non-operational account expenditure

Non-operational account - Expenditure	£
Central support costs	186,300
Other expenditure	2,259,700
TOTAL	2,446,000

Table 9e: Revenue account net surplus

Revenue account net surplus	£
Operational account surplus	6,675,800
Non-operational account deficit	-2,280,400
NET SURPLUS	4,395,400

Notes:

1. For authorities that provided complete financial information (i.e. 20 out of 43 authorities).

2. Totals may be underestimations since an authority’s accounts are included even if the authority responded “Not applicable” for any of the account’s constituent financial variables.

3. All values are rounded to the nearest £100.

Glossary of terms

Agricultural letting farms - Farms possessing, for example, grazing licences, contract farming agreements, 364 day licences / agricultural lettings for less than one year, etc.

Bare land farms - Farms comprising land only, including short term lets.

Equipped farms - Farms with a farmhouse, farm buildings or both.

Farm Business Tenancies - These tenancies comprise all principal lettings entered into under the provisions of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 and relating to the original term of the current letting.

Lifetime tenancies - These tenancies are for those lettings made prior to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.

New tenants - These tenancies are lettings to first time entrants to the individual estate, i.e. those who have not previously occupied a local authority farm.

Number of smallholding lets - This is equal to the number of equipped farm lets plus the number of bare land farm lets plus the number of agricultural lets.

Number of smallholding tenancies - These comprise equipped and bare land farms only. Joint tenancies are counted as a single entity. Where tenants occupy more than one farm they have only been counted once. Hence the total number of tenants may be less than the number of farms.

Rent due for land let as smallholdings (£) - Rent due refers to what would be expected to be collected if all farms/licenses are occupied and if every farm paid. This is equal to rent due for equipped farms plus rent due for bare land farms plus rent due for agricultural licence farms. Abatements, allowances, rent forgone and not collected are disregarded for these figures.

Retirement tenancies - These tenancies are for tenants that may be required to vacate holdings when they reach the age of 65 or prevailing retirement age, i.e. lettings made under the provisions of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, but before the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995.

Secondary lettings - Secondary lettings describe additional land let as part of a Farm Business Tenancy to tenants of principal holdings, i.e. equipped or bare land holdings and managed as an integral part of principal holding.

Total area acquired and disposed of by local authorities (hectares) - This is comprised of freehold (the number of hectares let as council farms/rural estates and owned by the authority) and leasehold (the number of hectares let as council farms/rural estates but not owned by the authority) areas.

Glossary of terms employed within the operational and non-operational accounts

Operational account

Income

Rent from holdings (£) - This is net rent from land being farmed, including grazing licenses, after deductions of allowances, abatements and rent not collected. Only farm rents are included, including secondary lettings.

Other rents (£) -This is rent from cottage tenancies, commercial lettings, staff housing, wasteland, woodland, telecom sites, wind turbines and rent received from non-Farm Business Tenancies.

Other income (£) - This includes royalties, wayleaves, easements, shooting and fishing rights, licences to extract gravel, insurance claims, sales of timber, trees, produce, materials, farm equipment and vehicles, etc., other fees and charges etc. This also includes single farm payments or environmental initiatives paid direct to the estate. This does not include contributions by tenants towards revenue improvements, repairs to equipment, rates, water charges etc.

Expenditure

Repairs and maintenance (£) - This includes revenue expenditure on repairs and maintenance of houses, buildings, drainage and ditching work. This is net of any amounts recovered from tenants but excludes grant-aided schemes of a capital nature. This also includes corporately funded property initiatives, e.g. asbestos, electrical tests and inspections, structural and tree surveys, as well as Legionnaires’ disease testing. This also includes the cost of associated manual labour forces, plants and materials.

Rents, rates, annuities and water charges (£) - This includes rents, rates, utility charges (e.g. water, electricity), tithes and perpetual annuities, net of recovery of rates and water charges.

Net tenant right valuations (£) - This includes expenditure paid by the landlord to an outgoing tenant, less income received from an incoming tenant for tenant right valuations and dilapidations. This also includes any milk quota compensation payments charged to revenue. This excludes capital payments for equipment/buildings.

Estate management (£) - This includes professional (e.g. surveyors), administrative and clerical support employee costs, office accommodation charges, including expenditure on repairs and maintenance, transport costs, other sundry expenses, etc. as well as any other ad-hoc specialist advice (e.g. payments to consultants). Employee costs include salaries, national insurance, training, pension, removal and resettlement costs, conference expenses, etc. This also includes the net cost (e.g. client/commissioning costs) of contracting out estate management functions.

Other expenditure (£) - This includes the cost of cleaning materials, fire and farm buildings insurance, furniture and fittings, equipment, tools and materials, transport and moveable plant, vehicles and vehicle running costs, etc.

Non-operational account

Indirect income (£) - This includes revenue grants, interest received and other non-operational income. This also includes publication sales, recovery of fees and charges, etc.

Central support costs (£) - This includes charges received from other departments within the estate not identified within the Estate Management section, e.g. legal/secretariat, financial (including audit), valuation (excluding corporate disposals), personnel and IT service costs.

Other expenditure (£) - This includes subscriptions, external audit fees, stamp duty, external legal and professional fees, etc.