PRESS: Protestors occupy Somerset farm

[Tony Gosling]

PRESS RELEASE 

Protesters with cows and pigs occupy county council farm, and open farm
shop in protest against sell-off.

Chiselborough, Somerset
Friday 14 April 2006 tel: 07881 636834
The Land Is Ours - Balham Hill Farm Shop

An action group of small farmers and local residents today occupied an
empty farm owned by Somerset County Council. The farm, Balham Hill Farm, in
the village of Chiselborough, near Yeovil, is one of several which the
County Council is planning to sell off.

The group has brought farm animals onto site, including cows, pigs,
chickens and a cart-horse.

The protesters have also reopened the farm, selling locally produced
vegetables, meat and eggs.

On Easter Sunday at 3pm they will be holding a public �Easter Egg Hunt� on
the farm.

The County Farms were bought by County Councils in the early 20th century
to provide a �first step on the ladder� to farm ownership to aspiring
farmers, rather like starter homes. Despite advice from the Government that
the County Farms should be retained 1 , some local councils, including
Somerset, are selling them off when there is a vacancy.

The previous tenant of Balham Hill Farm built up a successful farm shop
business, but has now moved to a bigger farm in Cornwall. Dennis Brewer,
South West Policy Advisor for the National Farmers Union, wrote to the
council, asking them to reconsider the sale, stating: �It is difficult to
see why another young farmer could not continue to farm the holding
profitably.�

Jim Macartney, chair of Chiselborough parish council, which opposes the
sale, stated: �The farm shop is a valuable resource for the village and the
wider community. Now is the time when we should be maintaining these farms,
not selling them off.�

A spokesman for the occupiers, Simon Fairlie, stated: �This farm belongs to
the people of Somerset, it is viable, and profitable for the county
council. But the council wants to sell it off to make a quick buck. We and
our livestock will stay here until the property is withdrawn from sale.�


For information phone: 

Easter Egg Hunt, and on site at Balham Hill Farm Shop 07881 636834, 07792
924847

Tony Gosling (Press Officer) 0117 944 6219, m. 07786 952037 



NOTES: 

1. Farming Minister Lord Whitty wrote to all county councils in 2003
advising against the sale of county farms. John Major�s government had
advised in the 1995 rural White Paper that county farms should be sold off.
Some County Councils, like Somerset, are selling their farms, but others,
including Devon, Cornwall and Gloucester are keeping theirs.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/x-ygp-stripped
Size: 186 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/private/diggers350/attachments/20060414/9c89d02c/attachment.bin>