Farmers welcome council pledge to hold on to land
BBCTenant farmers have welcomed a decision by Lincolnshire County Council not to sell off farmland.
The authority launched a review of the 152 farms it owns after a new Reform UK administration took control in May 2025.
Now, the council has approved a 10-year strategy for managing the farms, which keeps the door open for "strategic disposals" of some parcels of land in future.
Mark Gash, a tenant farmer in Blankney, near Woodhall Spa, said it was "reassuring news".
"The farm is your home as well as everything else and this reassures me that, in the future, this is one less thing to worry about," he said.
Four generations of Gash's family have farmed Glebe Farm and he hopes, one day, to pass the tenancy on to his children.
"Farming is a long-term profession, especially with it being so hard at the moment, and you invest in it like it's your own.
"I know some other councils have sold farmland, so it's been a worry."
The farm holdings span 16,300 acres, some of which were considered for sale alongside other assets, including offices and other buildings.
Councillor Rob Gibson, the authority's deputy leader, told the BBC he had "no intention of selling off any of our land".
"It's good to be able to support our farming community and long may it last," he said.
Gibson suggested the council could buy more land "if the budget allows" as "some of our tenants are looking to increase their land".
Heather Oldfield, who chairs the National Farmers' Union in South Lincolnshire, described the decision as "positive news".
"These farms are really important for new people coming into farming," she said.
"For the existing tenants they're equally important for continuity."
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