Farmers accuse the Duke of Northumberland as rents rocket

The Duke of Northumberland’s Estates have been accused of a “get rich quick” attitude to the region’s farmers after hitting hundreds of them with inflation-busting rent rises.

Land agents working on behalf of the 100,000-acre Northumberland Estates, which includes land in the West Country and Yorkshire as well as Northumberland, have been visiting farmers in recent weeks in round of rent reviews.

The rent hikes come as the Duke prepares for a multi-million pound bill linked to the demolition of flood-hit flats in Newburn, Newcastle although the Estates say the issues are not linked.