Ombudsman 'fails to find fault with Council's fake pledge', say tenant farmers

Ombudsman ruling will deal a massive blow to council farm tenants
Ombudsman ruling will deal a massive blow to council farm tenants

Tenant farmers fighting a battle against Herefordshire County Council’s farm estate sell-off have had their hopes cut short following a 'disappointing' investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has expressed its disappointment following a report from the LGO which failed to censure Herefordshire Council for raising false hopes amongst its tenant farmers.

The TFA had complained to the LGO that the Council was guilty of maladministration for serving eviction notices on around 15 of its farm tenants having previously promised the decision to sell its farms estate would not result in tenants losing their homes and livelihoods.

TFA Chief Executive George Dunn said: “When the Cabinet of the Council made the decision to sell its 4500 acre estate on 03 December last year, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Tony Johnson, made very clear and unambiguous statements that farm tenants would not face expulsion from their holdings so how can it be that 15 farm families are under notice to quit?”

'Unplanned, unscripted and just badly phrased'

The LGO found that although tenant farmers may have been misled by the comments of the Leader, they were in fact 'unplanned, unscripted and just badly phrased.'

“The comments did not come from an inexperienced or junior member of the Council they came from the Council Leader who is an experienced and long-standing politician who is well versed with Council procedure and public speaking. He had been aware of the press reports concerning the potential eviction of tenants occupying on Farm Business Tenancies indeed, he referred specifically to these reports in his remarks. It cannot be concluded that the Leader’s remarks were simply badly phrased. The TFA asserts that the Leader knew exactly what he was saying and what he was responding to,” said Mr Dunn.

“This is a simple case of politicians saying one thing and doing another and they should not be allowed to get away with it. The conduct of the Council falls well short of the standards we expect in our elected representatives when conducting public office.

“The Leader must stand by the statements he made in an open meeting of the Council’s Cabinet. The maladministration was not in what he said but in the actions subsequently taken which were contrary to those statements. The Leader should instruct the officers of the Council to rescind all Notices to Quit given his clear and unambiguous statements made on 03 December 2015,” said Mr Dunn.