Cymraeg

Resilient Green Spaces - Community Access to Farms and Land

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This part of our Resilient Green Spaces project focused on access to land for sustainable farming in Wales.

Welsh farmland is the most expensive in the UK, and over the past 35 years the number of tenants on council farmland have dropped by around two thirds. However, land assets can be used to address some of our biggest challenges - an ageing farming population, climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and soil erosion. 

Aims

Landworkers' Alliance and Shared Assets teamed up to find ways to realise the challenges and opportunities of access to land for new entrants and local communities interested in agroecological farming. 

Partners

  • Shared Assets (project lead)
  • Landworkers' Alliance Cymru (project lead)
  • Social Farms & Gardens

Outcomes

  • Helped three community groups to buy the land they operate on, giving them security 
  • Researched the extent of publicly owned agricultural land in Wales
  • Researched the needs, skills gaps and experiences of new agroecological farmers in Wales
  • Held events and discussions with public, private and institutional landowners and land-seekers
  • Supported land purchases for community farms 
  • Created a suite of case studies and reviews to:
    • support communities and new entrants to access land
    • Enable landowners to confidently open up their land for agroecological growing

Resources

Find out more about the barriers faced by those working on community access to land and the key changes needed to expand it.


Research

We asked public landholders and people seeking land in Wales about the land they manage, or would like to manage. Our survey analysis shows the appetite for, current scale of, and barriers to community-based approaches to farming in Wales. See key findings from the survey and opportunities for public bodies and land-seekers. 

> Read our 2021 landowner and land-seeker survey analysis / Crynodeb a Dadansoddiad o Arolygon


Policy overview

Our policy review clarified the context of the Resilient Green Spaces project, both in Wales and in relation to the wider UK. Understand the gaps and opportunities in policy relevant to publicly owned land, community rights and access to land, and other related areas.

> Find out more about Wales policy context / Adroddiad Polisi Cymru

> Find out more about UK policy contextPolisi Ehangach y DU


Land Trust recommendations for policy-makers and local authorities 

We explored the potential for the development of land trusts as an alternative model for greater community access to land in Wales. Our series of recommendations for policy-makers and local authorities show how land could be used to increase opportunities for new entrants and local communities. 

> Read our recommendations for developing land trusts in Wales


Support and sharing good practice for local authorities 

We coordinated a learning partnership for local authorities to share challenges and good practices from their local areas. Our blog shares the method we used and lessons learned from the partnership. 

> Read a blog on our learning partnerships with Local Authorities (English) / Cymraeg


Recommendations for councils

Our findings and recommendations for councils highlight the barriers faced by those working on community access to public land, and the key policy changes needed to move things forward in the public interest, centring social and environmental values.

> Read our recommendations for councils


Guides for landowners and land seekers

Learn from existing good practice and get useful advice from others who are trying to work creatively to support access to land. Based on discussion, feedback, survey research, the guides can help landowners and seekers to take the next step.

> Read our landowner and land seeker guides


Online event recordings for landowners and land seekers 

> Watch the community finance for land purchases webinar

> Watch the public landowners recording

> Watch the private landowners recording


Case studies

If you're an organisation or authority hoping to be creative about community access to land, take a look at our inspiring case studies featuring projects across Wales. 

> Read Exploring Access to Community Farms and Land case studies

Contact us

If you'd like to know more about our work across Wales, please email [email protected] 

For enquiries specifically about access to land, please contact the Community Land Advisory Service by emailing [email protected]   

About Resilient Green Spaces

Community Access to Farms and Land was one of six strands of work in the Resilient Green Spaces project. See our Resilient Green Spaces overview to find out more. 

This project is funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union.

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    Events

    Includes our own training events and workshops, and selected events and training run by organisations in the sector we think might be relevant. We aim to share the buzz and keep you informed.