Peterborough City Council selling Newborough farmland for £9m

The council has been reviewing its rural estate for the past two years as it is currently on a financial improvement plan.

It follows a review in 2021 into council finances and governance by DLUHC and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

The council said in a recent financial update that it faced a “significant” challenge, projecting a shortfall of more than £11m in its net revenue this year.

It is currently in the process of selling off or repurposing community buildings to help balance the budget.

Savills said the sale was a “rare opportunity to acquire a large parcel of land in a productive farming area”.

The land is used to grow various crops including potatoes, sugar beet, cereals, maize and oil seed rape.

There are four farmhouses, two of which are empty and the other two let out on a farm business tenancy agreement.