§ Mr. Bodyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has decided on a purchaser for his smallholdings estate at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WigginMy right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has agreed to accept, subject to contract, an offer of £8.25 million for the whole of the Sutton Bridge smallholdings estate which has been made by Agricultural Land Improvement Holdings Ltd., which is acting with the approval of a consortium of the tenants.
The sale of the Sutton Bridge estate is the first of the agricultural land sales which are being carried out by the Ministry as part of the programme of sales which was announced in the White Paper on the Government's expenditure plans for 1980–81—Cmnd. 7746. It is expected 4W that the sale will be completed by the autumn.
Agricultural Land Improvement Holdings Ltd. has given Ministers an undertaking that it will sell its properties to any sitting tenants who wish to purchase them on the basis already agreed with the tenants' committees. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the help that he has given to my right hon. Friend and the tenants in this matter.