TORY bosses in the Cotswolds stand accused of failing to safeguard the future of thousands of acres of farmland.

Liberal Democrats sitting on Cotswold District Council called for the council to condemn the county council's decision not to reaffirm the historic principle of an acre-for-acre policy, which guarantees a minimum acreage for its rural estate of 8,350 acres, at a meeting last Tuesday.

They want the county council to consider buying as well as selling farmland, and ensure the future of tenant farming in the Cotswolds.

Farms in South Cerney, Bourton and Moreton are all on a map identifying areas of strategic development importance.

Cllr Deryck Nash (Lib Dem, Chesterton) tabled the motion appealing to Tories at CDC to condemn their colleagues on the county council.

Cllr Sue Herdman (Ind, Churn Valley) agreed.

She said: "I am grateful to Mr Nash for putting this forward. Gloucestershire is a rural county. How is a young man who wants to start farming able to afford a small acreage? If the council doesn't support tenant farmers, nobody else will."

However, the Tories hit back by accusing the Liberal Democrats of clouding the issue with political propaganda and threw out the motion.

Cllr Ray Theodoulou (Con, Fairford) said: "This is a spurious attempt to politicise the management of the county council's rural estate. There is none so blind as those who can't see."

The Tories rejected claims the county's new land policy was the thin end of the wedge, saying it is aimed at giving tenants a greater say on any farm disposal and negotiating contracts and would not mean large swaths of farmland being sold to developers.

Now the Lib Dem's attempts to make it impossible for the county council to sell off its farmland have been defeated at both district and county levels.

Cllr Deryck Nash said after the meeting: "It was disappointing that the Cotswold Tories took the same party line as their county colleagues and did absolutely nothing to help preserve the future of the county farms.

"I was simply asking the county council to consider the acquisition as well as the disposal of farmland."