Peterborough farmer faces losing popular fruit and veg stall as council pulls out of land sale over lack of value

Peterborough City Council pulled out of a planned sale to a small strip of land to a farming couple in Newborough as it felt that the sale would not offer the best value for money.

Roy Plummer and his wife Elaine, who have been tenant farmers in the village since 1975 have said they they felt “walked all over” by the council after the pulled out of an agreed land sale after four years of negotiations.

The small strip of land Runs alongside the bungalow that Roy and his wife Elaine purchased from the council at a discount in exchange for giving up their lifetime tenancy several years ago and contains a storage shed that Roy uses to store his produce.

Roy, ‘The Plant Man’ then sells the produce at his stall on Ham Lane, close to the Notcutts garden centre; a stall he fears that he will lose if he’s not able to use the shed.

The couple have been been given notice to quit the sheds within a year.

A city council spokesperson said: "We have been in contact with Mr and Mrs Plummer and of course sympathise with their situation. A member of our Property team is due to meet with them shortly to look at how we might be able to reach a conclusion that suits both them and the council.

"An independent review in relation to the land at Newborough was undertaken in 2022 which confirmed we were not getting best value for the sale to Mr and Mrs Plummer and that it could impact the value of the wider site. We also sought further independent advice which agreed with the position.

"We have an obligation to secure best value when disposing of council assets. We owe that to the taxpayers of Peterborough and it is also imperative when you consider the financial challenges being faced by the council."

The combine shed can only be accessed via a private road in between the bungalow and the combine shed.

The purchase of the land would not change the acreage of the adjacent field in question, merely extend the couple’s boundaries slightly.

Both Roy and Elaine have said that they have worked alongside their neighbours for many years now and have encountered no hazards or problems whatsoever.

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow has led calls for the council to sell the lad to Roy and Elaine, insisting that the council has a “moral duty” to do the deal.