Members of Swindon Borough Council’s Labour cabinet will receive a report on the impact of not selling any of the farms it owns in the borough.

A motion was presented to the council by two Conservative members from South Swindon, Councillors Matty Courtliff from Lydiard & Freshbrook and Brian Ford who represents Wroughton.

It would have mandated the authority not to sell off any of the farms it owns in the borough – about 10, with a large swathe of agricultural land between Wroughton and junction 16 of the M4 being council-owned.

The idea was to keep the farms in public ownership as a way of helping people enter the industry.

But because it has financial implications for the council, it has been referred directly to the authority’s cabinet.

A report will be prepared for the Labour cabinet.

Had the motion been debated and gone to the vote it is likely it would have been defeated.

Leader of the administration Councillor Jim Robbins told the Adver: “We want very much to support the agricultural sector.

"But we are going through a full asset review at the moment, and this would have  muddied those waters, so we would have voted against it.”