Farming tenants on a number of estates in the region are taking a joint approach to negotiating with their landlords over rents and policy.

Tenancy specialist Philip Meade of Davis Meade Property Consultants at Oswestry says tenants are grouping together to add strength to their positions during landlords tenancy negotiations.

DMPC already acts for a several groups of tenants in Cheshire and bordering counties and has been advising Anglesey tenants following the threatened sale and restructure of some of its holdings. Now the firm has been asked by Council smallholders in Powys and Flintshire to act on their behalf as well.

"With councils under pressure to cut costs, the smallholding estates in many areas are coming under review and this is causing extreme distress to the smallholder tenants who face an uncertain future," said Philip.

Powys County Council has around 120 farms in its smallholding estates and following on from its 2009 County Farms Estate Business Plan is now drafting a County Farms Policy which is looking at the opportunities for new entrants and the creation of new farm tenancies and a draft county farm policy for diversification.

Similarly, Flintshire is considering amalgamation and disposal of some smallholdings because of the credit crunch.

"These counties have come up with long term management plans for their smallholdings and we are working with the tenants advising them and representing them in their discussions with the landlords over the proposals, some of which include closures and amalgamations," Philip said.

"We are also discussing renewables as the councils are looking at renewable options on their farms and we are trying to encourage this. We believe any renewable opportunity will provide additional income for both the tenant farmers and the estate.

Some county councils are looking at including options for renewable infrastructure on their farms into their management policy, whether it is small wind turbines or solar panels, hydro or even ground source heat pumps, which will become more important later this year when the government introduce feed in tariffs for geothermics.

"The county councils have a green agenda and they are up to speed with renewables, which is good thing. It is beneficial for the tenants to be looking at this as well as it is an additional source of income which could give them greater security of tenure.

"If the landlords and tenant can work hand in hand on this it will be win win all the way but there has to be a partnership approach between landlord and tenants."

Renewables could be another way of ensuring the long term future of the smallholding estate and may reduce the prospect of selling the farms.

"The message for tenants is look to strengthen your position as a group and be careful what you sign, don't agree to anything before consulting your agent and negotiating," he advised.

"We are being asked more and more to act for groups of tenants - we have groups in Cheshire, Derbyshire and now an ever increasing number in Wales. We have also been working with a group of landowners recently affected by the Conwy Flood Alleviation Scheme.

"There is strength in numbers and working as a group has given us a lot more clout at the negotiating table," he added.