Cambridgeshire County Council is looking for entrepreneurial and enthusiastic tenants for four rural business opportunities with tenancies starting in October 2026.
One third of England’s fresh vegetables are produced in Cambridgeshire, where the county council holds 33,000 acres of land. It’s one of the largest publicly owned estates in England and Wales with over 160 progressive tenants aged from 23 to over 90 who carry out a wide range of enterprises.
The county’s farm estate is mainly arable, and many tenants are addressing the climate change challenge, with some exploring regenerative farming, which benefits carbon capture and biodiversity.
The properties available this year are in Whittlesey, March, Warboys and Littleport, and are being offered on a 10-year farm business tenancy.
Rowells Farm in Warboys, the largest of the available farms, comes with just under 345 acres of land along with a four-bedroom detached house, and five general-purpose storage buildings.
The new tenant at Flegcroft Farm in Whittlesey will get just over 300 acres of land including a reservoir of approximately 12,000m3. The tenancy includes a four-bedroom bungalow with solar panels along with additional buildings, such as an office and meeting room. The land has been farmed regeneratively for many years.
Red House Farm, approximately 2 miles from March and 11 miles from Wisbech, is available with just under 170 acres of land. The farm comes with a three-bedroom detached bungalow and a general-purpose building.
Whitehall Farm in Littleport is just under 50 acres and has been run as a successful market garden for many years growing a wide range of vegetables for sale at Cambridgeshire markets. It comes with a three-bedroom detached bungalow and a general-purpose building.
Applicants should have some experience in the enterprise they propose to undertake and have a sound business plan, which takes into account the council’s Net Zero and Doubling Nature targets and the changes that are currently under-way in farming.
The application deadline is 25 March, and interviews will be held in April.
Cllr Karen Young, chair of the Assets and Procurement Committee, said: “We’re very lucky in Cambridgeshire to have access to vast amounts of rural land.
“With this, comes opportunity and we’re pleased to be able to offer some of this land to those with ambitions to start, or develop a business.
“We’re open to all sorts of suggestions that help to support our vison of creating a healthy, fair and sustainable Cambridgeshire, so if you have a business idea, we’d encourage you to enquire before the deadline.”
Full details about the farms and the application process are available here.
