Sale of derelict council-owned farm could raise £1m

A derelict farm could be sold off because the council that owns it cannot afford to bring it back into use.

Vacant barns at Hicks Farm in Throop, Dorset, have been fenced off for a decade because they are unsafe, and the tenanted farmhouse requires more than £60,000 of repairs.

Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) says it cannot fund the restoration of the listed buildings from its own budget but selling the farm would raise about £1m.

It says new investment would "secure a new future" for Hicks Farm but insists the sale is "not a route to mass development".

A report to BCP's cabinet says the 226-year-old farmhouse is grade II listed, along with four associated brick barns and an outhouse.

The adjoining one-acre site and farmyard also falls within a conservation area, designated green belt and zone 2 flood risk from the nearby River Stour.

The site has not been used for agriculture since 2014 and a wooden barn on the site was destroyed in a suspected arson attack in 2024.

BCP deputy leader Mike Cox said: "We know the community wants to see action taken to improve the condition of Hicks Farm. We want that, too."

Cox said the proposals "could attract investment into the site and help secure a meaningful future for Hicks Farm".

"The report to cabinet makes clear that BCP Council has explored options for retaining the site in-house but that the substantial repairs required makes this financially unviable," he said.

BCP's cabinet is due to discuss the plan on Wednesday.