Councillors have been presented with the "corrected" plan of an Ickleford farm site that has been earmarked for sale – after earlier plans had shown less than two-thirds of the site.

The county council's cabinet determined that a 10-acre section of Lower Green Farm – including a Grade II 16th century farmhouse and stables – could be disposed of, at a meeting in February.

But it later emerged that the plans that had been presented to that meeting had shown just six acres of the site.

And on Monday (13 May) at a meeting of the cabinet councillors formally acknowledged the correct plan of the site.

Presenting the report, executive member for resources and performance Cllr Bob Deering said: "This essentially is a typing error that just needs to be run-through this cabinet for form.

"[..] we have a site at Ickleford – Lower Green Farm – and it has been through our process, in effect, several times. And the nub of it is that we have agreed to dispose of the site.

"The site in fact is 10 acres. But very unfortunately – when it came through process previously the red line on the drawing indicated that it was only six acres.

"So today is just a correction in effect of a typo, that has no substantive consequence at all. And I am sorry to trouble cabinet with it. But that's the way it is."

advertisement

Councillors heard that despite the error the site has NOT been marketed as a six acre site – but as a 10 acre site with farmhouse.

And at the meeting  Cllr Deering repeatedly stressed it was a "typing error" that was being formally corrected – and that "it has no substantive effect at all on anything that relates to this property".

Before the council decided that the land could be sold back in February, more than 500 residents signed a petition opposing the plans – in a bid to ensure the former equestrian facility could be reinstated.

In recognition of this councillors agreed that no offer should be accepted within three months of their decision – in order to give campaigners the chance to make a bid themselves.