City buyers 'threaten rural life'

City slickers who buy up farms simply to obtain a house in the country were today accused of threatening rural communities and village life.

The trend could result in the countryside becoming "one great manicured lawn", rural campaign group the Countryside Alliance warned.

New figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have revealed that more than half the farms sold in the South-East since April were bought by businessmen. With no intention of tending the land themselves, they are forced to reach an agreement with a local farmer to manage it for them.

Countryside groups fear rural communities will be decimated as house prices continue to rise and agricultural employment is eroded.

A spokeswoman said: "People move in and push house prices up, meaning people cannot afford to stay in their home town.

"If these people are buying up massive amounts of land, will it be made into a massive garden? It is quite terrifying to think of rural Britain being one great manicured lawn.

"It will end up breaking up the countryside. If people only come down for the weekend there will be ghost towns."

Paul Millard, of the Country Land and Business Association, said a huge number of agricultural jobs had disappeared.

He said the property boom in the South-East had led to a huge increase in people buying rural properties for weekend homes or to commute from.

"We need action to ensure the traditional workforce can afford to stay in traditional areas," said Mr Millard, calling on a more flexible planning system to allow real diversification and enable affordable housing to be built for workers.