Worcestershire based Chartered Surveyors, Carver Knowles have appointed Planning consultant Simon Rowles as their newest recruit to their expanding planning consultancy team. Simon joins us from Malvern Hills District Council Planning Services and brings with him a depth of experience and knowledge in town and country planning and has a focused interest in the Three […]
Posted on January 4th, 2016 by Andrew Troughton
Buying property, be it a house, flat, pony paddock, block of agricultural land or building plot is a major undertaking. It is probably the single most expensive investment you will ever make. It is essential that you know everything you possibly can about the property you are taking on and are aware of any factors […]
Posted on December 9th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
Are loans a better alternative than extending the overdraft? With poor farm gate prices across all farming sectors many businesses are feeling the financial pressure on cash flow. Finance is generally tight and banks are not always willing to help. In the arable sectors yields were generally good, but commodity prices remain stubbornly low and […]
Posted on November 17th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
This article is aimed at helping farmers prepare the perfect farm tender. Andrew Troughton gives his advice. The recent NFU National Tenant Conference included a section on how to tender for a farm tenancy. I spoke there about the 15 Minute Business Plan as an important part of this process. As a step on […]
Posted on November 16th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
During the 1980’s and 1990’s there were excellent grants around for converting barns to holiday cottages as a method of farm diversification. Planning laws also encouraged the re-use of barns for tourism enterprises as well so many barns were converted across England. If this was you and you have been managing a single holiday cottage […]
Posted on November 13th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
Last month we looked at the time limits for Enforcement Action. This time Julie Branfield looks in more detail at those time limits and specifically how they relate to planning conditions and in particular Agricultural Occupancy Conditions. What we discovered last time was that there are time limits for council taking enforcement action against breaches of […]
Posted on October 21st, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
Hot off the press, this is our Landmark newsletter for Autumn 2015. This issue features articles about agricultural tie removal, permitted development, Agricultural Mortgage Company (AMC) loans, local planning successes and grant updates. View the newsletter online here or download it to your machine using this link.
Posted on October 19th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
The Forest of Dean District Council has to ensure they maintain enough land to provide a 5 year housing supply. To achieve this they annually undertake a call for new sites through their SHLAA (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment). In this article Andrew Troughton explains how the council promote development land in the Forest of […]
Posted on October 19th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton This week we hosted a joint seminar with Clarke Willmott Solicitors, Hazelwood’s Accountants and NFU focusing on farm succession at Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park. The night was enjoyed by approximately 70 local farmers and landowners where they had the opportunity to discuss the detail of planning succession with a panel of experts. We heard […]
Posted on October 16th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
As some Local Authorities start to get their houses in order with regard to their local plan policy we take a look at the opportunities that still exist for housing development. Allocated development If your property has been allocated for development in any of the emerging local strategies and plans, the chances are you already […]
Posted on October 12th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton