Carver Knowles General News
The New Model Clauses for England come into force on 1st October 2015 which alter the liability for the maintenance, repair, replacement and insurance of fixed equipment between landlord and tenant where tenancies are governed by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. The Model Clauses apply to all agricultural tenancies governed by the AHA, save for […]
Posted on August 17th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
Following on from the launch of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) last month we are now able to see how the application process works in terms of physical paperwork and also get to grips with some of the lesser known compulsory scheme requirements. On the face of it, the Mid-Tier application paperwork is very similar […]
Posted on August 13th, 2015 by Mike Cluley
Growth program for the rural economy providing grants to small rural businesses. What is the growth programme? In a nutshell, it provides funding to help projects in England which create jobs and help rural economy growth. The grants are funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) manages […]
Posted on July 30th, 2015 by Mike Cluley
Andrew Troughton, Director of Carver Knowles considers how the Budget announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 8th July, may affect farmers and landowners. One of the main points revealed in the budget were the changes to Inheritance Tax. The measures announced will introduce an additional nil-rate band when a residence is passed on […]
Posted on July 13th, 2015 by Andrew Troughton
Carver Knowles success in removing “Agricultural ties” continues. Carver Knowles have successfully removed an Agricultural Occupancy Condition from a Worcestershire farmhouse, even though the property formed part of a working farm and was occupied by the farmer and his wife. The farmhouse formed part of a 160 acre mixed livestock and arable unit and Carver […]
Posted on July 10th, 2015 by Julie Newton
The new Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) is about to be formally launched by Natural England (NE) with applications invited for the Mid and Higher Tiers between the 1st July and 30th September with agreements starting from 1st January 2016. The scheme boosts some 130 management options and 110 capital items to chose from many of which […]
Posted on June 23rd, 2015 by Mike Cluley
Following the announcement that the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will now be done using paper forms rather than the Rural Payments System and that the deadline is now the 15th June, we now have a different timeline of actions that need to be taken. We have summarised the key issues and when they need to be […]
Posted on March 23rd, 2015 by Mike Cluley
The new £5m Countryside Productivity Scheme was launched on the 9th March 2015. The scheme offers funding for up to 40% of the capital costs of a variety of equipment and applications must be for between £2,500 – £35,000 (Small Grant) or £35,000 – £100,000 (Large Grant) of grant funding depending on the equipment […]
Posted on March 9th, 2015 by Mike Cluley
Following further updates the online system for BPS registrations is back up and running. The RPA are drip feeding invitations out to farmers through agents, the NFU, the TFA and the CLA to prevent over subscription and the system crashing (in a similar fashion to the tax disc launch!). All farmers wishing to claim single farm […]
Posted on February 18th, 2015 by Julie Newton
Over the last couple of years you will have seen headlines in the press saying that farmland is a better investment than gold. Returns on land have been excellent, with prices rising by a further 12% last year, as outlined by the RICS Farmland Market Survey. Questions are being asked about how long it can be […]
Posted on February 16th, 2015 by Mike Cluley