News, information and updates

In the past few days the LEADER programme has been launched by a number of Local Action Groups (LAGs). The LAGs broadly cover the same areas as the local councils and in our area the LEADER programme has been launched by:   Worcestershire (Wychavon, Malvern Hills etc) (£1.96m available) Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury (£1.447m […]

The answer to the above question is……..it depends on who it is that wants to come onto your land. Utility Companies The most common occurrence of where someone needs to access your land is in relation to the installation or maintenance of utility company equipment such as electricity power lines, water / sewer and gas […]

RPA TO START TO MAKE BPS PAYMENTS FROM 1ST DECEMBER   We understand that he RPA has confirmed that at least 30,000 claimants (35%) should receive their BPS 2015 payment when the payment window opens on 1st December. Inevitably this is likely to be more straightforward BPS claims that have required the least amount of additional validation […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Rural Payments Agency  (RPA) are sending out a BPS update leaflet to farmers and agents who submitted a BPS 2015 application. The leaflet sets out what farmers can expect from the RPA in the coming months and confirms the exchange rate for payments. The main focus of the leaflet is on when and how […]

As Land Agents involved in many farm businesses in the Gloucestershire and Worcestershire area, we are frequently asked about diversification and alternative income opportunities and also the opportunities for renewable technology on farm. The answer is that there are a number of changes afoot in the funding of the renewables industry and options going forward. […]

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 […]

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.