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Know How / Planning permission

Farmers looking to erect a new shed, convert a redundant barn or sell land for development will find themselves navigating the planning system. Read practical advice on topics such as permitted development rights, how to approach a planning application and your rights if you have been affected by a compulsory purchase order.

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PLANNING PERMISSION

Planning permission High Court challenge - 10 things to know

A High Court challenge could provide the solution to a problem planning decision. But how straightforward is the process? If you disagree with a local authority’s decision to grant planning…

PLANNING PERMISSION

How to diversify agricultural land: building to rent or sell

Many farmers are looking to expand their business and generate new revenues through diversification, amid relentless pressure on yields coupled with uncertainty over the future. Carefully planned residential and commercial…

PLANNING PERMISSION

What farmers considering land development need to know

Submitting planning applications for new builds or agricultural building conversions can seem a difficult task but should be seen as an opportunity. Landowners can develop their holdings into residential sites…

PLANNING PERMISSION

Main planning changes in 2018 for farmers to know about

Housing and planning policies have a big impact on what farmers and landowners can build, where it can be sited, what it will look like and what it can be…

LAND MARKETS

Farm sale 'overage' payments: What farmers need to know

Overage negotiations have become a routine feature of many farm sales. Michael Fiddes, head of estates and farm agency at Strutt & Parker, explains why and outlines the main pros…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Compulsory purchase of farmland: Compensation explained

Farmers across the UK are being plagued by authorities taking ownership of their land under hard-to-contest compulsory purchase orders. Despite being forced to sell land, give up businesses and temporarily…

PLANNING PERMISSION

What you need to check before modifying old farm buildings

Landowners who have a listed farmhouse on their property should consider seeking professional advice before modifying nearby old farm buildings, to avoid breaking the law. Farm buildings that pre-date July…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Can we collect holiday bungalow rent arrears?

Whether you have a legal, tax, insurance, management or land issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Duncan Sigournay of Thrings advises on a property rent arrears question.…

COMPLIANCE

Changing land use – what farmers need to know

Farmers must follow legal procedures before changing the use of any land classified as uncultivated or semi-natural. The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations protect uncultivated or semi-natural land from changes in…

PLANNING PERMISSION

Abandoned property – don’t lose value and use rights

When is a house no longer a house? The answer is, when it has been abandoned. With a lack of rural housing and stringent planning constraints, farmers and landowners need…

BUSINESS

Landowners face risk of more compulsory purchase powers

A government committee is reviewing how local and national governments extract some of the uplift in the value of land after homes or nearby infrastructure improvements are given planning permission.…

PLANNING PERMISSION

5 tips to speed up planning applications

About 60% of the planning applications received by the planning office at Test Valley Borough Council are invalid, says Paul Jackman, head of planning and building at the council. This…

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PLANNING PERMISSION

How Class Q development rights are working in practice

There has been a mixed reception to permitted development rights (PDRs) allowing the change of use of agricultural buildings to residential units, writes Stephanie Baker, senior planning officer at Hart…

TAX

Farmers caught in development tax postcode lottery

Agricultural buildings and developments are being taxed inconsistently across Britain, at a cost of thousands of pounds to the farmers caught up in a postcode lottery. The community infrastructure levy…

BUSINESS

New policy could make it easier to build rural housing

More than one in four CLA members want to build affordable housing. A new way to develop more homes of this type in the countryside is being proposed by the…

BUSINESS

Housebuilding boom - what does it mean for farmers?

Farmers risk losing potential land value to the government-backed boom in construction projects unless they take a more active role in the development process, planning experts have warned. Both the…

BUSINESS

What farmers need to know about the new telecoms code

A new code covering mobile phone and broadband infrastructure is to come into force later this year – affecting all landowners with telecoms equipment on their land. So what are…

BUSINESS

Why the CIL planning tax is costing farmers thousands

Farmers putting up agricultural buildings and houses are falling foul of a planning tax that is leaving some facing bills as high as £26,000. Half of all councils in England and…

PLANNING PERMISSION

Opposition and errors hamper poultry planning applications

Poultry farmers are finding it harder than ever to get planning applications for new buildings through the system. Local authorities are making too many mistakes in the planning process and…