Claire Speed, Head of Litigation at Bower Bailey Solicitors in Swindon explores the legal aspects of the Clarkson effect and farm diversification projects.
Having recently caught up with season 2 of “Clarkson’s Farm” and being a smallholder myself and a Wiltshire Committee Member of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), I thought it was some of the best television I have seen in years.
Clarkson’s Farm has provided members of the public with a complete reality check in terms of the harsh reality of UK farming in the modern era. The show provides an insight into the life of a farmer, showing the real pressures, frustrations and financial implications that the day to day running of an agricultural business brings.
Whilst the show is very much entertainment based for some, diversification in the farming sector is becoming a necessity. With the price of raw materials significantly increasing over recent years and the supermarkets squeezing agricultural businesses, it is estimated that 33% of farms have already diversified in some way or another.
During the first season of the show, Jeremy opens a farm shop to sell his own produce, which on the face of it should be easy. However, for those that have seen the programme, it clearly is not. Aside from the weather and the state of the potatoes, there were a few other hurdles to overcome in the race to open the farm shop and in this season 2, once again Jeremy faces problems trying to diversify with a café/restaurant.
One of the first hurdles for farmers facing diversification maybe the need for planning permission. It is important to check whether planning permission is required and if it is, to obtain planning permission first before considering whether a farm diversification project is viable. Then once planning permission is granted and if any conditions are attached to it, they too should be carefully reviewed and considered to ensure that they are not overly restrictive on the overall proposed use.
In addition to this, it is important to check whether there are any restrictions on your land that may what can be done with it. These can be found in the title documents to the property. It must then be explored who can enforce these restrictions. Does permission need to be obtained and if so from whom? It is also important to consider strategy: what are you trying to achieve with the diversification project and how will it fit in with your existing agricultural business? In addition, how might you finance such a project until you start seeing returns? Other considerations are whether a sudden influx of non-farming income into your current structure will cause any difficulties with agricultural property relief and are there potential inheritance tax issues that need to be addressed?
There is a lot to think about and a lot that you need to get right and that is why it is important to take professional advice from the outset and to have an experienced team on board early on in any farm diversification project on an existing farm.
For further advice please contact Claire Speed [email protected] Tel: 01793 610466
