The Rural Bulletin: 15th February, 2019
A summary of the latest news and issues affecting rural landowners and businesses brought to you by Knight Frank.
3 minutes to read
Land values drop 3% in 2018
Agricultural land values are heading towards a five-year low, according to Knight Frank’s Farmland Index for Q4 2018. Values across England and Wales fell by 3% over 2018, to average £6,970/acre – the first time they have fallen below £7,000/acre since 2013.
“Many potential buyers and sellers of land continue to sit on their hands,” said Andrew Shirley, head of rural research at Knight Frank. Falling commodity prices and Brexit uncertainty were behind the decline – although values remained 45% higher than 10 years ago.
All Parliamentary Group supports hill farming
Hill farmers will find themselves better represented at government level following the relaunch of the Hill Farming All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). Tim Farron MP, who will chair the group, said: "With the Government planning to remove direct payments - which are a lifeline to so many hill farmers - and with the threat of leaving the European Union with no-deal still on the table, the future for hill farming has never been more uncertain.
"I look forward to working with MPs from all parties, and the NFU, to help secure the most stable future for the industry and a better deal for farmers across the country.”
Grants auction to stop flooding
Farmers in Somerset can bid for funding to help stop flooding in the UK’s first countywide auction. Using a new Environment Agency web app, farmers can select different natural flood management activities, match them to appropriate land, and bid for grants from the Somerset Rivers Authority. The auction will be run online from 26 February - 12 March, and can be found at www.nfmauction.org.uk.
Delay rent reviews, urges TFA
The Tenant Farmers Association is urging landlords to adopt a light-handed approach to rent review discussions this spring, given the uncertainty over Brexit.
“Though reaching a pre-Brexit agreement on the rent will be appropriate for some tenants, we do not want to see tenants forced or scared into agreeing inappropriate increases,” said TFA adviser Caroline Foot. “Brexit terms are unclear. The right time to be looking at farm rents remains likely to be autumn 2019 or spring 2020.”
New powers to tackle travellers
Home secretary Sajid Javid has announced plans to give police tough new powers to crack down on illegal traveller sites. The draft measures will make it easier for officers to remove travellers from land, and potentially make it a criminal offence to set up such camps.
“During our consultation, we have heard accounts of unacceptable noise, abusive and threatening behaviour and extensive litter from illegal traveller sites,” said communities secretary James Brokenshire. “We are committed to working with councils to help them deal with these challenging cases, while ensuring travellers have good access to legal sites.”
Countryside Stewardship open for applications
The application window for Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreements opens on Monday 18 February. Successful applications will run from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024. If your ELS or HLS expires in 2019, or if you have land not currently in any agreement, you should consider applying this year. For more information visit www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants.
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