NWA Professional Winter Newsletter

WINTER NEWSLETTER HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The end of 2018 saw the long awaited BPS payments being paid to farmers across the country. This year more than 65% of farmers were paid on the first day of December, 93.4% were paid by the end of December this equates to 78,787 claimants with a value of over £1.57 billion. Please see our BPS updates for more information regarding payments and applications.

THE FUTURE OF BPS AND STEWARDSHIP FUNDING 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

UK leaves EU (March)

BPS as normal

Countryside Stewardship (CS) & ELS/HLS continue

CS continue to be signed but at a lower rate Reducing BPS budget

Environment Land Management (ELM) trials

ELMs Pilots

No further HLS extensions

2026 2027 ELMs up and running 2028

No more Direct Payments

PREPARING FOR 2019 BPS

BPS UPDATE

The 2019 BPS application window is rapidly approaching, we will be in contact shortly to discuss your application and changes which may have occurred in the past 12 months.

We would like to remind you that if you change your bank account details the RPA need to be informed to ensure that payments are made into the correct account.

As well as this, if you use the Rural Payments online service, please check that your log in details are still valid. Often, your password can expire after a certain period of time or inactivity. If you find you cannot log in to your account, you may need to change your password. This can be done through clicking the ‘create new password’ link below the boxes provided for your login credentials. You will then receive a code via email which will allow you to change your password.

By now, farmers should have received either: 1 2018 payment

If you’re having trouble with updating your bank details or log in password, please do get in touch and we can provide some assistance on the matter. Contact: 015395 66222.

For those who have received their 2018 payment and claim statement, please contact us on 015395 66222 to check that you have been paid the correct amount. If we believe that your payment is incorrect, we can query the amount as soon as possible so that the issue can be resolved with the RPA.

2

A letter/email indicating no payment will be issued in December

Every year there is inevitably a select few who do not receive their BPS payment within the payment time frame.

Those claimants who have not been paid by the end of March will receive a bridging payment worth 75% of the value of their claim.

If you have any queries regarding your 2018 payment please get in touch with the office: 015395 66222.

BPS CLAIM STATEMENTS

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WINTER NEWSLETTER DEVELOPMENT ON SMALL PIECES OF LAND

COUNTRYSIDE STEWARDSHIP UPDATE

As we are into the New Year now you may be looking for new projects and challenges. You may have had thoughts of trying to get planning for housing on a small piece of land you have on the edge of your local village. You may not be aware but the revised national planning policy was overhauled last year and may just help. For a while now infill and edge of village sites have been positive areas for small developments. Planning authorities have to recognise and accept small sites are important in meeting their targets and furthermore have a part to play in the life and sustainability of village services and facilities.

For those who applied for a 2019 Countryside Stewardship Agreement, and have not signed an agreement acceptance form yet, please be aware that you cannot start any capital works until you have signed this, regardless of it being past the 1st January 2019. You will not be able to claim your grant if you start works before this time. The 2020 Mid Tier Countryside Stewardship application window opens on the 18th February if you are interested in applying for an application pack please contact us as soon as possible.

If you have a small piece of land near a village edge or within the street frontage call Greg at NWA 015395 66248 or 07969994945 to discuss this or arrange a no cost site visit to discuss it.

If you have any queries regarding your 2019 Countryside Stewardship Agreement, or would like to speak to a member of staff regarding the 2020 scheme, please contact the office on: 015395 66222.

DO YOU OWN AN EXCEPTION SITE? One of the more time consuming parts of any job is trying to keep up with legislation, rules, and regulations. Sometimes though this just gives a glimmer of light and leads to a Eureka moment, not often but sometimes. New planning guidance offers a glimmer. There is and has been for a while a concept in housing provision known as “exception sites”.

An “exception site” is one which is not allocated housing land, but is an area of land that could be considered for homes for first time buyers. This is not Affordable Housing in the legal sense but is housing that is cheap to build, manageable in size, affordable to buy and fills an important role in the housing stock. You may have an area of a field near a village edge that may be suitable for such a development. The local authority are required to keep track of housing delivery and the impact this is having on housing types built versus those required in housing needs investigations.

SALE RESULTS LAND AT FOUL SCROW, COPPER MINES VALLEY, CONISTON

Contact Greg on 015395 66248 for more information.

ELM UPDATE Tests and Trials will begin in 2020 aiming to incentivise the 25 year environmental plan’s goals. Recently there has been a two year extension added to the Payment By Results Trials running in Norfolk and Wensleydale which are studying the effects of rewarding farmers with evidence-based payments made on a tier system in-line with the outcomes that have been met. This is to test a new way of delivering payments to farmers to ensure reasonable distribution.

Cumbria is one of the rural pioneer areas being asked to trial different special scales similar to that of the Payment By Results Trial.

66.00 ACRES/26.71 HECTARES OF ROUGH GRAZING LAND SOLD FOR £84,000 AT PUBLIC AUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………

If you have land or rural property for sale, we can help you find a buyer. We can sell your land and property by private treaty, public auction or through formal or informal tender.

Our team of experienced and qualified valuers and auctioneers can advise you on the best method of sale and most appropriate marketing strategy for your property. We handle land and property sales across Cumbria, North Yorkshire and North Lancashire. Contact Kathryn Sayce or Michael Mashiter for more information: 015395 66222.

WINTER NEWSLETTER KENDAL FLOOD DEFENCE SYSTEM

FOR SALE

There are 3 phases to the flood defence system, Phase 1 and 2 works will occur within built up areas whilst phase 3 will target bare land in surrounding areas. This may be of interest to our clients, particularly those who farm in Staveley, Ings and Burneside.

LAND FORMERLY PART OF STRAIGHTS HEAD FARM, AUGHTON ROAD, GRESSINGHAM

If you have been approached by the Environment Agency regarding these works, and would like some clarification on the matter and your rights you can contact us on: 015395 66222 STAFF UPDATE—RODNEY COWARD We are pleased to confirm that we have persuaded Rodney to stay with us for another year.

He will be working an average of 2 days per week although he will spend more time in the first half of the year when BPS and stewardship takes so much time, and less in the later part of the year. Not all this time will be spent in the office but he will be in both J36 and Lancaster offices on a regular basis on various sale days, but please ring the office to confirm availability.

A lot of farmers are concerned over the repercussions of Brexit and the changing emphasis on the proposed new payment regime and eventual removal of BPS. With his financial background and the work he has done over many years, Rodney will be on hand to offer non-technical advice on how to adapt your business to these changing times, whether it be through re-structuring, diversification or other options.

Confidential, unbiased advice provided on farm could ease pressures and point you in the right direction, so please feel free to give him a call.

SALE BY PRIVATE TREATY OF 11.83 ACRES/4.79 HECTARES OR THEREABOUTS AS A WHOLE OR IN TWO LOTS, ADJOINING AUGHTON ROAD AND BEING FORMERLY PART OF STRAIGHTS HEAD FARM, AUGHTON ROAD, GRESSINGHAM ………………………………………………………………………...………….

LAND AT LOW NEWTON, GRANGE OVER SANDS

SALE BY INFORMAL TENDER OF 11.54 ACRES/ 4.67 HECTARES OR THEREABOUTS OF PASTURE LAND BEING SITUATED AT NEWTON HEADS, LOW NEWTON, GRANGE OVER SANDS. CLOSING DATE FOR TENDERS 3.00PM ON THURSDAY, 28th FEBRUARY 2019

WINTER NEWSLETTER COUNTRYSIDE PRODUCTIVITY SMALL GRANT SCHEME DEFRA has confirmed that there will be another round of the Countryside Productivity Small Grant Scheme in early 2019.

We haven’t yet heard of an application opening date, but, when we do we will get in contact with those of you who have already expressed an interest in the grant. To add yourself onto our list please contact either Emily or Charlotte.

HEDGEROW AND BOUNDARIES GRANT SCHEME The application window for this scheme is due to open imminently. We are now making appointments with those who wish to apply for the grant in preparation for the opening date. Those who have already expressed an interest will be contacted shortly.

If you are considering applying for the hedgerow and boundaries grant and would like us to help you apply, you can contact Emily or Charlotte on: 015395 66222.

CONVERSION OF TRADITIONAL BARNS IN THE NATIONAL PARK Recently Greg was told by an NWA client that his field barn in the Lake District National Park had received a planning consent for conversion to a local occupancy restricted house. The consent appears to sanction the rebuilding of the house and much of the barn into a detached dwelling house for a local resident.

There is commonly known to be a dearth of houses affordable to locals in the Lakes, holiday home ownership and desirability of the area has for many years priced out young locals.

What does this mean then. Whilst it is hard to base an expensive planning application on one or two unusual decisions it does make consideration of conversion and viability worth looking at for traditional barns in the National Park.

If therefore you think you have a traditional stone barn that may benefit the local community in terms of housing stock, is accessible by a present highway access and is in reasonable condition contact NWA Architectural, Greg Gilding 015395 66248.

CONTACT DETAILS Michael Mashiter: 015395 66214 or 07713 787511 Kathryn Sayce: 015395 66215 or 07976 646035 Greg Gilding: 015395 66248 or 07969 994945

USED PLASTIC COLLECTION DATES Wednesday 30th January at Lancaster Auction Mart February (TBC) at J36 Rural Auction Centre

Emily Warin: 015395 66227 or 07973 852813 Charlotte Ormondroyd: 015395 66223 or 07528 026403

Wednesday 15th May at J36 Rural Auction Centre

Megan Schofield: 015395 66213

Wednesday 22nd May at Lancaster Auction Mart

General Office Enquiries to

Wednesday 7th August at J36 Rural Auction Centre

Gillian Ellis: 015395 66222

Wednesday 9th October at Lancaster Auction Mart Wednesday 6th November at J36 Rural Auction Centre Collections take place between 9.00am – 12.30pm Contact Charlotte on 015395 66223 for more information.

We are just one phone call away or a knock on the office door at either of our sites. Our staff are always on hand to help with any query.

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