Land & Business - May 2021

May 2021 | £4.50

Mind the gap

The magazine for CLA members

Wedding woes A review of the Reset, Reopen, Recover Summit

A summer of staycations Changes to planning rules could open up new revenue streams

21 ENERGY EFFICIENCY

38 MEET THE MEMBERS

42 DELIVERING THE VISION

Our work on energy efficiency standards

Reconnecting with nature

Recent work by the CLA Charitable Trust

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Contents May 2021

News and opinion 7

WELCOME President’s briefing

8

NEWS

10

LETTERS

13

LOBBYING The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse will conduct an inquiry into rural productivity

14

COUNTERPOINT A paradigm shift on planning is needed to help the countryside thrive

16

POLICING RURAL ISSUES The CLA is calling for greater understanding and resourcing to tackle the wide-ranging issue of rural crime

Advice 18

21

COUNTDOWN TO COP26 The CLA is channelling the energy around climate change into a series of actions for members THE ENERGY EFFICIENCYǠDEBATE An overview of the CLA’s lobbying work ahead of proposals to tighten minimum energy efficiency standards

18

16

35 38 25 DELIVERING FOR THEǠECONOMY The second in our article series on our Benefits of Land Ownership Survey 26 ALTERNATIVES TO LEAD An update on the current debate surrounding lead shot and the rules for use

Features 28 A SUMMER OF STAYCATIONS Tourism could prove a much-needed source of revenue for farmers and landowners 31

SUPPORTING A RURAL NEED Are almshouses part of the future answer to rural affordable housing?

35 WEDDING WOES A review of the Reset, Reopen, Recover Summit and how the CLA is helping members in this sector 38 MEET THE MEMBERS How CLA member Leaves of Green is using the landscape to reconnect communities 41

GOING ORGANIC Using experience to produce sustainable and organic trees

Your CLA 42 CLA CHARITABLE TRUST How the Trust is ensuring it remains focused on its vision 45 CLA HEALTHCARE The techniques members can employ to improve their mental health and wellbeing 47 CLA INSURANCE The impact fly-tipping is having on rural businesses 48 CLA ENERGY SERVICES On-site energy generation

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CONTENTS

Editorial A word from the Editor

In your area 52 NEWS ACROSS ENGLAND AND WALES What’s happening where you are

The last word 74

COUNTRY VIEW Brian Martin tracks the deadly virus ravaging our wild rabbits

Brighter days

W 74 Compostable magazine wrap The CLA has moved away from polythene wrapping to a more environmentally friendly alternative and now Land & Business is delivered in a 100% compostable wrapper made out of potato starch. You can dispose of your wrapper by: Adding to a well-maintained garden compost heap Placing it in your garden waste bin Using it to line your food waste caddy

Membership queries If you have a query relating to your membership of the CLA please contact your local office. All contact details can be found online at cla.org.uk

The CLA is the premier organisation safeguarding the interests of those responsible for land, property and business throughout rural England and Wales. All enquiries regarding membership or CLA matters should be addressed to:

arm days, light evenings and the safe reopening of our communities have made this a welcome spring as we put the darker days of winter and lockdown behind us. And the sense of optimism, positivity and excitement is even more noticeable now – our towns and villages are bustling, and hard-hit retail, leisure and hospitality industries can start joining us on this roadmap to normality.

And with summer just around the corner, people are focused on adventuring away from home and exploring our countryside in a summer of staycations. This tourism boom could give farmers and landowners a much-needed source of revenue thanks to temporary alterations to permitted

Editor

Picture researcher

Jasmin McDermott | 020 7460 7979 jasmin.mcdermott@cla.org.uk

Jessica Marsh jessica.marsh@redactive.co.uk

Produced by

Production

Redactive Publishing Ltd Level 5, 78 Chamber Street, London E1 8BL 020 7880 6200 redactive.co.uk

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development rights in England and Wales. Our feature on page 28 hears from members who used this extension last year and those who plan to this year – maybe their tales will offer inspiration to some of you.

Elsewhere, we provide an update on our policy and lobbying work concerning minimum energy efficiency standards (page 21), we report back from the Reset, Reopen, Recover Summit for wedding and event businesses (page 35), and speak to CLA member Leaves of Green about its mission to use the landscape to reconnect communities (page 38).

Jasmin McDermott, Editor, Land & Business

Land & Business is published monthly by Redactive Media Group on behalf of the CLA. Editorial and advertisements are accepted in good faith. Readers are advised that neither the CLA nor the publishers can accept responsibility for statements made in editorial or the advertisements. The editor and the CLA reserve the right to withdraw any editorial or advertisements at any time.

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Design Joe McAllister joe.mcallister@redactive.co.uk

Cover image ALAMY

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WELCOME

President’s

Briefing with Mark Bridgeman

changed their lives for the better. Many remarked how their lives could so easily have taken a wrong turn, that they were falling in with the wrong crowd and losing their sense of place in the world until the scheme set them back on the right track.

It was a reminder not just of the Duke’s compassion, but also of the countryside’s unique ability to improve people’s lives.

In so many ways, that same spirit inspires our work, both at the CLA itself and through the CLA Charitable Trust – itself instrumental in giving disadvantaged young people the opportunity to enjoy the countryside. It is why we encourage a positive message on access. It is also why we work hard to ensure we have the rightt policy environment to eople from every background provide good jobs for people rovide not just – to allow the land to provide food, but prosperity for the future generations the Duke off Edinburgh ed. so passionately supported. rest We express our sincerest al Family, condolences to the Royal h gratitude and will remember with the Duke’s outstanding commitment verywhere. to rural communities everywhere.

For future generations

I

n 1957, the CLA received a letter from the Duke of Edinburgh, then the President of the Royal Agricultural Society. The letter (inset) marked the 50th anniversary of the CLA’s formation, and read: “The agricultural landowner is the guardian of one of our greatest assets – the fertility of the soil.

In my travels throughout the world, I have seen the results of bad husbandry and neglect which lead to soil erosion and finally to barren desert. The emphasis on good husbandry in this country is a tradition which the owner must jealously guard.

Landlord or owner-occupier, he must keep the land in good heart for future generations.”

I wonder if the Duke ever had the credit he deserved for being so forward-thinking. His words are as true today as they were all those years ago. But now, through the technical advances he championed, we do have the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve his aim.

But he also knew that the countryside was more than farming. Prince Philip was a passionate supporter of rural Britain as a whole. Through his Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, many millions of young people from all walks of life were taught to respect and enjoy the countryside.

It was heartening to see, in the various news pieces and documentaries aired in the days after his death, so many proudly describe how those experiences

cla.org.uk

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NEWS

News round-up The stories that matter to you

Refreshed Countryside Code launched

F

ollowing a long-awaited consultation, a refreshed Countryside Code has been launched by Natural England.

An overhaul of the 70-year-old Code was made to ensure it is more engaging for the public, following an increase in visitors to the countryside since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Code provides advice about how to enjoy a visit to the countryside safely and responsibly under its headings: Respect, Protect, Enjoy.

Changes to the Code include new wording to make it clear that the code applies to all our natural places, and clearer rules to underline the importance of clearing away dog poo, staying on footpaths and not feeding livestock.

In addition to the changes, Natural England has also set up a long-term Countryside Code campaign to increase awareness through 2021 and beyond.

CLA President Mark Bridgeman says: “The countryside has seen an increase in visitors since the pandemic began over a year ago – and that’s great to see.

Everyone is welcome. It’s imperative that the Code is well-read, respected

and followed. Although there has not been significant changes to the Code, the messaging is clear – Respect, Protect and Enjoy the outdoors.

“The countryside is, of course, a place of work where the land, livestock, machinery, wildlife and environment must be respected – and a greater understanding of this in the long-term will benefit both farmers and walkers.”

Read the updated Code by visiting bit.ly/3e1L7sT

Government unveils plans to boost rural economy The government has set out its plans to support rural businesses and rural communities through its Rural Proofing in England 2020: Delivering policy in a rural context report.

The CLA has long called for more strategic thinking from the government in supporting the rural

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economy, something which fits in with the prime minister’s agenda for ‘levelling up’ every part of the UK. The report includes a commitment to rolling out gigabit broadband; using additional police resources to tackle rural crime; investing in the bus network to improve infrequent or

non-existent services in the countryside; combining strong employment growth with high employment standards; and ensuring that British farmers are able to profit by producing food for the nation.

Mark Bridgeman, CLA President, says: “We welcome this report, which shows the government is beginning to recognise the potential we have to boost national GDP. “But no single government department has all the levers at its disposal to level

up the countryside, and there is always a sense that government departments aren’t coordinated sufficiently.

Government must be more ambitious for the rural economy, and put forward a coherent cross-departmental strategy with a laser-like focus on boosting productivity, growing the economy, creating jobs and building stronger communities across rural Britain.”

Read the report in full by visiting bit.ly/3uND4qx

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GO ONLINE Stay up to date with the latest news cla.org.uk

@CLAtweets

INFLUENCE

@countrylandandbusiness

KNOWLEDGE

ADVICE

linkedin.com/theCLA

COMMUNITY

First gigabit broadband areas announced

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Gangmasters and VAT fraud The existence of VAT fraud within the labour supply industry is known

by HMRC. The CLA has been alerted by a member to concerns about this type of fraud where a third-party company (often referred to as gangmasters) supplies seasonal workers (for flower, vegetable or fruit picking).

Although we are not aware that VAT fraud is a widespread problem, care should be taken to ensure that you are not left out of pocket financially.

HMRC’s VAT notice 700/34 confirms that the supply of staff from an agency is subject to standard rate VAT. VAT fraud may occur where a company deliberately fails to pay the VAT received to HMRC before the company ceases operating and goes into liquidation or is sold to an overseas buyer so that HMRC cannot recover the VAT due. In these circumstances, HMRC may try to prevent the recipient of the labour supply from recovering the input tax paid if they knew or should have known that the fraud is happening.

The CLA recommends that, to protect your business, you check the VAT registration number is genuine here: gov.uk/check-uk-vat-number.

Also consider including a clause in the contract for the supply of labour that the company making that supply undertakes to pay the VAT charged to HMRC. If you suspect fraud, please do not challenge the company, but report this to the HMRC VAT fraud team for them to investigate. More information about how to report a VAT fraud can be found on gov.uk

The government has announced the first stage of its plan to get ultra-fast broadband to the majority of homes in the UK. It has promised to roll out gigabit-speed broadband to 85% of homes in Britain by 2025. Of the £5bn budget, only £1.2bn will be made available up to 2024. The infrastructure build should start from 2022.

The first to benefit will be homes and businesses in Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Tees Valley. The next areas are expected to be Norfolk, Shropshire, Suffolk, Worcestershire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

“This is an important moment in levelling up

MEMBER SERVICES

the countryside,” says CLA President Mark Bridgeman.

“Too many rural businesses are put at a disadvantage by poor connectivity. Closing the productivity gap would grow the economy by at least £43bn. So, this is a good start, but if government is serious about levelling up then its foot needs to stay on the accelerator until the job is complete.”

For more information, visit bit.ly/3tf1UPD.

From natural capital to environmental markets Over the last year, the CLA has introduced members to the concept of natural capital, which sees the natural environment as a series of assets. Depending on how they are managed, these assets can deliver a range of benefits, such as carbon storage, clean air or wildlife habitat. There is increasing interest in creating markets for these benefits (or ecosystem services) to incentivise good natural capital management. CLA members find themselves in a prime position to take advantage of these markets, which could provide a new income stream for rural businesses.

On 12 May, the CLA will launch a series of national and regional natural capital events delving into the subject. CLA Director of Policy and Advice, Judicaelle Hammond,

will chair a panel discussion between CLA members and experts to look at the development of environmental markets, changes in policy and what members can do now to prepare to take advantage of current and future opportunities.

The CLA is also publishing a booklet for members, An introduction to natural capital, which summarises the topic and illustrates it with case studies.

To register for the series, visit the events section on the website.

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YOUR VIEWS

Letters Making the rural voice heard CLA Cymru’s online hustings event ahead of this month’s Senedd elections revealed the intense debate between the main parties on key issues affecting landowners, farmers and rural businesses. There’s much at stake: the future of farming in Wales, accelerating postpandemic economic recovery and ensuring the rural community is a leading part of it.

I hope CLA members and their contacts ensure their vote is cast in the 6 May election – and the rural voice is truly heard.

A positive that has emerged from Covid-19 is how we’ve been

able to use technology to engage with people – often dispersed across Wales.

Our online hustings drew some leading voices from five leading political parties in a manner which would have been physically impossible in the past. Welsh Government Minister, Eluned Morgan, was joined by Welsh Conservatives’ Rural Affairs Spokesman, Janet Finch Saunders, Plaid Cymru counterpart, Llyr Gruffydd, Welsh Liberal Democrats’ Leader, Jane Dodds, and Green councillor, Emily Durrant. A recording of the hustings is available on the

S LE TAR TT ER

CLA’s YouTube channel. It was an excellent event, and not one of our candidates could deny the importance of our Rural Powerhouse messages with debate focused on how and when they should be delivered.

Online events have certainly helped us engage more and ensure the rural voice is heard, which should hopefully make a difference in this month’s election.

RORY MCLAGGAN, CLA CYMRU CHAIR, MERTHYR MAWR

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

STAR LETTER

Letters for Land & Business should be emailed to jasmin.mcdermott@cla.org.uk

STAR PRIZE

A Royal memory It was a very sad day for the country when the death of Prince Philip was announced.

I recall a lunch at Osbourne House to which I was invited, and the Queen and Prince Philip were present.

On being presented before the meal, the Prince asked what I did, and when I said I was the regional director of the Isle of Wight for the CLA, he immediately started to talk about the CLA and the home farm at Windsor, which was in membership.

He then pressed me on various current farming problems. I think I satisfied him with my answers as there was much nodding and further remarks.

He obviously knew all about the CLA and the extent of its activities. We spoke for some time before he was gently ushered on to the next person to be presented – Alan Titchmarsh, who he hardly said a word to!

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LOBBYING

I

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RURAL PRODUCTIVITY

ROSIE NAGLE CLA PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADVISER rosie.nagle@cla.org.uk 020 7460 7947

n his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson set out his vision to level up the country and reduce regional inequalities. The CLA, with its Rural Powerhouse campaign, specifically highlighted the disparities in productivity between rural and urban areas and made recommendations on how these disparities could be reduced.

Redressing such imbalances through the levelling up agenda was put on the back burner following the Covid-19 pandemic. But Defra’s new study into rural proofing, published in March, showed that the productivity gap is widening further still, with the rural economy now 18% less productive than the national average. As the UK begins on the road to economic recovery, there is an opportunity to revisit the prime minister’s levelling up agenda, not least to prioritise measures that might lessen the gap between urban and rural areas, but also to reflect the shifting societal priorities that have risen to the surface during the past 12 months.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse is a cross-party group of MPs and peers that seeks to promote and protect the interests of the rural economy.

As a conduit for parliamentarians, APPGs have a role to play in platforming policies that could feed into the government’s agenda and, as such, the APPG for Rural Business and the Rural

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‘The productivity gap is widening further still, with the rural economy now 18% less productive than the national average’ Powerhouse will be holding an inquiry into rural productivity.

The inquiry, which will have a panel of parliamentarians, will assess barriers to productivity across many aspects of the rural economy and invite key stakeholders and organisations to submit evidence, which will be fed into a report.

The rural economy is not a monolithic entity, but there are core themes that the inquiry can look into. Connectivity – both digital and electric – has long been a bugbear for many rural communities.

However, the events of 2020 brought into sharp relief just how critical it is to have a decent internet

Mind the gap The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse is to conduct an inquiry into rural productivity

connection. Similarly, arcane and complex planning rules prevent many rural areas from fulfilling their potential, with a planning system that does not properly work for rural communities.

The inquiry will look at pressures on land use, as well as how the transition to the new Environmental Land Management schemes and changes in agricultural policy are affecting rural businesses.

Barriers to upskilling in rural areas, infrastructure investment and how the current tax system can hinder diversification will also be examined.

There will also be a focus on the wider strategy of delivering rural objectives. Part of the reason that rural productivity has consistently lagged behind that of urban areas is due to the inherent problems that exist in rural areas, such as sparsity and the domino effect that this has on delivering services or investing in infrastructure. Though this cannot be changed, looking at how government can improve its cross-departmental working will be another area for the inquiry to examine.

There is no better time to reduce the continued productivity gap in rural areas, and this inquiry has an important role to play in helping to deliver that objective.

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Counterpoint PLANNING

A regular Land & Business column offering a different point of view

Building beautiful communities

CO U PO NTER INT -

To see the countryside thrive, we need a paradigm shift on planning, starting with government policies

G

overnments have long tinkered around the edges when it comes to the planning system – tweaking, adjusting and occasionally radically shifting policy, and claiming that each announcement will drive us further towards the goal of providing enough high-quality homes that local communities can afford. CPRE, the countryside charity, much like the CLA, has long been campaigning to ensure that these changes create a countryside where rural economies can grow, and rural communities can thrive.

In its latest changes to planning released last summer, the government launched the new housing need formula, or housing algorithm. The new formula would have placed absurd pressure on rural local authorities to build unprecedented numbers of poorly-designed housing developments. Thankfully, the government backed down, and while there are still problems with unrealistic housing targets foisted on local authorities by central government, rural areas like the Cotswolds won’t have to accommodate a 148% increase in housing with little consideration for type, tenure or design.

Major inroads on design have been made too, but rural communities continue to bear the brunt of poor and mediocre design. At the beginning of 2020, CPRE, University College London and the Place Alliance launched our Housing Design Audit.

The findings were stark – 75% of new housing developments should not have gone ahead due to ‘mediocre’ or ‘poor’ design, and this figure rose to 94% for rural areas. We can all agree that it’s simply not right that design quality gets steadily worse the further you move away from London.

But there is reason for hope, with the government response to the

14 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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20/04/2021 16:42

OPINION TOM FYANS DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE CPRE, the countryside charity cpre.org.uk

HAVE YOUR SAY Email jasmin.mcdermott@cla.org.uk

‘We need a paradigm shift in planning to put people and nature at its heart, while ensuring the rural development that is needed is appropriate’ Building Better, Building Beautiful commission and a new design body established with a clear mandate for beauty to be at the forefront of how we create the neighbourhoods and communities of tomorrow.

However, this could all be undermined before the first brick is laid if the government continues to remove local scrutiny from individual applications. We know that local democracy and good design go hand in hand. For this very reason, we will continue to campaign to secure local participation in all the stages of the planning process. And momentum is building.

An inconspicuous update to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government website

revealed a major win for CPRE’s campaign on 1st April 2021. The government has decided to scrap the proposals to raise the small sites cap, which would have led to the loss of up to 6,000 affordable homes on sites of up to 50 homes. That, alongside the changes to the housing algorithm, shows that the rural sector is making its voice heard and the government is listening.

As the government continues to consider responses to its various consultations, it has never been more important for the rural sector to make its voice heard. We need a paradigm shift in planning to put people and nature at its heart, while ensuring the rural development that is needed is appropriate.

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’S CLA E H T VIEW CLA Head of Planning Fenella Collins says: “It is a longstanding concern of the CLA that the outcomes from the government’s standard methodology for assessing housing need do not reach smaller rural settlements.

As a result, many thousands of rural settlements do not

benefit from new homes and job creation, and they experience the loss of public services such as a post office. These so-called “unsustainable” villages are not allocated housing and have very limited development options to improve their sustainability, leaving them in a cycle of decline.

Sustainability assessments measure villages against a range of services and amenities more akin to how previous generations lived and used services.

Local authorities should factor in how advances in technology have

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helped to shape modern life and consider how emerging technology will change rural England.

For example, only 18% of local authorities, analysed by the CLA, include the availability of broadband in their sustainability assessments.

The government must address the housing needs of unsustainable communities by requiring and funding local authorities to conduct Housing Needs Assessments in any community not allocated housing in the Local Development Plan.”

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20/04/2021 16:43

PCC ELECTIONS

RURAL CRIME

ELEANOR WOOD CLA PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER eleanor.wood@cla.org.uk 020 7460 7919

R

ural crime costs communities up to £800m a year, yet is often trivialised as not as important as, or less impactful than, crime in urban areas. Rural crime is unique as it often takes place over disperse areas and typically affects the land.

However, it greatly impacts those in rural communities, making people feel vulnerable and under threat, and it cannot be diminished.

Ahead of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections on 6 May, the CLA has been calling on those standing to commit to representing rural communities, and to properly fund and adapt policing to this environment.

However, this is not to say that rural policing hasn’t improved over the past few years. Many new recruits now undergo rural training, and this is something we would like to be expanded to all forces across the UK, as well as to 999 call handlers.

Those who live in rural areas know the true impact of crimes that only affect rural communities, such as

hare coursing. Not only is property damaged, but there is also a real threat of violence and intimidation if the perpetrators are confronted.

However, without proper training, the person at the other end of the phone may only understand it as criminal damage.

Training is not the only piece of the puzzle when it comes to policing rural crime. Resourcing is also an issue; one CLA member had to lend a local police force heavy-duty torches when trying to apprehend a culprit at night over fields. This is an extreme example, but when it comes to tackling rural crime, the terrain is different, and many forces do not have the vehicles for catching suspects off-road or necessary night vision equipment. Making such provision available to rural teams could make a significant difference.

PCCs act as a conduit between regional police forces and the communities they serve, and hold chief constables and the police force to account. They also work with other bodies as there are often many issues that fall under more than one

Ahead of Police and Crime Commissioner elections, the CLA’s manifesto for rural crime calls for greater understanding and resourcing to tackle the issue

jurisdiction, such as the problem of fly-tipping.

The newly-elected commissioners need to continue working collaboratively with local authorities and the Environment Agency to reduce the scourge of fly-tipping and the damage it causes to our countryside. The average fly-tipping incident costs nearly £1,000 to remove, with landowners usually expected to bear the clean-up cost on their own land. In one instance, a CLA member had to pay £50,000 per year to remove rubbish from his land. Usually, once a place is targeted, it then becomes a hotspot for future incidents. This issue, which is only getting worse, cannot be allowed to continue while landowners suffer the consequence.

Countryside Code As a result of Covid-19, more people want to spend time in the countryside. It is fantastic to see many people appreciating the UK’s varied natural landscape. However, it has resulted in a minority not acting responsibly, with a worrying rise in incidents of fire, damage to property and animal loss due to open gates. The CLA will be urging newlyelected PCCs to push the message of the Countryside Code as part of their educational remit and to work with communities on this.

IMAGE: ISTOCK

Policing rural issues 16 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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ADVICE ALICE RITCHIE CLA CLIMATE CHANGE LEAD alice.ritchie@cla.org.uk 020 7460 7941

multidimensional challenges associated with it. Any impact will require a significant shift in mindsets, behaviour, systems and governance, and we know that farmers and land managers will be on the frontline of the impacts of climate change. It is in our best interests to tackle this problem head-on.

This year, the CLA will be prioritising climate action. We have a unique advantage to find solutions that work: more than half the rural land in England and Wales is represented in our membership.

Proposed solutions are rising up the agenda, including carbon taxes, carbon markets, offsetting projects and the new policies in the Agriculture Act. We have a chance to influence these proposals and ensure our members are well-positioned to However, momentum has slowed, capitalise on them. and between 2018-2019, agriculture

By November, when COP26 was the only UK sector that saw starts in Glasgow, the world greenhouse gas emissions increase. will be watching. We have an Coupled with the international opportunity to show how UK land events taking place in the UK this managers are providing a blueprint year, the pressure is for sustainable land on for the sector to use, producing make a meaningful high-quality food, contribution to textiles and energy, climate change and providing THE CLA’S targets. CLA environmental CLIMATE members hold the solutions and ACTION PLAN key to reaching public goods, all net zero for the UK while tackling the A booklet of case economy, and play climate crisis. studies and CLA an important role Much of this work Climate Champions in solving other will be profiled in A survey of the environmental regular articles in membership to inform lobbying work issues, such as this magazine, but Monthly articles on the biodiversity check our website for climate change in crisis, water upcoming webinars, Land & Business quality decline seminars, podcasts, A series of events and resilience to guidance notes, and podcasts extreme weather. a member survey A policy briefing Climate change and a piece of work setting out the CLA’s is a problem profiling key ‘CLA position on key without a clear Climate Champions’ climate issues solution, given the as a series of case Partnerships with interconnected and studies. other organisations Ǡ

With the G7 Summit and COP26, 2021 is the year of climate action – and the CLA is channelling this energy into a series of actions for members

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limate change has become the defining issue of our time.

Last year saw weather records broken around the world, further confirming the dangerous global path we are on.

However, at the same time, we saw an unprecedented rise in global climate action. Governments, companies and organisations around the world have pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to minimise their respective contributions to this crisis.

The CLA has long shown leadership in the climate change debate, publishing a Climate Change and the Rural Economy report back in 2001 and launching a pioneering carbon accounting tool, CALM, in 2008. Since then, members of the CLA have contributed to the 44% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by increasing farm productivity, installing renewable energy options, increasing efficiency and deploying nature-based solutions.

18 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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IMAGE: ISTOCK

CLIMATE CHANGE

Countdown to COP26

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 16:44

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We operate the regional electricity network and provide new connections to homes, businesses and generation sites at voltages from 230 volts to 132,000 volts.

Ahead of applying to us for a new connection and particularly for Generation Connections, our customers and Independent Connection Providers (ICPs) often have questions and want to understand more about the process, timescales, technical matters, consents/legal requirements and possible constraints of making a connection to the network in a particular area.

If you are a landowner, an ICP, developer or community group and you need to discuss your requirements and the connection process, before making an actual application for a new connection to the network, please contact WPD on the relevant number.

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20 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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Please mention that your enquiry is for connection appointments when you call.

cla.org.uk

16/04/2021 17:31

ADVICE

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

HERMIONE WARMINGTON CLA PROPERTY AND BUSINESS POLICY ADVISER hermione.warmington@cla.org.uk 07792 108598

The energy efficiency debate The CLA has been lobbying hard for energy efficiency ratings to take rural homes into consideration, ahead of proposals to further tighten minimum energy efficiency standards

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hose with residential property will be all too familiar with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), a report that gives a property an energy efficiency rating. Residential landlords are also likely to be familiar with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, which require most let homes to have an energy efficiency rating (EER) of band E or above.

Late last year, the government consulted on increasing the minimum EER rating for let homes to band C by 2025 for new tenancies and by 2028 for existing tenancies, along with a raft of other proposals. Since the consultation launched in September, the CLA has been intensively lobbying on behalf of our members.

IMAGE: ALAMY

The issues The way older, traditional properties are assessed for an EPC is often inaccurate, resulting in a lower EER

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that does not represent how the building performs. There are various reasons for this, but the core issue is that the assessment methodology was designed for modern buildings with cavity walls, as opposed to older buildings with solid walls. In addition to underestimating the thermal capacity of older buildings,

the EPC recommends standardised improvement measures that are often not appropriate or viable for older properties while ignoring or underestimating improvement measures that could make a huge difference to traditional buildings.

In addition, the EER is based on the cost of heating a home. This means

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 21

20/04/2021 16:53

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

ADVICE

that off-gas grid homes, which by default have a more expensive heating type, will always have a lower rating than those with access to mains gas.

EPCs are used to implement the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, and it is critical that these certificates are accurate if they are to foster trust and confidence in the system. These issues, as well as a tranche of other problems, will only be heightened when the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards are tightened and extended to apply to social homes and owner-occupier homes in addition to the private rented sector – proposals likely to be introduced in the coming 10 years.

issues to life and supported CLA modelling of three core issues.

We drafted a parliamentary briefing that was sent to all rural MPs and encouraged members to write to their local MP, including the briefing in their correspondence.

We also drafted a members’ briefing, distributed via our weekly news.

Our consultation response, as well as the results from our recent membership survey, which helped prove we are a key stakeholder What are we group for the rural private rented doing about it? sector, meant we have had regular In the run-up to submitting our meetings with officials from the consultation response, we engaged Department of Business, Energy extensively with members to ensure & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). In we could fully understand and addition to our own work with accurately convey the concerns and government, we also sit on an experiences of our membership. We informal stakeholder group that presented a paper to three national includes Historic England, the committees and also engaged Central Association of Agricultural with CLA branch committees. We Valuers and the National Trust, as highlighted the issues in magazine part of an ongoing effort to pool our articles and blogs on our website, resources and strengthen our voice. encouraging In February, members to get we presented in touch with to the All-Party examples and Parliamentary experiences Group for For a comprehensive of the current Rural Business understanding of the issues regulations in and the Rural around Energy Performance addition to their Powerhouse, Certificates and the Minimum concerns over the where MPs and Energy Efficiency Standards, proposals. Your Lords were very see the CLA’s response to the feedback meant engaged and recent government consultation, we could include keen to take Improving the energy 10 member case things further. performance of privately studies in our This resulted rented homes in England and consultation in a letter from Wales, which can be found on response, which the APPG to the our website by typing the title into the search bar. brought the energy minister.

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We also met with Lord Callanan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at BEIS. Lord Callanan congratulated the CLA on its campaign, which he described as ‘very successful’, having been inundated with letters from MPs highlighting the myriad of issues with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for rural homes.

What next?

The next milestone is the publication of the Heat & Buildings Strategy, which we hope will include some of the recommendations we have been lobbying for. This document will set out a roadmap for how our buildings will decarbonise, and should confirm things such as when oil and gas heating will be phased out and the tightening of the minimum energy efficiency standards, including the extension to owneroccupied and social homes.

Our lobbying continues behind the scenes, but the publication of the Heat & Buildings Strategy will enable us to be more targeted with our efforts and our asks.

The CLA is planning a member survey on energy efficiency and we are currently focusing on what information we need to get from it.

We would like to thank all our members who got in touch, either with us or your MP – it really does make a difference.

We will continue to keep you updated with magazine articles and blogs on our website. If you have any questions, please email hermione. warmington@cla.org.uk

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 16:54

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16/04/2021 13/04/2021 17:34 14:42

ADVICE

BENEFITS OF LAND OWNERSHIP

HERMIONE WARMINGTON CLA PROPERTY AND BUSINESS POLICY ADVISER hermione.warmington@cla.org.uk 07792 108598

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efore this survey, we knew many members had diversified their businesses; however, what the survey results have showed us is how concentrated and dependent many of our members are on the tourism and hospitality sector.

Diversified enterprises – key findings 77% of respondents had some form of diversification; Of those, 67% had diversified into the tourism or hospitality sector, 57% had some form of sporting diversification and 52% had a renewable energy installation.

Wedding venues were a common diversification route (14% of respondents) and self-catering accommodation was the most common tourism diversification (21%).

On average, respondents had three diversified enterprises.

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

We are using these results to focus our advice and lobbying and will

continue to build our presence in these sectors in the long term. More immediately, we have responded accordingly to the impact of Covid-19 and the roadmap to recovery.

Since last April, we have been regularly publishing Covid-specific member guidance, including advice on how to safely re-open houses to the public, camping/glamping sites and holiday lets.

We have also been intensively lobbying the government. In March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the 5% reduced VAT rate for the hospitality industry would be extended until 30th September, followed by an interim rate of 12.5% for another six months. Although this is a big win for the CLA, we will continue to lobby for the UK VAT rate to remain at 5% permanently.

At the end of March, the CLA, along with Hostology and Historic Houses, held the Reset, Reopen and Recover Summit. The event was a huge success and offered venue owners and their event managers a series of informative and engaging sessions which focused on resetting,

The second in our Benefits of Land Ownership Survey article series looks at diversification and social contribution

Delivering forǠthe economy

reopening and recovering from what has been a challenging year. Find out more about the Summit on p35.

Social contributions – key findings On average, 80% of respondents make a personal contribution to their community. 27% host groups of one sort or another, 17% help to clear roads and 5% are elected representatives.

On average, 57% of respondents’ businesses contribute to the community. More than 41% of respondents’ businesses provide some sort of facility, whether this is a school building, village hall, play or sports ground, or public open space. 25% provide land for village functions and 25% provide land for voluntary access.

Anecdotally, many of us are aware of the social contributions made by landowners, particularly within local communities. Whether it is providing buildings or land for community uses or volunteering for a rural charity, the contribution is important – yet it is often overlooked and less often quantified. We strongly encourage members to put themselves forward as representatives, whether this is on a parish council, a neighbourhood plan group, as a local councillor, or as a Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) or national park board member.

This information demonstrating the social contributions our members make helps us to tell the story of the living, working countryside, and to support our continued lobbying and policy work.

Next month In our final article on the social, economic and environmental contribution of landowners in England and Wales, we will explore environmental management and forestry and woodland.

cla.org.uk

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ADVICE ROBERT FREWEN CLA NORTH RURAL ADVISER robert.frewen@cla.org.uk 01748 907070

An update on the current debate and changes around lead shot and the current rules for use ust over a year ago, the CLA, along with all the principal shooting organisations, signed a statement supporting a voluntary transition away from lead shot and single-use plastic in cartridges within five years. This is both an update and a reminder to members to be aware of the issues around lead shot and the existing rules for its use.

There has been increasing evidence of potential harm that could be caused by quantities of lead shot deposited in the

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countryside by shoots annually.

We and the shooting organisations felt it was vital to demonstrate that those involved in shooting are at the forefront when it comes to protecting the environment. It was agreed that we should ‘put our own house in order’ within a transition period that was challenging, but

‘There has been increasing evidence of potential harm that could be caused by quantities of lead shot deposited in the countryside by shoots’

IMAGE: ISTOCK

LEAD AMMUNITION

Alternatives toǠlead

achievable rather than waiting for the government to legislate.

The cartridge companies have worked hard to develop new technologies, and their research into effective and affordable alternatives to lead is now well advanced. This encompasses lethality where there were worries that alternatives to lead were less effective. Detailed field trials have highlighted that this is not the case. The research also focused on concerns for old English guns with barrel wear and proofing issues, but even here there are viable alternatives, with trials showing thin-walled game guns did not show damage when using a standard performance 24g steel shot. For guns that can’t use steel, there is bismuth.

Many members with old guns use fibre wads, but the alternatives to lead need shot cups rather than wads, hence the need to develop a biodegradable cup.

The cartridge companies are increasingly confident that within the timeframe, now just under four years away, game shots with any type of gun will have access to appropriate alternatives to lead.

Similarly, research is ongoing to find alternatives to lead for rifle ammunition. One major concern that may yet give rise to legislative action from the government, and has given rise to call for it, are figures that suggest over 70% of wildfowl offered for sale to the public last year showed signs of having been shot with lead shot.

Members are reminded that they must take an appropriate supply of lead-free shot if a day’s shooting will include any wildfowl.

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 16:58

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16/04/2021 17:36

Tourism could prove aǠmuch-needed source of revenue for farmers and landowners this year, following changes to the planning rules. Tim Relf reports

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emporary alterations to planning laws are creating diversification opportunities for those in England and Wales who are seeking to capitalise on the boom in staycations that we are expecting to see this summer.

The government has relaxed permitted development rights (PDR) in a bid to boost the Covid-hit economy, which means that those who are planning to offer camping and glamping will be able to do so for 56 days this year – an extension to the previously allowed 28 days – without needing to apply for a change of use. The Welsh Government has also recently announced that it will increase PDR from 28 to 56 days.

28 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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Testing demand Kent farmer Michael Bourne is grasping the opportunity to “test the water” with glamping at New Park Farm near Tunbridge Wells. With help from a local couple keen to set up a site, he will offer four units this year on a three-acre field.

“This is a toe in the water, so we’ll keep the investment down to limit the risk,” says Michael.

“We won’t do anything permanent this season, so we could ultimately re-use the field for cropping if we need to. We’ll have mobile toilets and showers and a temporary electricity supply. We are in the process of applying for planning permission, and I’m optimistic about that, so we might then expand to eight units.”

Michael is targeting an upmarket tent-camping market. “We’re aiming

to attract seasoned, experienced campers who know – and respect – the countryside. They’re on a field that is part of a working farm, so we need them to respect the fact there are crops and horses nearby.

“The field we’re using is isolated from any houses, access to it is reasonably easy and the view is spectacular. There’s plenty of wildlife on our doorstep, plus access to footpaths that will take visitors to the local pub, and we’re also close to popular visitor centres.”

Michael plans to open from 25 June to 6 August. “We’re a well-diversified farm, and this will be another string to our bow. It spreads our risk and should increase business in our farm shop.

“We’re fortunate to be near big population centres as that does create

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK, ISTOCK

A summer of staycations

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 16:59

FEATURE

It’s important to decide on clear rules – such as whether camp fires and dogs are allowed – and then enforce them if you need to, says Ruth. A clear cancellation policy is also essential.

A new venture

opportunities. But at the same time, the field we’re going to use for glamping is encircled by high hedges.

Once you’re in it, it’s so quiet you feel as if you’ve gone 300 miles away.

“I’ve always enjoyed dealing with the public.

When people say they love our asparagus or strawberries, for example, that always struck me as more satisfying than growing wheat and sending it off in a lorry.”

Michael is optimistic about demand for staycations this summer as more people holiday at home, and is confident his brand of “luxury comfortable camping” will be sought after.

Diversification takes new skills – so it makes sense to team up with others who have skills you don’t. “The people I’m working with understand the fast-changing online environment and are au fait with social media, so can capitalise on that for advertising and securing bookings.”

The right price Marketing is key, as is getting your price point right, agrees Ruth Tuer at Crake Trees Manor near Penrith in Cumbria.

Ruth and husband Mike plan to make the most of the 56-day rule this year, having seen demand for camping pitches spike.

“When you start, you always want to attract people, so the temptation is to under-price, but as an industry we’re undervaluing our product. We’re also conscious we have first-class shower facilities here.”

The Tuers, who also offer self-catering stays, glamping pods and shepherd’s huts, are charging from £26/night/ tent pitch this year.

“Some providers are charging way under £20/night/pitch, though,” says Ruth.

“We’re set for a very busy year. Some visitors might well treat a week-long camping trip as their main holiday.

“Often we had 150 people on site last year – and there was not one case of Covid and not a single person even suggested they were at risk of catching it.

“Launching a camping or glamping enterprise can avoid a big capital investment, but you can’t simply swing the gate open and collect the cash. It can be quite time-consuming and you Contact your need to be committed, so CLA regional you’ve got to really want office for more to do it. If you’re a couple, information about it’s got to be a partnership, the permitted with both of you really development rights extension buying into the concept.”

Having had success using the 56-day PDR extension last year, Jonathan Simper at Simper Farms near Woodbridge in Suffolk is now applying for full planning for a small campsite.

He’d never offered camping pitches previously, but someone who was working on a campsite in Norfolk mentioned there was a massive demand.

“We’re near the coast, and we have our own beach on the farm that the public can use. There are no roads to it, you can only get there on foot, so it’s a lovely, unusual spot.

“We only did it seriously for about six weeks in 2020 because there wasn’t much left of the summer by the time we got going,” explains Jonathan.

“We hired portaloos, put in a water supply to the field and had our first customers just over a week after we first started thinking about it. It was low cost, and it’s sensible to avoid investing too much money this year because the 56-day rule might well change.”

Jonathan’s experience with the campers was very positive. Everybody, he says, was tidy and respectful of the countryside, and it was pleasing to be able to provide a service to people who were desperate to get away during the pandemic.

“You have to be mindful of how residents will react, though. Some may not like the idea, even though it was important to provide an opportunity for people to have a night away and get some fresh air during the pandemic.

A campsite such as ours is ultimately temporary, too. Within a couple of days of stopping, my wife’s horses were back in the field.”

‘We’re already a well-diversified farm, and this will be another string to our bow.

It spreads our risk and should increase business in our farm shop’

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 29

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20/04/2021 16:59

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cla.org.uk

16/04/2021 17:38

FEATURE

Supporting a rural need Nick Phillips, Chief Executive of the Almshouse Association, asks: are almshouses a thing of the past or part of the future answer to rural affordable housing?

N

early every market town has, within its historic centre, a small courtyard of cottages that are often resilient to surrounding development and the townscape. They usually have high chimneys, inter-

cla.org.uk

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facing front doors and shared green space with a few garden chairs pulled close together. These almshouses are steeped in history.

Almshouses have existed in the UK for more than a thousand years, with the first thought to be the Hospital of St Oswald in Worcester, founded in around 990. Yet this model of housing is often unknown to, or at least misunderstood by, the general public and policymakers.

Seen as a quirky vestige of a bygone era, they can appear more as a sign of society’s failure. In reality, they are a sign of great social activism – established by local benefactors to ensure that those who are in need of housing, the poor of the parish, have a home that is warm, friendly, safe and secure. A home where they pay a weekly charge that does not further create hardship for the resident (the wording used in nearly all almshouse governing documents).

This model of housing is still relevant today, and can provide a life-changing opportunity to communities across

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FEATURE

the country. In many rural areas, the almshouse is the only form of affordable housing. Around 36,000 people find themselves living in an almshouse. They are often occupied by the elderly, but there is increasing provision for younger people and families in housing need.

At their heart, almshouses are driven by compassion, and actively encourage companionship. Across the country, some 1,700 individual almshouse charities still carry the name and spirit of the original benefactors and their families across the centuries, and many are looking to expand.

Supporting a growing need In many ways, now is the right time for these charities to expand. The demand for almshouse accommodation outstrips supply in most areas. Recent research recognises the value of almshouses in preventing isolation and loneliness.

The affordable housing crisis is deeply embedded, and there are few opportunities for the young or elderly to remain near or in their rural communities. There is also a growing feeling of philanthropism – particularly in the area of local community housing.

Almshouses have a legal definition that is approved by the Charity Commission: they are exempt from right-to-buy, which means they remain in the community for local people for around a thousand years.

However, there are barriers preventing new almshouses from being built, and new charities from starting.

The main barrier is awareness: in a YouGov survey, 68% of people had not heard of almshouses. Another issue is that they are misunderstood by local councils, who often disregard local almshouses as suitable recipients of Section 106 funds (they can approve almshouse charities if they wish to). The final issue is that of funding. This year,

Simon Pott, Chair of Trustees, and Clare Martin, Manager of the Day Foundation almshouse in Coddenham, Suffolk

trust is a non-profit-making charity the Almshouse Association awarded run by five volunteer trustees who are nearly £1.3m in loans and grants to largely from the local area. Established members – partly because 2020 has in 1987 and endowed by the Day family, been such a challenging year and partly the principal object of the charity is to because the demand for almshouses is assist older people in Coddenham and increasing far beyond supply. the close surrounding The almshouse model area to stay in the is based on creating place they have always safe, secure homes for FIND OUT MORE known, and to be with local people, run by To support the the people with whom local trustees. They are almshouse movement, they are familiar. part of a very local and find almhouses built in your The first phase long-term solution to community or become a involved the the rural affordable trustee of a local almshouse construction of housing crisis. They charity, visit almshouses.org seven bungalows. will always, however, This was followed only be a small part of by the development of Haysel House, the national solution, being small-scale incorporating four more apartments and reliant on philanthropy, trustees and and a laundry room. The third phase of community need. bungalows comprises a second laundry The Almshouse Association is in its room. The Day Foundation properties 75th year, and as part of our celebration have been designed for independent we have set a 10-year objective with our living and, where necessary, they are members to see a further 5,000 new adapted to suit the individual needs of almshouse dwellings built and a further the residents.

10 new almshouse charities established.

The Day Foundation, established with We currently have about 600–700 new a gift from a local family, now provides dwellings planned across the country not just homes but also a strong with increased commitment from community for older people in need of legacy and donors, but we still have the parish and surrounding parishes. a very long way to go.

The almshouse community has now The Day Foundation become a focal point of the village and almshouse hosts a range of community meetings.

Some years ago, surveyor Simon Pott and This almshouse charity is just one a team of local trustees and interested example of a new trust established, parties developed the Day Foundation but there is no doubt that the need almshouse in Coddenham, Suffolk. The for almshouses in rural communities is growing. The planned changes in farming are as yet unknown; however, if there is to be a reduction in labour, there may well be hundreds of farmers in tied houses who are seeking safe and secure homes. It would be wonderful to think that almshouses could enable farmers to remain in communities that they know and love.

‘They are part of a very local and long-term solution to the rural affordable housing crisis. They will always, however, only be a small part of the national solution ’ 32 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 17:48

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cla.org.uk

16/04/2021 17:44

FEATURE

T

he CLA, together with Hostology and Historic Houses, recently hosted the Reset, Reopen, Recover Summit for wedding and events businesses. The summit offered wedding venues a series of informative and engaging sessions focused on resetting, reopening and recovering from what has been a very challenging year for the industry.

IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK (HAZEL GAP, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE)

Greater understanding

Wedding woes Kim John reports back from the Reset, Reopen, Recover Summit for wedding and events businesses, and finds out how the CLA is helping members in this sector cla.org.uk

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Across all four days, an overarching theme was the government’s lack of understanding of the wedding and events sector, and the impact Covid-19 restrictions have had on venues, staff, suppliers and clients. The fragmented nature of the weddings sector is a challenge for officials and politicians – and for the sector itself in terms of impactful representation – but the government needs to get better at listening and drawing industry expertise into its thinking on policy and guidance.

There was a significant appetite within the industry for a hospitality and events minister. Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, joined the final day of the summit, where he said he was keen for communication and open discussion to continue, recognising the strength of the industry both from a social and economic perspective.

Speakers during the event said that the Competition and Markets Authority guidance has had a deleterious effect on many businesses and needed to be more balanced, in line with the fact that many costs are incurred by businesses in the supply chain ahead of the wedding day.

We also learnt that there is a clear lack of trust in the insurance industry, which needs to be rectified. An innovative insurance package for wedding couples, backed by a government reinsurance fund, is being developed.

A spirit of innovation Covid-19 has prompted innovation and diversification – from outdoor gyms to socially distanced festivals, demonstration kitchens and glamping.

Many activities will keep generating revenue even as weddings come back, LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 35

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FEATURE

and will become a core aspect within the business’s offering for couples.

The importance of ‘keeping your house in order’ in terms of business plans, risk assessments and digital processes was clear. As far as demonstrating compliance goes: “If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen.”

Good communication on risk assessments requires a three-way approach: with staff (whose training needs to WHAT IS THE be properly recorded), HOSTOLOGY with clients and with COLLECTIVE? the local authority.

Efficient processes and Hostology was born documentation play a from the shared key part in managing experience of venue business risks and costs. owners. The Collective is a members’ forum Digital tools can be used that extends this throughout the sales experience to the wider and planning process to community, connecting streamline approaches. venues with each other Speakers also in ways that encourage emphasised the peer to peer advice. importance of teams: The recordings of the communication summit are available with staff and team on the Collective’s empowerment as website, but you need businesses go “from to join in order to access them: collective. furlough to 60mph” is hostology.co.uk key to tap into staff’s motivation.

How the CLA is helping members in the wedding industry Interview with Judicaelle Hammond, CLA Director of Policy Q: What has the CLA been doing to help members recover following the pandemic?

The CLA has, since January, been a member of the UK Weddings Taskforce Council of representative organisations.

We meet with Taskforce members and other associations every two weeks in order to exchange information and ideas.

We’ve been active in the media and with MPs; most recently we supported the letter-writing campaign organised

by Neil Parish MP.

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‘The government needs to get better at listening and drawing industry expertise into its thinking on policy and guidance’

Right at the start of the pandemic, we helped get the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme loan rules clarified so our members who also farm could apply. The clarification meant banks stopped requiring personal guarantees above the government’s limit.

We have since heard of some difficulties with local authority grant payments – if you are waiting a long time for payment or your application for the Additional Restrictions Grant is being rejected, please inform your CLA regional office.

Q: What are the CLA’s key asks of government to rebuild and support the industry?

We’ve got three priorities: Re-opening the market for business interruption insurance. We are suggesting that the government establishes a re-insurance mechanism, and are exploring options to make it happen.

Making sure that support for businesses that cannot operate at full capacity continues.

Having mechanisms in place to avoid capacity restrictions if the disease

were to flare up again (e.g. through testing, a vaccination passport scheme, or other options).

Q: What has been our key learning from the pandemic and its impact on our members’ wedding businesses?

More of our members host weddings – either occasionally or as a core business – than we knew. Most of the support measures the CLA has been arguing for apply to wedding venues, but there are gaps that we have been trying to plug.

If you have a wedding venue or you have business activities within the wedding industry, please update the interests section of your MyCLA profile on our website. Alternatively, please contact your regional office, who will be able to update your interests.

Having this information not only helps up target our communications, but it goes a long way in supporting our lobbying. As we’ve learnt, statistics help inform the government.

Q: What advice does the CLA offer members with wedding businesses?

We offer advice on change of use of buildings and other planning issues, taxation, a range of legal issues linked with land ownership, employment, contracts and lettings, as well as forestry and environmental schemes.

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 17:01

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LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 37

16/04/2021 16:31 17:45 14/04/2021

FEATURE

has children’s Q How relationship with natureǠchanged?

Guy: As the world has got bigger and communities have expanded, we’ve lost local connections, and that childhood of unsupervised loitering and roaming.

Research shows that positive lifelong connections to nature are formed when children have unlimited access to one place over a long period of time.

Alice: Nature is our world. If children are connected to the natural world while growing up, they will be able to make responsible decisions about the environment as adults.

T MEEE TH ERS B E M M

does Leaves of Q How Green connect people and nature?

Alice: People need beautiful places on their doorsteps, not a car-drive away.

Many children do not have gardens, so school grounds and community spaces are essential for providing that. We design and build outdoor spaces where people can access and connect with nature every day.

did it all start?

Q How Guy: I studied art and architecture, and placemaking – enhancing the unique cultural, aesthetic and ecological qualities of places. In the 1990s I began advising schools on which trees to plant in their grounds. I’d come

Back to nature We all need to connect with nature, but the modern world can make this hard, particularly for children. Jez Fredenburgh talks toǠAlice Robin and Guy Redmond of Leaves of Green, who are using the landscape to reconnect communities 38 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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20/04/2021 17:02

Headteachers listed improved behaviour and learning ability as significant benefits ofǠschool grounds development

through the design, philosophy and ‘how to’ of developing their grounds.

We want to empower schools and create a generation of children who are more positively attuned to nature and environmental responsibilities. About a fifth has been written, and we’re now looking for funding to finish and publish it. If anyone is interested in helping, please email alice@leavesofgreen.co.uk. from a private education background set in a backdrop of ancient landscapes and mature gardens, and was shocked to find a whole education sector with just tarmac and grass.

The best setting for academic learning is a backdrop of diverse deciduous and coniferous trees, yet school grounds are the most undeveloped part of the British landscape, when they should be the most wondrous.

are your Q What designsǠlike?

Guy: We use a lot of regenerative agriculture techniques and strategies.

We start with very low maintenance schemes, creating a backdrop of shelterbelts and treescapes, and afterwards we begin to incorporate other elements. Eventually, the culture changes and natural gardeners emerge.

The best system for food production is the forest garden – a multilayered 21st century orchard - on a large scale. This is known as agroforestry. Essentially, it’s mixing canopy trees with currants and other bushes, herbaceous, annuals, roots, edible leaves and climbers in a balanced system.

Most schools have a field that is often only accessible for three months of the year. Our designs add all-year pathways punctuated with outdoor learning environments, natural play space, woodland, coppice, art, etc. Children will spontaneously play and learn where there is a natural sense of place.

aim social change, Q Isasyour well as ecological?

Guy: It’s about people coming together and participating in a shared endeavour.

The attractive landscape created is often superseded by benefits hidden at the outset – better behaviour,

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character development, risk-taking, working together.

Alice: We recently did a survey on school grounds development, and the main benefits that headteachers listed were an improvement in behaviour and learning ability. Schools can actually use the landscape as an incentive to change behaviour, too. For example, we worked with one that zoned its grounds – there was an area of tunnels and mounds where the children couldn’t be seen, so if children misbehaved they were relegated to zone one, which was the playground.

It had a big impact on behaviour.

children, locals and Q Can farmers get involved?

the dream?

Q What’s Guy: A worldwide network archipelago of ‘school gardens of Eden’!

If communities got together, we could have paradise on Earth.

you’re part of Q Alice, the new CLA Women’s Network – what do you envisage it will do?

Alice: It’s early days. We’re looking to increase the profile and voice of women CLA members, to encourage networking, mentoring and professional development among us through a mix of face-to-face events and online contact. Groups will be regional and have local priorities, while connecting nationally.

Alice: Yes, they do. Farmers often What can happen when have the equipment or know-how, women come together? and among the parents and wider Alice: It’s important for inspiration and community, there are usually all kinds nourishment, to share our insights and of skills. Mountains can be moved in a experiences, hear new ways of tackling day if you organise people well. We’ve challenges, and support each other. It worked with many secondary schools, could start collaborations where young people have between individuals and played an important part FIND OUT MORE businesses too. in design and construction.

Women sometimes just It is vital to nurture the leavesofgreen.co.uk need more confidence. They students’ skills. often have a good business Guy: The most positive mindset, and can be inclusive, caring, projects are the ones that are inclusive intuitive, creative problem-solvers. But and involve children and young the feminine perspective has often been people. We all want our immediate missing from decision-making. It’s time environment to look good, and children for feminine energy to create a balance feel strongly about this too. The schools alongside masculine energy. that make these changes involving their communities end up with an inner glow How can rural businesses where everyone feels part of something.

Q

writing a Q You’re book for schools – what is it about?

Alice: It’s impossible for us to get around all 32,000 UK schools, so we’re working on a 500-page manual to guide schools

Q tackle big issues?

Alice: When people talk to each other, they begin to understand what the needs of their communities might be, and it starts to open up possibilities. People are the key – they have so many good ideas, it’s about harnessing their energy.

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 39

20/04/2021 17:03

EX C ME LUS IV OFMBER E FE R

12% UP T O

Ford Motors

disco u Ran nt off Fo ger Wild rd tr & Li mite ak d mod els

Ford Motors is offering CLA Members the new Ranger, or other vehicles within the Ford range, at a significant discount to the retail price.

T

he new Ford Ranger is resilient, capable, and purpose-built to get the job done.

Advanced engineering and the highest quality materials deliver an interior that is as tough and hardwearing as it is comfortable and will reward you with SUV levels of luxury and style.

The new Ford Ranger introduces a wider choice of innovative technologies than ever before, such as the on-board Ford SYNC 3 with eight-colour touchscreen and navigation, and is available with the new FordPass Connect built-in modem.

This state-of-the-art technology enables you to

remotely lock and unlock your vehicle, receive live traffic updates, connect to a WiFi hotspot, and manage your phone, music, apps and navigation with simple voice commands.

These smart mechanisations are designed to make your drive easier. With a myriad of driver assistance features available – such as rear-view camera with trailer hitch assist, pedestrian detection, active park assist and adaptive cruise control – owning a Ford has never been better.

Additional discounts are also available across the Ford range including, but not limited to, 25% off on Kuga and up to 21% off on Focus and Fiesta.

MEMBER OFFER To obtain your CLA member discount, please follow this simple process: Visit any Ford authorised dealer, inform them that you wish to purchase a vehicle using the CLA’s agreed discount terms, and quote your CLA membership number.

CLA discount rates, vehicle availability and lead-time information and will also be able to source the vehicle for you and see it through to hand-over.

Your nominated dealer will then give you current prices,

When placing an order, your dealer will complete

an approval form which must be authorised by the CLA. For any enquiries regarding the order process or current discounts available, please email Caroline King at caroline.king@cla.org.uk.

TERMS & CONDITIONS: These offers are open to all current landowning or business and professional members who have been in membership for at least a year, or new members paying their membership subscriptions by annual direct debit. Vehicles acquired through the scheme must be for the member’s personal use or that of their business. For full terms and conditions of this offer, please visit the members area of our website cla.org.uk.

40 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 17:03

FEATURE

Keith says that natural production methods learnt from Soil Association certified approaches are evident at the nursery. In addition to using organically approved mechanical and biological pest and weed control, the nursery also utilises techniques that were successful throughout the late 18th century and up until the Second World War. Organic Hedging and Trees has zero tolerance for the use of artificial chemicals. The team readily admits that while the growing of any plants without chemicals and synthetic fertilisers is a learning curve and can incur higher overheads, the benefits to our environment and wildlife far outweigh the costs.

Nil use of peat is not required for organic certification. However, the nursery appreciates peat mining’s adverse effects on the climate and its role in destroying valuable ecosystems, and so grow all its trees without the addition of peat.

Keith says: “We are a small family-run nursery that aims to keep our pricing competitive, to listen to our customers and provide a one-to-one service with an ethos that no order is too small.”

Trees are shipped all over the UK at a low fixed shipping rate, using 90% Several options for seed selection and biodegradable products. subsequent growth are available. For “We are convinced that the production the vast majority, the company grows of organic trees in a UK its own produce from nursery will reduce seed provided by a FIND OUT MORE the danger of further certified seed supplier. imported diseases and If required, seeds can be organichedgingandtrees.co.uk other issues,” adds supplied from a specific Keith. “I believe that region, or can be taken trees sourced from a UK nursery will be from a customer’s own tree. The family a sustainable and environmentally sound nursery also use seeds collected from its source of trees for future generations.” own trees on the farm.

Going organic

Mk A Mike Ashton h finds d out h how CLA member Organic Hedging and Trees isǠdrawing on centuries of experience to produce sustainable and organic trees

A

family-run tree nursery on the Staffordshire/ Shropshire border is embarking on a unique opportunity for those in its community interested in provenance and natural production.

Organic Hedging and Trees is the only Soil Association certified organic hedging and tree nursery in the UK, specialising in bare root whips and two-to-three metre trees supplied as root balls.

Under the direction of Keith Shropshire, the family-run tree nursery draws on 30 years’ experience growing organic vegetables and salad production for supermarkets. As a subsidiary to the larger family farming business, this new operation seeks to provide a unique opportunity for any customer interested in provenance, natural production, restriction of artificial chemicals, reduction of peat mining, and a competitive pricing package.

A proven provenance record is of particular importance to the nursery.

cla.org.uk

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20/04/2021 17:04

YOUR CLA JANE LANE CLA CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEE charitabletrust@cla.org.uk

In addition, they can work towards vocational qualifications and skills, which will further assist their employability in the future.

The funding provided by CLA Charitable Trust will allow the charity to create a safe space for If you are aware of, 1:1 work with young or involved in, any people aged seven to charities in your 11, independent from area whose work fits the group areas, where these objects and younger children that would benefit can interact with from funding, please animals and have encourage them to space to develop their get in touch. The Trust is keen to confidence and sense support the work of security. These being done to young people are not encourage access to yet ready to work the benefits of the he new board of trustees We are continually in groups, but this countryside. Email at the CLA Charitable Trust impressed by individually tailored charitabletrust has been working hard the work these work helps and @cla.org.uk reviewing what we would organisations do. gives them the like to achieve in our time together The impact of the last confidence to and how best to do this. year, combined with do so.

The original vision and objects the desire they have The full set out when the Trust was founded to bounce back even stronger, impact of in 1980 are as relevant as ever is inspirational.

Covid-19 on today, if not more so. Enabling The Trust will also continue to our young access to the countryside for provide educational bursaries within people is only those who find it difficult or are the rural sector to promote and just being fully limited, whether through physical, encourage education in sustainable appreciated. Months of isolation and mental, geographical or social farming, food production and rural online learning have had a severe circumstances, remains very much land management. effect on those already struggling at the forefront of what we do. with anxiety and vulnerabilities.

Supporting charities Combining this, where Thanks to the generosity of CLA East Clayton Farm in West Sussex appropriate, with education to members, the Trust has also been is one of the charities supported. provide a deeper understanding of able to fund another wonderful Nestled in the South Downs National farming and the rural environment charity, The Veterans Farm-Able Park, the charity works with young further strengthens this work. The Foundation in Devon. It supports children and adults Trust will continue veterans and emergency services who are in danger of to support charities, personnel to improve their FIND OUT MORE exclusion or struggling not-for-profit mental health through working in mainstream organisations and and gaining hands on experience eastclaytonfarm.org.uk farmable.co.ukorg.uk education. Working social enterprises in in agriculture, horticulture and with these people on England and Wales forestry. Through this work they the farm, whether on that fulfil these re-establish connections within the land or with animals, improves aspirations with grants towards their communities and, with their self-esteem, achievement, running costs as well as specific support, build their confidence, employment skills and wellbeing. capital projects. independence and resilience.

CLA CHARITABLE TRUST

Delivering the vision

A look at the work the CLA Charitable Trust has embarked on recently to ensure it remains focused on its vision – widening access to the countryside

T

42 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 17:05

Tied Dwellings.

There are many dwellings across the UK that are encumbered by occupancy conditions, typically for agricultural proposes but some are for other rural based businesses such as equine, kennels etc. where a similar essential need exists to live on site.

For some owners the sale of such properties are àåĦßñèð Ãßëîñï ëâðáê Ĥêà ðäá èÝêà ëîåãåêÝèèõ ÝïïëßåÝðáà óåðä ðäá àóáèèåêã äÝï Þááê ïëèà ëĨ ëî no longer available and therefore just the dwelling and its associated residential curtilage remains but the condition stays on the property and is therefore only often suitable for persons working ‘locally’ in agriculture. This of course èåéåðï ðäá éÝîçáð Ýêà Ĥêàåêã Þñõáîï ðäÝð ßëéìèõ óåðä ðäá ßëêàåðåëê åï ëâðáê àåĦßñèð àáïìåðá Ýê attractive price, as tied properties are often discounted from their open market value by approximately 25%, which can be a substantial Ĥãñîá àáìáêàåêã ëê ðäá ðõìá Ýêà èëßÝðåëê ëâ ðäá dwelling.

This generally involves a marketing campaign, typically for 12-18 months, but if the condition has been breached for long enough, an ÝììèåßÝðåëê âëî Ý ÅáîðåĤßÝðá ëâ ÎÝóâñèêáïï can be applied for. Ãßëîñï äÝï Ýïïåïðáà éÝêõ ßèåáêðï ëòáî the years with cases such as these, achieving a good success rate and thereby improving the options available to our clients. If you own a tied dwelling and would like to discuss your acorus.co.uk options, please contact us.

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ask@acorus.co.uk

The above limitations render the property high îåïç åê èáêàåêã ðáîéï Ãßëîñï äÝï ïááê éÝêõ sales fall through when buyers have been unable to obtain mortgages for such dwellings.

Often failed marketing campaigns for tied dwellings result in planning applications being submitted for the removal of the condition. These applications are complex and lengthy and the onus is on the applicant to prove to the ÎëßÝè Ãñðäëîåðõ ðäÝð there is no longer a need for the tied dwelling to be retained.

Planning. Design. Property cla.org.uk

LAB.May21.043.indd 43

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 43

16/04/2021 17:46

For health insurance.

Whatever your mental health condition.

Bupa Even if you’re not sure how you’re feeling, but you just know something’s not quite right.

You can turn to us.

J

J

J

J

We cover more mental health conditions than any other UK insurer^ One addiction treatment plan for alcohol, drug or gambling addiction per person Access to trained advisers and mental health nurses through our Family Mental HealthLine Pre-existing conditions may not be covered

Right now, you can save 10% on health insurance.* Call CLA Healthcare to find out more

01274 717 361† †We may record or monitor our calls. ^As of December 2020, based on internally conducted review of the consumer health insurance market using publicly available information from the major insurers in the UK consumer health insurance market. Combined, Bupa, AXA PPP, Aviva and Vitality hold approximately 90% of the Gross Written Premium income of the UK private health insurance providers. Refers to standard health cover when this is included in the selected consumer health insurance product. *Applies to eligible members of Country Land and Business Association on quotes for new Bupa By You policies. Discounts will be reviewed on 01/10/2021 and any changes will then apply to renewals and new quotes taken out after that date. Quotes are valid for 14 days. T&Cs apply.

Country Land and Business Association Limited is an introducer of Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register Number 312841.

Bupa health insurance is provided by Bupa Insurance Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 3956433. Bupa Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Arranged and administered by Bupa Insurance Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales No. 3829851. Registered office: 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ

44 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

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3208_48574 CLA Ad A4 LAB.May21.044.indd 44BINS 06128.indd 1

14/04/2021 16/04/2021 14:41 17:48

YOUR CLA

CLA HEALTHCARE

RICHARD GOULD DIRECTOR OF CLA HEALTHCARE

Boosting mental health There are several tools and techniques that members can use to improve their mental health and wellbeing

N

ature is the theme of this Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16 May).

Rural communities are the gatekeepers of areas of natural beauty, and a rural lifestyle is often idyllically depicted. However, as many can attest, it can be much harder than it looks.

According to the charity Mind, one in four people will experience a problem with their mental health each year. People working in the rural sector are no exception to this statistic.

Feeling isolated can be a problem.

Local pubs and village shops, normally at the heart of communities, have been closed or subject to restrictions. High-speed broadband that has kept urban areas ticking is still not available in some rural areas.

For many, working from home is not possible, and people have had to adapt to changes in their workplaces throughout the pandemic.

Extra challenges include coping with adverse weather conditions, responding to changes in markets and the impacts of political events, as well as having to travel further to access healthcare. Anyone coping with any of these issues may experience a change in their mental health.

Young farmers see mental health as a pressing issue – research by the

cla.org.uk

45 Healthcare_(26) May 2021_Land & Business.indd 45

the rest of our body, our brain needs a nutritious diet for optimal health.

4 5

Take a break

Even a few minutes of ‘me time’ can help you to feel less stressed.

Keep moving

Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise at least five days a week.

This will contribute to your overall health, while boosting your mood by releasing chemicals like dopamine and serotonin in your brain.

It’s also important to remember that your GP can help you with your mental health. Many private medical insurance policies also include specialist mental health support.

Advice for employers Farm Safety Foundation highlighted that 81% believe mental health is one of the biggest hidden problems faced by farmers today. Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the risk of suicide can be high for people working in the rural sector.

Thankfully, there is help and information available. So, what can individuals and businesses do to contribute to better mental health and wellbeing? There are several proactive steps that can be taken to improve mental health.

Employers can offer support in several ways. Establishing a health and wellbeing programme is important, and listening to employees will help ensure the programme meets their needs.

They should work to establish a realistic and healthy work/ life balance and identify ways of reducing stress and fatigue among employees. Enhancing the mental health support available and having trained mental health first aiders will contribute to a working environment that actively supports people’s wellbeing.

Five tips to boost mental health

1

Establish a routine

For instance, try having a hot drink or a shower at roughly the same time each day. This can help to mark when work begins and ends.

2

Make time to talk

3

Eat well

It’s important to reach out to friends, family, work friends or a charity such as Mind or the Samaritans. Talking about your feelings can help.

FIND OUT MORE Download our white paper on mental health in the rural sector or speak to a member of the dedicated CLA Healthcare team on 01274 717361 or email healthcare@cla.org.uk.

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LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 45

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YOUR CLA ESTHER KANE HEAD OF RURAL CLA INSURANCE

A rural blight

It has launched a five-point plan to tackle the blight of fly-tipping.

This includes calling for stronger penalties, fines for homes or businesses whose waste is found at a fly tipping incident, more support for victims, the appointment of a fly-tipping tsar and the sharing of best practice advice to prevent flytipping in the first place.

The right insurance

CLA INSURANCE

The rise in instances of fly-tipping is having a growing impact on rural businesses

W

ith summer months approaching and the easing of lockdown, there will be more demands placed on our great outdoors. Sadly, this could also lead to a rise in rural fly-tipping.

Fly-tipping has been a problem for many years, with government statistics showing incidents rose by 2% in 2019-20, when local authorities in England dealt with just under one million incidents.

Those statistics were collated before the pandemic, and many people fear fly-tipping has become even more prevalent – especially because restricted access to recycling centres during successive lockdowns has resulted in people dumping rubbish in rural areas instead.

Some of the places that have suffered most have been farmers’ fields, laybys and rural lanes.

The CLA says two-thirds of farmers have been affected by flytipping, and more than half agree it is a significant problem in their region. It also believes that the vast majority of fly-tipping incidents are on privately-owned land and are

cla.org.uk

47 Insurance_(26) May 2021_Land & Business.indd 47

not even included in the statistics.

Fly-tipping is bad for the environment, damaging to rural businesses and a blight on the local landscape. It is also one of the few crimes where it is the victim who pays, because farmers are left to pay the costs of removing waste left on their land.

What to do if you are a victim of fly-tipping Farmers who become the victim of fly-tipping on their land are advised to report the incident immediately and deal with the waste carefully, treating it as if it is contaminated.

Some waste left behind by fly tippers can be hazardous, and so bags or drums should not be opened. Even piles of earth could themselves be contaminated or hide dangerous material.

Police and local authorities in rural areas are now encouraging farmers to report fly-tipping incidents.

The CLA is also urging farmers to ensure gates are locked and access routes are closed where legally practical, and to report incidents to the police.

Many rural businesses and trades struggle to obtain competitive terms due to a lack of understanding of rural risks. But using an expert in rural insurance, such as CLA Insurance, can provide access to specialist products and allow businesses to tailor cover and pricing depending on their needs.

Access to a dedicated rural account manager, who will work closely with clients on every aspect of their insurance, from initial discussion and recommendations about coverage improvements to assisting with a claim, is key.

Policies available include: Land and estate insurance Property owners Commercial package Professional indemnity Combined liabilities Motor fleet Cover for most other classes of insurance, including specialist areas and cyber.

GET IN TOUCH Speak to a CLA Insurance adviser about how insurance can help when dealing with rural crime by calling 01234 819612

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 47

20/04/2021 17:07

YOUR CLA

D

espite the disruption of the past 12 months, tackling climate change remains a priority for the UK, with calls for a green recovery from the Covid-19 crisis to help the UK on its path to net zero.

One thing is clear - reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 will take a collective effort, and we will all need to play our part if we’re to reach our target. The good news is that when it comes to energy, there are plenty of low-carbon options available. CLA Energy Services can help you explore your renewable energy options so you can clean up your energy use, protect the environment and preserve our precious landscapes.

Renewables and on-site generation Ground and air source heat pumps - Heat pumps provide a low-carbon space and domestic hot water heating solution, with the added benefit of attracting Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments on every unit of heat generated. Utilising air, ground or water as the source of the heat, the technology can utilise existing pipework and heat emitters for boiler replacement projects.

Biomass boilers – Another lowcarbon option is the use of biomass, either via biomass boilers or biomass CHPs (Combined Heat and Power).

A biomass system burns wood pellets, chips or logs to provide warmth for central heating and hot water boilers. Like heat pumps, they can also benefit from the RHI. Solar PV and wind – Solar panels can provide zero-carbon electricity generation, helping you to reduce your reliance on the grid and manage your carbon emissions.

Depending on the type of site you have and the space available, you could install roof or ground-

48 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

48 EnergyServices_(26) May 2021_Land & Business.indd 48

On-site energy generation There are a variety of renewable energy options available to members to help offset their emissions and reach net zero by 2050 mounted solar. Thanks to recent improvements in technology, solar panels are now able to generate in cloudy conditions and can also be installed in most orientations.

Wind technology is another option for reducing your carbon footprint.

Both wind turbines and solar can be installed as part of a ‘behind the meter’ or private wire installation.

Financing renewable energy By reducing your reliance on the grid, renewables can help you cut your energy bills, and there’s also the opportunity to gain income by exporting additional power back to the grid. Here are some of the options available:

The Smart Export Guarantee The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is an obligation set by the government whereby a supplier will pay a pre agreed rate for power exported to the grid. The SEG came into force on 1st January 2020 and it replaces the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) scheme, which closed on 31st March 2019.

Businesses and households can export electricity produced up to a total installed capacity of 5MW. To find out more, visit ofgem.gov.uk.

Renewable Heat Incentive Introduced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive is open until March 2022, and enables you to receive money towards your heating costs if you choose renewable technologies. To find out more, visit bit.ly/39MOaUu.

GET IN TOUCH For help understanding your energy requirements, get in touch with CLA Energy Services on 0800 046 9074 or email energyservices@cla.org.uk

IMAGE: ALAMY

CLA ENERGY SERVICES

MALCOM SPOONER HEAD OF CLA ENERGY SERVICES

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 17:08

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GREEN INITIATIVES

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Clean and green Operate in a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly way with these products and suppliers

CB Biomass The Classic Edge is the new generation gasification outdoor woodburning boiler range from Central Boiler and makes heating with wood as simple as it gets. Models from 30kW–100kW, suitable for domestic and commercial installations.

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SCH Supplies SCH manufacture watering units to keep the outdoors growing and looking its best.

These watering units have capacities from 50-2,000 litres and can be towed by a variety of vehicles. Most watering units are fitted with either an electric or petrolpowered pump, giving a significant flow rate to save time.

The Garden Watering Unit GWU(P) is a very useful product that can be adapted to fill from external sources such as ponds and lakes. The GWU(P) has a 270-litre capacity tank, and is available in electric or petrol pump versions (petrol pump version pictured).

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Tilhill Tilhill’s cumulative experience and the aggregate knowledge of our forest managers is unmatched in the UK. Our skilled and professional team provide all aspects of forestry management, with particular expertise in woodland creation of any scale and in any location.

CarbonStore provides the vital link to unite landowners looking to sell

their woodland carbon units with companies keen to offset their carbon emissions. A business stream of Tilhill working in partnership with Maelor Forest Nurseries sets industry-leading standards in the supply of young trees, the creation of woodlands and the marketing of woodland carbon units.

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Ecofocus From the roofs of poultry sheds, barns and warehouses to spare land, our Capexfree PPA finance options mean you can optimise all suitable surfaces to generate power for you or your commercial neighbours with our solar panel and battery installations. Contact us to learn more about innovative PPA finance where you don’t pay for installation, and our full solar consultancy, feasibility, installation and maintenance services.

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Muck Munchers Whether you have an old-fashioned brick-built septic tank or state-of-the-art biological sewage treatment plant, Muck Munchers ensure effective septic waste digestion, with positive ecological benefits and peace of mind.

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Ecco Stove UK designed and built since 2010, Ecco Stove masonry heaters offer the market an alternative way to heat your home offgrid, using just wood. Effectively stone storage heaters, the body of the stove can radiate up to 25% of its heat over 12 hours later. With Ecco Stoves being cast from a ceramic mix containing silicon carbide, optimum heat storage and distribution is achieved with the largest model able to heat up to 280m2 without radiators or ducting. Free heat plan estimates available to show what the stove could do for your home. Contact us today for further information.

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LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 51

20/04/2021 17:10

IN YOUR AREA

Cymru/ Wales news Welsh Government stokes the fire on solid fuel

C

LA Cymru recently responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on the burning of solid fuels, which aims to improve air quality arising from badly performing stoves and fires. Nigel Hollett says: “We fully agree with the need to eliminate the use of coal, as long as there is sufficient time for users to find an alternative and affordable heating source.

“On wood burners, we are very supportive of the proposals to prevent the burning of wet wood. It makes no sense for anyone to use anything but seasoned or dry wood in their heating systems. Not only does this cause localised pollution, but it will damage the chimney and may well result in a house fire, which will be costly and, of course, dangerous.

“We set out our vision for the growing use of biomass and wood fuel as an effective way of heating homes and business properties in the future

Will the new government open the access gate?

that can support a growing public interest in increasing woodland and forest cover across Wales, supporting our climate change obligations. This can only be delivered by engaging closely with private landowners who have the commercial expertise to expand their woodlands, providing jobs and economic growth in the rural areas while supporting important biodiversity considerations.”

Wood has been used as a fuel for centuries, and will continue to be in the future. But as William Stares, Director of Welsh specialist Stone and Stoves, says: “With the growing interest in climate change, and the need to improve air quality, we must ensure that all appliances are installed and maintained effectively to ensure that the system is operating to the highest possible standards. Wood fuel needs to be stored properly and only used when seasoned. By doing this, the

householder will have a much better performing system that is safe to use, warmer and won’t cause problems for their neighbours.”

Nigel adds: “We want Welsh Government to work with us, and other key stakeholders, to ensure that all

We would like to assure Welsh members that they have not been left out in a sequence of CLA online events on developments around access.

CLA Cymru is currently awaiting new proposals to be announced from the Welsh Government. Charles de Winton, CLA Cymru Surveyor, says: “Before the Senedd election, the Access Reform Advisory Group (ARAG) produced a report for the Welsh Government rural affairs minister. It’s up to the new government – which may or may not have a different approach – to decide if and how to take them further.”

The government’s journey to increase multi-use access

for the general public to the countryside has been a rocky one, and CLA Cymru has been representing disparate farmers’ and land managers’ interests throughout. Charles adds: “Among those whose hearts are set on increased access, it has been far from the simple binary choice – open or closed. The perfect outcome for ramblers, fellrunners, horse riders, and cyclists doesn’t always bring them together. Add electric power (e-bikes) and routes and facilities for those with additional needs, and the subject moves from a mission of principle to a project that is hard to deliver. Add those interested in water: anglers,

52 MAY 2021 | LAND & BUSINESS

52-53 WelshNews_(26) May 2021_Land & Business.indd 52

20/04/2021 17:15

CLA CYMRU Orbit Business Centre Rhydycar Business Park Merthyr Tydfil CF48 1DL

CLA CYMRU DIRECTOR NIGEL HOLLETT nigel.hollett@cla.org.uk 01547 317085 @CLAWales

Take advantage of extended permitted development rights The increase of permitted development rights from 28 to 56 days in April has been something of a lobbying win for us.

“We started pushing for this last spring when we looked forward to recovery from the first lockdowns,” says Nigel Hollett. “It improves the viability of temporary developments –

those who use wood burners only use wood that is well seasoned. We believe that advice and guidance should be provided by suppliers to that effect that encourages best practice and allows the industry the grow and develop sustainably and safely.”

kayakers and canoeists and now paddle boarders, and it becomes very challenging indeed and costly.

“Property rights remain critical and non-negotiable.

Simultaneously, there are CLA members who support further public access – and may even see business opportunity.”

Beyond ‘higher’ rights of access in the report are proposals concerning inland water adjacent to Countryside Rights of Way Act (CRoW) land, and increasing coastal access, such as creating or redefining coastal corridors.

Finally, the proposals include the technical upgrade of information – moving from the Ordnance Survey map to

digital definitive plans.

Charles says: “More accurate, more informative, and more user-friendly: done well, these could be a real benefit to land managers and countryside visitors alike.”

A sub-group of ARAG, the National Access Forum, has hosted a debate about the role of Voluntary Access Arrangements usually made where riparian rights are owned. The CLA is committed to protect these and the issue remains to be resolved.

“A new Welsh Government may turn the report into a set of specific proposals, many of which will require legislation.

It’ll make it a long and difficult road to negotiate.”

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52-53 WelshNews_(26) May 2021_Land & Business.indd 53

rural campsites, car parks, refreshment and retail stores etc.

Above all, it helps the Welsh rural economy take advantage of the expected UK staycation boom. But it’s only for a year and it’s vital not to stray beyond the law.

We’re here to help Welsh members who may need guidance.”

WE UNDERSTAND THE COUNTRYSIDE

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 53

20/04/2021 17:16

IN YOUR AREA

South East news Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex

CLA in the news: A focus on dogs

T

he CLA South East team regularly runs media campaigns highlighting topical issues that affect members.

In recent weeks, the focus has fallen on dogs, in more ways than one. We have been sharing messaging on social media from Sussex Police after it issued advice following a rise in dog theft cases.

Its warnings came in the wake of a national survey of nearly 13,000 people, which found that more than three-quarters of respondents fear the crime.

The force has urged owners to ensure dogs are microchipped, registered and wear a collar and ID tag; make sure gardens and kennels are properly secure; and review your social media security settings, taking care with the details you share.

The CLA has also teamed up with partner organisations in

the Chilterns, reminding owners to keep dogs under control, and to always keep them on a lead around livestock. We have taken part in a joint awareness campaign with the Kennel Club, NFU and Chilterns AONB to promote responsible behaviour.

Meanwhile, police officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s Country Watch team have issued a stark warning to walkers to “keep dogs on leads in rural areas or face possible prosecution”.

It follows a number of recent incidents, particularly in East Hampshire and the South Downs. East Hants Rural and Wildlife Crime Officer Ian Bassett says livestock worrying has “huge ramifications” for farmers and animals.

The CLA is always keen to hear from members about their experiences, and for case studies – please get in touch using the details at the top of the page.

The CLA has been working with its partners to launch a press campaign around responsible dog ownership

Events update Hundreds of members have attended webinars and virtual sessions run by the CLA South East team in recent weeks, and many more events are lined up as we head towards the summer.

Soil health, biodiversity net gain and tourism were among the well-received topics covered this spring. Upcoming highlights include our latest adviser hour on 11 May and a focus on tree health on 20 May. Keep an eye on our website and your emails for more dates and further information, including news of our annual forestry conference, which returns in October.

CLA advice service – spotlight on camping Camping and pop-up event queries continue to dominate the work undertaken by the South East advice team. Members now have the opportunity to allow up to 56 days for a temporary use of land under permitted development rights, but it is imperative to check whether rights have been removed by a local authority under an Article 4 directive.

Members should also be aware that the Basic Payment Scheme is not claimable on areas used for more than 28 days, so those areas should be removed from the application. Other factors to consider are the sale of alcohol, which if occurring will require a temporary

events notice from the authority, or the preparation and sale of food, which again should be done in accordance with food safety and hygiene legislation.

There are massive opportunities for members in this area, but as always you are advised to consider the implications of any project on the wider business and speak to the CLA South East office if you have any questions.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

CLA SOUTH EAST Fosse House, East Anton Court, Icknield Way, Andover, Hants SP10 5RG

POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER elections are being held this month.

Ahead of voters going to the polls on 6 May, the CLA has written to all candidates in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and Thames Valley, urging them to make fighting rural crime a priority. We will meet with the winning candidates when they are confirmed in their posts.

NATURAL ENGLAND has submitted a report to Defra setting out changes to the proposed route of the England coastal path

in Hampshire. It affects the path at Eastney Peninsula and Kendalls Wharf; comments can be submitted online until 5 May. Meanwhile, plans to improve access along part of the Sussex coastline, between East Head and Shoreham, have been approved.

THE OXFORDCAMBRIDGE (OX-CAM) EXPRESSWAY has been cancelled after analysis confirmed that it would not be cost-effective. The road would have linked Oxford with Milton Keynes and Cambridge, and was planned

REGIONAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL VALENZIA 01264 313434 michael.valenzia@cla.org.uk @CLASouthEast

alongside the East-West Rail project and up to one million new homes. The CLA will be holding an event on these various projects soon.

PATHS HAVE BEEN TRAMPLED, fires have been started, litter has been dropped and wildlife has been disturbed by people swimming in recent weeks, according to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

THE CLA HAS WELCOMED the government’s announcement of the first stage of its plans

to get ultra-fast broadband to the majority of homes.

However, there are no counties in the South East among the first list of areas to benefit. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are among the second list, and we urge the government to support rural communities across our region as quickly as possible.

A PAIR OF BEAVERS have been released on the edge of the South Downs, to help “create a wildlife-rich wetland landscape”. It’s the first reintroduction in the region by the National Trust.

County shows cancelled The 2021 New Forest and Hampshire County Show, the Royal Isle of Wight County Show, and the Bucks County Show have all been cancelled.

Organisers said they could not confidently plan the summer events, given uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 and potential restrictions.

The CLA team looks forward to being a part of an even bigger and better show line-up next year.

Regional Director Michael Valenzia says: “These shows are flagship events in the agricultural calendar and to hear they won’t go ahead is sad, but entirely understandable given the current uncertainty. The health and safety of everyone involved must come first.

“The rural sector is exceptionally resilient, however, having faced more than its share of adversity in the past.

I have every confidence the shows will bounce back and we can’t wait to be part of them in 2022.”

The Bucks County Show is a highlight of the show calendar

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LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 55

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IN YOUR AREA

South West news Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire members. The ability to continue to meet stakeholders and members alike via Zoom has been an absolute blessing, which we will always be able to turn to, but I would like to get back to face-to-face meetings soon.

What do you enjoy most about working at the CLA? First and foremost, the members. They are so inspiring and supportive – I often meet fascinating members, learn about interesting innovative businesses and support them in difficult times. It is incredibly rewarding and offers such variety - I am always learning. Secondly, the South West team, their commitment and energy to the tasks, and their empathy with the members – particularly in the last year – has been outstanding. As the saying goes, choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.

What’s a common problem that people in the industry face that you’d love to be able to fix?

In the six years that I have worked for the CLA, the sector has continued to ask for clarity. Clarity on policy, on future schemes, on Brexit and now on the Environmental Land Management scheme. Landowners are often heralded as the key solution to so many problems, but they often lack the information to make the decisions that are necessary for the future of their businesses in good time. Many problems often start from a lack of clarity at the start, and could so easily be resolved by better communication.

Meet the CLA South West team As we have been unable to get out as much as we’d have liked to over the past year, we wanted to give you the opportunity to get to know the team who work so passionately on your behalf.

SOUTH WEST DIRECTOR ANN MAIDMENT When did you join the CLA? I joined the South West region in April 2015 as a rural surveyor before becoming director in August 2019.

What does a standard working day look like for you?

The only standard thing at present is being at home! My time is often spent speaking with colleagues, planning future events and, most importantly, talking to the

Surveyors update The South West surveyor team has had yet another varied month looking at a wide range of queries from members in the region.

These have included agricultural ties, planning for diversification projects, antisocial behaviour on public rights of way, compensation

for wayleaves, the creation of a new Site of Special Scientific Interest, issues with asbestos, and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

There has also been a lot of activity assisting members with tourism enquiries, and the team has been speaking with livestock farmers in the

What are your hobbies outside of work?

Although the hunting season was cut short, I’ve enjoyed exercising the horses during this winter from the family farm. I also enjoy tennis, sewing projects (having trained in curtain-making) and beekeeping. My gardening skills are also slowly improving – although not helped by my puppy Edith, who on occasion ‘assists’ me by digging the borders.

region regarding the bovine tuberculosis consultation that Defra recently ran.

As lockdown restrictions are yet to ease significantly, the team continues to attend virtual meetings on behalf of members, including the Somerset phosphates briefing, the Clean Devon forum, the Avon and Somerset Rural Crime Forum, and the launch of the

UN-backed assessment of UK wildlife and forest crime legislation and enforcement.

Our surveyors have also been heavily involved in various webinars, with Claire Wright appearing as a guest speaker on the equine planning webinar hosted by Equine Business Consultants, and Will Langer involved in the CLA’s recent tourism webinar.

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CLA SOUTH WEST Manor Farm Stables, Biddestone, Wiltshire SN14 7DH

REGIONAL DIRECTOR ANN MAIDMENT 01249 700200 ann.maidment@cla.org.uk @CLASouthwest

Save the date

Royal Cornwall Show

We are looking forward to getting back on the road for

The organisers of the Royal Cornwall Show have announced that the 2021 show, due to take place in September, has been cancelled.

While incredibly sad, it is entirely understandable given the current uncertainty regarding events and potential Covid-19-related restrictions, meaning the show may not run to its usual high standards.

The show, like many others, is often a date in everyone’s diary and is a time for the rural community to get together and catch up with friends from across the county andǠbeyond.

The rural sector is exceptionally resilient, however, having faced more than its share of

our 2021 AGMs and further details will be distributed when details have been finalised.

In the meantime, please add these dates to your diary: Cornwall – Date TBC Devon – August date TBC adversity. We have every confidence that the Royal Cornwall Show will bounce back, and we can’t wait to be part of it once again in June 2022.

At the time of writing, the earliest show in our calendar is Devon County Show going ahead 2-4 July, and we are assessing at what capacity we might attend to ensure we can safely welcome members.

Further details on our summer shows will be distributed once finalised.

A CLA South West breakfast at the Royal Cornwall Show

Dorset – 13 July 2021 Gloucestershire – Date TBC Somerset – 14 October 2021 Wiltshire – 27 October 2021

Secure Your Farm

Meet the advisers hour

W

e have a series of free monthly online advisory sessions for members. These hour-long sessions will enable members to discuss issues that are topical and important to them.

From noon on 13 May, rural surveyors Tom Mason and Claire Wright will be online to give you an overview of the issues of the day, including access,

cla.org.uk

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diversification and countryside stewardship.

Following a short discussion between Tom and Claire, there will be a question and answer session. Any questions they are unable to answer on the day can be discussed further with one of the advisers at a time appropriate to you.

Booking is required and can be done online by visiting the events section of the CLA website.

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Midlands news Cheshire, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Rutland Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire

Grey squirrel control

T

wo Staffordshire members are among many urging woodland owners to support an initiative to control the grey squirrel population.

Lord Stafford (above left) and CLA Staffordshire President Piers Monckton (above right) are hoping owners will donate £1 for each acre of their woodland to help a programme to reverse the population explosion of grey squirrels by distributing a benign

contraceptive drug via species-specific feeders in woodland.

The fertility control programme is supported by Defra and is being undertaken by government scientists at the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

It offers an effective solution to the population explosion of the destructive grey squirrel, which will allow our native red squirrel and broadleaf woodlands to flourish together, offering a safe, long-lasting and publiclysupported solution with benefits for woodland and wildlife.

The Red Squirrel Survival Trust, which established the UK Squirrel Accord at the suggestion of its Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, is driving the campaign to raise the £1m needed. Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Minister for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity, fully supports the project,

Grey squirrel bark-stripping damage (The National Forest)

Commonwealth Games: are you ready?

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 will be coming to the Midlands and beyond between 28 July and 8 August next year.

With more than one million spectators expected to travel to the games, and all the

work involved with infrastructure, the Games will present a wealth of opportunities for regional businesses and tourism.

Now is the time for members to plan ahead and ensure that they have the

correct permission for any accommodation that they are looking to let and any licences for those wishing to sell alcohol during this sporting event, as these take time.

Members with established businesses should ensure

that their marketing is relevant, and that any online activity is optimised for search engines, using relevant keywords.

We are also advising members to be aware of any entrepreneurs who seek permission to offer camping in fields close to Birmingham for the duration of the games, as these may become a free-for-all car park and tent site, with members potentially being saddled with several liabilities as a result.

For impartial, expert advice, contact CLA Midlands Rural Surveyor John Greenshields.

For further information, and to explore potential tender and business opportunities, visit birmingham2022.com.

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CLA MIDLANDS Knightley, Woodseaves, Staffordshire ST20 0JW

as do Natural England, the Forestry Commission, the Woodland Trust and the Wildlife Trusts. So far, £771,598 has already been raised, leaving £228,402 to find. Devon and Cumbria have raised £31,280 through landowners contributing £1 an acre of woodland owned, and it is hoped other counties will follow suit.

Without the successful launch of the grey squirrel fertility control vaccine, there is a very real chance that future generations will never see mature standings of biodiverse broadleaf native hardwoods and that our iconic red squirrel will be extinct.

Lord Stafford says: “With the damage they do to trees, grey squirrels are one of the worst pests for woodlands.

If we can all get behind this fertility

REGIONAL DIRECTOR MARK RICHES 01785 337010 mark.riches@cla.org.uk @CLAMidlands

treatment, I think we have a real chance of making a big difference. I shall be writing to as many woodland owners as I can, and if the CLA can support this initiative then we can really can make some progress.”

Piers Monckton added: “I’m very much in favour of planting broadleaf woodland for the diversity and wildlife benefits, but the grey squirrel is a primary reason why we struggle to do so. Giving a pound an acre of woodland is a very small price to pay for the massive benefits it will bring.”

Events As lockdown restrictions change, we are continually reviewing our current events programme and are also looking ahead to autumn, when we will hopefully be able to get out and about and meet at some of our members’ stunning properties.

Obviously, safety is our primary concern and until we feel confident to resume live events, we will continue offering a range of online events, both social and professional.

To find out what’s on, visit the events section of the CLA website and check our regular email updates. If you are not receiving these, please make sure we have your email address – drop us a line at midlands@cla.org.uk

To find out more and help support the initiative, visit the UK Squirrel Accord website: squirrelaccord.uk, email info@squirrelaccord.uk or contact us at the regional office.

Briefings and guidance notes Recently published and available via the advice section of the CLA website or via the regional office are:

Heritage reform inǠEngland This CLA briefing note sets out the current heritage issues and problems in England, progress made to date, and changes and reforms needed to create a sound and effective protection system for heritage.

Heritage reform inǠWales This note covers issues with heritage protection in Wales, the largely-complete Historic Environment Review, and the implications of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016 for members with interests in Wales.

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LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 59

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IN YOUR AREA

North news Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Yorkshire

Countryside visitors urged not to feed livestock

T

he CLA North team recently issued a media statement urging visitors to the countryside not to feed livestock and wildlife when out and about enjoying the countryside.

In addition, encouraging those that live in the countryside and surrounds not to dispose of their garden waste, which could be eaten by livestock.

This advice was issued following a tragic incident experienced by CLA member Annabelle Morshead who farms with sheep near Haydon Bridge. She recently lost six breeding ewes after they consumed poisonous garden waste, which was left in a field where her sheep were feeding.

Annabelle says: “Visitors, and even those residing in the countryside, are often unaware of the consequences of how sensitive sheep are to plants such as milkweed, ragwort, morning glory and common nightshade, whether plant waste is innocently disposed of or whether it is randomly fly-tipped in the vicinity where livestock are feeding.”

“For me, it was devastating to have to cull animals due to their suffering as a result of ingesting poisonous materials. With a bit more awareness, this situation could have been averted.”

New management plan for the Lake District The Lake District National Park Partnership (LDNPP) is currently developing a new management plan, which will play an important role in shaping the park’s future.

The management plan will consider a variety of topics such as recovering from Covid-19, responding to the climate and nature emergency, supporting the future of farming and the needs of communities and visitors, as well as managing the Lake District as a World Heritage site. An additional priority was also highlighted in theǠLandscapes for everyone/ Park for All review following the Designated Landscapes Review (Glover Review 2019).

The LDNPP was set up in 2006 in order to bring together organisations to collectively manage the Lake District National Park. The CLA is one of 25 organisations involved in the LDNPP, which is made up of representatives from the public,Ǡprivate, community and voluntary sectors.

The new management plan will build on the existing plan, and willǠbe published for public consultation towards the end of May or early June.

For further information on the new management plan for the Lake District, visit lakedistrict.gov. uk/national-park-partnership

The new plan will shape the future of the park

North East and Yorkshire branch AGMs Due to the ongoing Covid-19 social distancing measures, the CLA’s North East Branch and Yorkshire Branch AGMs will both be hosted online via Zoom at the end of May, with each meeting lasting around an hour.

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Members interested in attending can book via the website from the middle ofǠMay. North East Branch AGM, with special guest speaker CLA Deputy President Mark Tufnell – 24 May, 11am

Yorkshire Branch AGM, with special guest speaker CLA President Mark Bridgeman – 26 May, 2.30pm Members in the North East and Yorkshire will receive their invitation to

the branch AGM as an enclosure in the May edition of Land & Business.

Cumbria and Lancashire Branch AGMs will take place in the autumn.

Details will be confirmed in the August edition of Land & Business.

cla.org.uk

20/04/2021 17:38

CLA NORTH Aske Stables, Aske, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL10 5HG

The Driffield Show is due to take place in July

Extra show days planned Organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show have announced that the show will now take place over four days – from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 July – for the first time in its history if the event is in a position to go ahead.

Similarly, the Driffield Show is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 July.

The rationale for extending these events have been made due to limiting the number of daily visitors, but also affording more opportunities to attend. Organisers are keen to stress that hosting these shows will be dependent on government’s

REGIONAL DIRECTOR DOROTHY FAIRBURN MBE 01748 907070 north@cla.org.uk @CLANorth

plans on lifting Covid restrictions in accordance with the roadmap.

The CLA North team will continue to keep members updated on developments at all agricultural shows in the North.

Dorothy’s farewell The CLA North team has set up a JustGiving page for colleagues, members and friends who would like to make a (voluntary) contribution to Dorothy’s farewell gift. After more than 20 years at the CLA, Dorothy announced her retirement earlier this year.

Members who want to contribute can do so by visiting justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/dorothyfairburn.

The team is also planning a farewell event at some stage in early summer.

The timing will be in step with the restrictions in place at the time. More information will be published in the June edition of Land & Business.

Carbon-negative roundtables The York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership will be hosting a series of free roundtables to help shape and agree key actions to help realise the LEP’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2034 and carbon negative by 2040.

In order to achieve this ambition, the LEP is working with regional stakeholders, including the CLA, and experts to collaboratively develop a route map to set out clear policy, programmes, demonstrator projects and enabling activities to reach our ambitious carbonreduction goals.

The land use and agri roundtable (6 May, 10am– 12pm) would be of particular interest to members.

Other themes in this series include: Decarbonising travel and transport – 11 May Creating carbon-negative places – 26 May Supporting businesses to decarbonise – 2 June Members who are interested in registering for the land use and agri roundtable, or for any of the other themes, can visit the LEP’s registration page at bit.ly/31NAbtn.

Following this series, the LEP’s low carbon and environment team will work together with a wide range of stakeholders to draft the route map.

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IN YOUR AREA

East news Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk

Police warn Suffolk hare coursers

S

uffolk Police is warning of the potential consequences for anyone caught hare coursing in the county. Officers say they will take strong action against those involved, including the possibility that any vehicles used could be seized and crushed.

Anyone convicted of the offence can also receive a fine of up to £5,000 from a magistrates’ court.

Reports of hare coursing have been increasing in recent years, although in Suffolk during the period 1 September 2019 to 31 March 2020 there were 139 incidents reported, while between 1 September 2020 and 9 March 2021 there have been 80.

Sgt Brian Calver from the Suffolk Rural Crime and Wildlife Team says: “Hare coursing is a huge issue for farmers and landowners, with many people living in fear of these criminals.

This illegal activity damages property, threatens people’s incomes and subjects people to fear and intimidation.

“Many of those are very unpleasant with violent and unscrupulous backgrounds, many of whom have links to organised criminality. Significant sums of money can change hands in the form of illegal betting and gambling on the outcome.

“The crushed car in the photo, while not used in a hare coursing incident, does aim to demonstrate the consequences if you are caught and convicted of hare-coursing, so let this be a warning to those who commit this crime.”

CLA East Regional Surveyor Tim Woodward says: “Strengthened legislation that would allow for tougher punishments for those caught hare coursing would help ensure there is a more effective deterrent to stop this criminal activity from taking place, which is currently widespread across the East of England.

This is a priority area for CLA lobbying.”

Meet the CLA East team

In our latest team feature, we find out more about our Rural Adviser Rachel Brooks.

Tell us about your role as a rural adviser?

My role as a rural adviser is diverse. I advise our membership on issues relating to their land management alongside sitting on many stakeholder meetings across our region, representing our members’ interests. With the current changes facing agriculture, I work closely with our London policy team to help our members with the challenges they face during this period. Being BASIS and FACTS qualified, I like to keep up to date with current practical agricultural issues.

What types of member enquiries do you receive?

A wide variety, everything from agricultural transition and environmental schemes to water abstraction, grant funding, carbon trading and renewable energy.

With the changes in agricultural policy and climate change, I also look at different markets, public or private, for income, rather than just crops.

How has your role changed due to Covid-19?

Zoom has become a big part of my daily life!

From your perspective, what are the big topics our members should be thinking about over the next year?

The agricultural transition period from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) to Environmental Land Management (E.L.M) schemes will be big. With cuts to BPS payments from this year, and with E.L.M not being a like-for-like replacement, landowners need to start looking at their businesses going forward.

Climate change will also be very topical with COP26 being held in Glasgow this year – agriculture is one of the larger emitters of greenhouse gases, but is also a key player in helping get to net-zero.

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CLA EAST The Court, Lanwades Business Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7PN

Ultra-fast broadband roll-out The government has announced the first stages of its plan to get ultra-fast broadband to the majority of homes in the UK.

ACTING REGIONAL DIRECTOR NICK SANDFORD 01638 590429 nick.sandford@cla.org.uk

£7.5m for Lincolnshire flood projects

It had originally promised to roll out gigabit-speed broadband to every home in Britain by 2025, but that was reduced to 85% coverage following an announcement last November.

The budget remains at £5bn, with only £1.2bn of that being made available up to 2024.

The first areas in the East to benefit will be homes and businesses in Cambridgeshire and Essex. The next areas are expected to include Norfolk and Suffolk.

Lincolnshire is one of 25 areas in the UK to be invited by the government to bid for funding to explore new ways of helping local communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The county council has teamed up with partners and communities – including local authorities in Greater Lincolnshire, drainage boards, wildlife and environmental charities, nature partnerships, academics and water companies, among others – to apply for funding worth £7.5m.

CLA East AGMS 2021 CLA East AGMs will be held online via Zoom before branch committee meetings in June and July this year.

The dates are as follows: Northamptonshire – 16 June, 1.45pm Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire – 17 June, 9.45am Nottinghamshire – 21 June, 1.45pm Lincolnshire – 22 June, 9.45am Hertfordshire – 25 June, 9.45am Suffolk – 28 June, 1.45pm Norfolk – 29 June, 1.45pm Essex – 2 July, 9.45am The AGMs – which should take less than 30 minutes – will only carry out the official business of the day, to include: Chair report

cla.org.uk

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Election of branch committee Election of president Election of chair Election of vice chair Election of chair to council Any other business (to be submitted at least seven days prior to the AGM) You can book a place by contacting the CLA East office on 01638 590 429, or email: east@cla.org.uk CLA East is currently planning a number of visits for members to spectacular locations across the region in late summer. These will be subject to the latest Covid-19 restrictions to ensure they can take place safely. Details of these events will be shared with members via our regional email newsletter, on the CLA website and in Land and Business in due course.

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As a Tubex Distributor, we hold a wide range in stock.

Renowned for our customer service – browse and buy online, or call to place your order. Sign up via our website to be the first to hear when 2021/22 plant pre-ordering goes live.

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Secure your spot in our Construction, Stabling & Arenas Marketplace for the June issue of Land & Business Magazine. Your brand will be linked to the main feature ‘Planning - a blueprint for successful developments’.

The Directory includes: 50 - 70 words Contact details Logo Please call 020 7324 2754 or email cla.class@redactive.co.uk for more information.

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020 7324 2754 / cla.class@redactive.co.uk

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Cattle grid

TIMBER

BESPOKE SIGNS Guestling Wood This beautiful High Weald ancient woodland, is well known for its dazzling displays of spring flowers including wood anemones and bluebells.

Visit on a sunny spring day for a spectacular walk among the bluebells and wood anemones.

WTPL

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Sweet chestnut coppice with oak standards dominate the site but the southern part of wood also has a significant area of oak coppice – rare in the south east of England.

Centuries of human activity has also left its mark on the wood in the shape of woodbanks, sawpits, charcoal hearths, pits, quarries and hollow-way.

WTPL/Nick Cobbing

The sweet chestnut was widely planted for coppicing for hop poles and later was used for fencing.

Visitors can enjoy the 44 hectare (110 acre) wood’s wildlife and natural beauty from a good network of public footpaths, rides and pathways.

yyy Public footpath Permissive

yyy footpath

Look carefully and you might spy an elusive water vole along the banks of the stream.

Information You are here

WTPL/Margaret Barton

A small stream called Lady’s Brook, flows along most of the western boundary.

We want everyone to enjoy this irreplaceable ancient woodland.

Please keep dogs under control, clear up after them and take your litter home with you.

The Woodland Trust Kempton Way Grantham Lincolnshire NG31 6LL Telephone 01476 581111 The Woodland Trust is a registered charity no. 294344. A non-profit making company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England no. 1982873. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark.

6302 12/14 © Crown Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence no. AL100021607.

Enjoyed your visit today?

Willow, alder, hazel and ash trees can all be seen in the damper ground around Lady’s Brook, along with dog’s mercury, sedges and rushes.

The Woodland Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity.

Visit woodlandtrust.org.uk where you can search 'Guestling Wood' to find out more about this spectacular place.

Ightham Mote

Entrance

Car park

Become a member and support our work.

Call 033 033 33 300 or go to woodlandtrust.o rg.uk

Our restoration work at Guestling Wood has been supported by

The Ingram Trust

Main car park House Garden Mote Café Deliveries House, Garden, Shop and Mote Café open daily except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Estate open all year

Estate Walk Estate Walk and Scathes Wood

Freephone: 0800 45 85 660 | Online: www.farm-signs.co.uk

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LOG CABINS & TIMBER BUILDINGS

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020 7324 2754 / cla.class@redactive.co.uk

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CLA Class May21.indd 68

cla.org.uk

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

PONDS, LAKES & BOATS

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Specialising in: • Design and Build Lakes, Reservoirs, Lagoons and Large Ponds • Lake Restoration • Agricultural groundworks • Jetties, Bespoke Cabins, Decks and Landscaping A professional friendly team with a wealth of experience based in Somerset and serving the whole UK.

Contact Phil on 07831 362447 email: phil@landandwaterscapes.co.uk www.landandwaterscapes.co.uk Still operational during Covid -19 and adhering to strict social distancing rules. cla.org.uk

CLA Class May21.indd 69

LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 69

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020 7324 2754 / cla.class@redactive.co.uk

BUSINESS ACCOUNTANTS

HEALTHCARE

Brilliant Pain Relief for Alan’s Knees Years of driving heavy machinery and farming had taken their toll on Alan Jones. Both his knee joints were badly worn and he had to take painkillers daily. Mobility in his joints was so poor that he often had to go backwards down the small step onto his patio.

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The products even work on animals.’

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The Walnut Tree Company is the leading supplier of quality Walnut timber, Walnut fruit, Sweet Chestnut, Almond, and Kentish Cobnut trees. Alexander Hunt also gives specialist advice for the garden, orchard, forest and amenities/landscape uses.

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CLA Class May21.indd 70

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FENCING, GATES & IRONWORK

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Summerhouses & Garden Buildings

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LAND & BUSINESS | MAY 2021 73

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LAST WORD

Country

W

hen did you last see a roadkill rabbit?

Probably not for some time. Just as we no longer see large numbers of insects on our car windscreens, we also see few rabbits on the highway.

But in this case, the main reason is the rapid spread of a virus that reached the UK in 1992. This is shaping up to be more deadly than myxomatosis, which has drastically reduced the rabbit population since 1953.

Rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RHDV1) was first recorded in England in 1992 and Scotland in 1995.

Transmission has been related to commercial trade in live domestic rabbits, causing great alarm among the million owners of domestic rabbits in the UK, with mortality rates of 80-90% reported due to acute viral hepatitis.

A second, deadlier strain, RHDV2, was first recorded in the UK in 2010. Whereas RHDV1 was species-specific, RHDV2 has jumped to hares, a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

In 2019, the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), with the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, calculated population trends for nine relatively widespread mammals between 1995 and 2019. They found

Brian Martin tracks the deadly virus ravaging our wild rabbits

a 64% reduction in rabbits for the UK overall. The trend showed no sign of slowing, and with myxomatosis still present, the outlook for wild rabbits is bleak. The National Gamebag Census also recorded a significant decline from 1996, but with stabilisation later on.

Introduced by the Romans, the rabbit was first kept for the table before becoming a focus for sport. In the 19th century, the average annual personal bag of the owner of Suffolk’s Elveden estate, the Maharaja Duleep Singh, was 75,000, on top of 9,600 pheasants, 9,400 partridges and 3,000 hares. Even after the Second World War, Elveden still had 12 warreners dedicated to rabbits, whereas there were 11 keepers. Now there is just one warrener, and some 2,000 rabbits a year are taken.

Rabbits must be controlled to help agriculture, but they have also become important in nature conservation.

Their grazing maintains scarce habitats such as chalk grassland, where certain wild flowers and birds flourish.

They are also important prey for species such as foxes and buzzards, though the impact on these is not clear.

An increase in buzzards, for example, was linked with a growth in rabbit numbers following increased immunity to myxomatosis. However, in recent years, buzzard numbers continued to rise, with the bird being able to take a wide variety of prey and carrion. The BBS survey found that foxes declined by 44% in the same period.

RHD is extremely contagious, with transmission occurring through direct contact with infected animals, carcasses, bodily fluids and hair. Surviving rabbits can be contagious for up to two months. Flies, fleas and mosquitoes can carry the virus, scavengers can spread it through their faeces and humans on their shoes and clothes. Visible symptoms include bleeding from the nose, mouth and rectum.

RHD is zoonotic and can lead to life-threatening illnesses, with those with a history of chronic illness, immunodeficiency and pregnancy at a higher risk. In handling all rabbits, scrupulous hygiene is advised.

IMAGE: ISTOCK

View

Where have the rabbits gone?

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CHILH A M

O

ne of the most prestigious houses in the south east of England. The majestic and beautifully presented Grade I listed Chilham Castle sits in a remarkable setting within 300 acres of historic parkland.

14 BEDRO OM S | 1 1 BATH RO OM S | 8 R ECEP TION RO OM S | I N D O OR P O OL | 2 TEN N IS COU RT S | 2 L OD GE S STA FF FL AT | FOR M A L GA R DEN S | V I N EYA R D | L A K E | M AT U R E WO ODL A N D | EQU E STR I A N YA R D CA N TER BU RY 6 M I LE S | L ON D ON 58 M I LE S

Guide price available upon request Knight Frank London will.matthews@knightfrank.com 020 4502 7347 clive.hopkins@knightfrank.com 020 4502 8211 Ref: PCL012054829

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