LANDOWNING INITIATIVES
LOWER MOORHAYNE FARM YARCOMBE NR HONITON DEVON EX14 9BE
Tel: 01404-861629/284 – FAX: 01404629
Email: [email protected] – Website www.landowninginiatives.co.uk
No 37:
DIVERSIFICATION NEWS
Summer 2015
LET US REMEMBER THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
AUTUMN 1942
THE HYMN OF REMEMBRANCE
Be with our airman when they fly,
And keep them in Thy loving care,
Amid the perils of the air,
O let our cry come unto thee
All those in peril in the air,
Swift winged across the uncharted sky,
Each anxious hour and lonely flight
Serenely challenged, day and night
O’er land and ocean safely bear
For those who fly o’er land and sea.
Strong son of man, save those who fly,
Each anxious hour and lonely flight
Serenely challenged, day and night.
O’er land and ocean safely bear
All those in peril in the air.
O Holy Spirit, God’s own power,
Bring calm of heart and be thou near
To those who watch and those who fear,
To Thee will rise the grateful prayer
Of those who serve Thee in the air.
O Trinity of love and grace,
True guide of all who fly through space;
In peace or war, mid friend or foe,
Be with them where so’er they go.
So shall our praise with heaven blend
And joyful hearts to Thee ascend
PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
B.1 The Town and Country Planning
(General Permitted Development) Order
1995 (‘the GPDO’) grants a general planning
permission
(known
as
‘permitted
development rights’) for certain types of
development. This means that a specific
planning application is not needed if your
project falls within one of the categories set
out in the GPDO and meets all the conditions
laid down. However, in some cases, as
explained below, you must apply to the
planning authority for a ‘determination’ as to
whether its prior approval is needed for
details such as the siting, design and
external appearance of the proposed
development.
B.2 This Appendix provides a summary of
permitted development rights that may be of
benefit to farmers seeking to develop their
existing agricultural businesses or diversify.
It must not be relied upon as a replacement
for the full text of the GPDO which can be
purchased from your local Stationery Office
stockist. The GPDO is frequently amended
and you should therefore check that, where
appropriate, you obtain the up to date text for
the relevant Part.
B.3 Specific planning permission is not
needed for:
i) The use of land (but not any buildings) for
any purpose (other than a caravan site) for
not more than twenty-eight days in a year.
However, for motor cycle or car racing, and
markets (including car boot sales), only
fourteen days a year are permitted. In Sites
of Special Scientific Interest there are no
permitted development rights for temporary
uses of land for war games, clay pigeon
shooting or any motor sports. (Part 4 of
Schedule 2 to the GPDO refers).
ii) Building, excavation or engineering
operations designed for agricultural purposes
(including those in connection with fish
farming) on agricultural land in an agricultural
unit of 5 hectares or more which are
reasonably necessary for the purposes of
agriculture within the unit, provided that:
• the development is not carried out on a
separate parcel of land less than 1 hectare in
area forming part of the unit;
• the ground area of any building, structure
or works does not exceed 465 square metres
(less if it is within 90 metres of any other
building, structure or works provided within
the preceding two years);
• the building, structure or works is not higher
than 12 metres, or 3 metres if within 3
kilometres of the perimeter of an aerodrome;
•the development is more than 25 metres
from a trunk or classified road;
• the development does not involve the
erection, extension or alteration of a
dwelling;
• if the building, structure or excavation is
within 400 metres of the curtilage of a
‘protected building’, it is not to be used for
the accommodation of livestock (including
farmed fish and shell fish. or for the storage
of slurry or sewage sludge.. ‘Protected
building ’ means a permanent building
normally occupied by people, but does not
include buildings within the agricultural unit,
or any dwelling or building in agricultural use
on any other agricultural unit);
• if you are erecting a new building, forming a
private way, carrying out excavations or
depositing waste material, or placing or
assembling a tank in any waters, you have
applied to your local planning authority for a
determination as to whether its prior approval
will be required for certain details
• if you are extending or altering a building
you have not previously made a ‘significant’
extension or alteration to it under permitted
development rights (‘significant’ means
where the cubic content of the original would
be exceeded by more than 10%, or the
height of the original building would be
increased);
For further information and help with your
Planning application please telephone
Landowning Initiatives on 01404861284 from
where a successful application can be
achieved.
The Minister for the Environment said:
when she first came to office last year, that
food was the most important side of the
economy and food grown in Britain was even
more important .The British Public said in a
recent pole that the NFU commissioned
recently, that the British public had a
favourable or very favourable view of the
British Farmer. Three quarters of the British
public of those recently interviewed saw
farmers as having a beneficial or very
beneficial effect on looking after the
Countryside. Over the recent years more
farmers are becoming aware of the problems
with matters like lack of field boundaries
used for Game or having difficulty regarding
boundaries.
There is perhaps more generosity in the air
and may be a good time for negotiating with
a neighbouring farmer for that small bit of
land which would just make your property the
right size or enable you to create a small
diversification project
Before the Shooting Season
The Shooting season is creeping around
again and the rustling noises of Autumn are
beginning to creep in with clay pigeon shoots
being arranged where guns go for their
annual brushing up for those days in the
winter that everyone so looks forward to.
The discussion ranges on and on regarding
the numbers of game shot on the shooting
Estates of the British Isles and in looking
back one hears about certain shoots where
landowners and keepers are still greedy in
their grasping for money on the Commercial
shoots. Shooting is not only about money –
it is a Sport and the best way of describing
the Sport of Shooting is that “if you can lie in
the bath in the evening and think back over
the whole day and remember all the birds
you have shot during the day then you have
had a lovely day”
and sadly if the event occurs on a very large
scale the person who has no experience
goes away with a very false impression of
how marvellous this English sport can be, if
run correctly.
What is the point of going home after the day
is over with a splitting headache and not
being able to remember those birds you
have shot because you have shot so many.
The Recognition of Aquaculture
The fun of shooting is being caught out by
the surprise cock suddenly breaking cover
over a hedge or from the tree tops or in
enjoying watching your neighbour shooting a
high bird or even missing it! If so many
pheasants are pouring over your head there
is no time to relish the precious moments of
shooting and the shooter just becomes a cog
in the keepers wheel. Relating to the pickers
up behind you and appreciating a good
retrieve or even working ones own dog at the
end of a drive, and rewarding a dog for its
excellent picking up is what it should all be
about, you do not want to watch a dog being
unable to cope with the number of pheasants
lying on the ground
.
There was one shoot last year in the West
Country where a lady left her handbag on the
last drive before lunch so she went back to
get it only to find someone else standing in
the stand her husband had just finished
shooting at. The gun was waiting for a fresh
drive from the same area so there were two
teams of guns going round the same area so
the estate was running a double profit .How
sick can that become.
We are lucky enough to see the films of
Richard Attenborough from all over the world
and the fascinating shots he takes of so
many animal and mammal species and he
introduces us to species we would never see
in our life time if it was not for underwater
photography.
When foreigners visit our shores to book a
day having never shot before it should be the
duty of the Estates and Agents to explain the
etiquette of English shooting and to ask the
person if he/she has shot before and if they
know what type of shoot they are coming to.
It is so bad to let a gun join into shooting a
large number of game before they have had
lesser experiences.
Shooting is not a numbers game it is an art
to enjoy and a scene to watch others
enjoying it.
Guns especially from abroad
usually have plenty of money and so they
think by ordering hundreds of pheasants they
are going for the best. How wrong they are
The development of Aquaculture is moving
at a very fast pace and with the Chinese
paving the way with open cultivation. It is
believed that open net aquaculture now
relates to around 60% of the fish market in
the world. New recirculation aquaculture is
now establishing itself at around 7% of that
Market and is growing. The world needs
food and with the development of
Recirculation systems more food can be
grown than ever before in buildings on land.
We do not know what is under the waves
and how the fish of many species are
decreasing and with modern methods of
locating fish shoals the fish do not stand so
much chance of survival as they used to in
the old days. Does this mean that the fish of
certain species are being fished out, the
indications are that this is happening.
It is good therefore that as man grows bolder
and more special growing techniques of fish
are introduced for growing tons of different
species a new method of feeding the world
could be beginning. If such rearing methods
are to continue to develop then the food
introduced to keep the systems running must
be studied in further detail to ensure that the
food is not taking another species like “krill”
to deprive another feeding area in the Sea.
Methods related to the development of
Aquaponics and sea weed are advancing in
their research areas which may be able to fill
this gap and enable new feeding routes to be
produced so the pressure is taken off the
wild species which at present are being
ground up for fish feed for the Aquaculture
systems.
This method cannot go on because in places
like South Georgia or the Antarctic itself
there are so many penguins and other
species large and small who live off such fish
that, if for instance, the krill is taken out in
massive quantities to be converted as feed
for Aquaculture then the chain will be broken
and there will be a large deterioration in the
provision of food in the wild so starvation will
set in with the wild species of bird and larger
fish.
The NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Magazine of
June 2014 has an excellent article on “how
to farm a better fish” It says that the world
now produces more farmed fish than beef.
They still do not say what the pellets to farm
the fish contain. Landfish Ltd a UK Company
is looking at various alternative ways of
feeding fish which will not put such pressure
on wild fish.
Exactly how much feed is needed varies
depending on the quality and make up of the
feed, the health and age of the animal the
environment and other factors. If some of
this can be introduced through the world of
Sludge, Aquaponics and other spin off areas
then there is a real future for this form of
development .and with the introduction of
start up Capital even the starving nations can
be fed on the spot with their own fish
systems. Farms can be created in third
world countries and overseas investment
should be sent for such projects now. Farms
could be created across Africa or other
continents if government provided the Start
up Capital. The market is wide open and
should be considered to be a seriously
important diversification.
The Diversification Opportunity in
Farming
Whilst many traditional farms have benefited
from diversifying over the years it is
important to keep in mind the important point
that diversification only works if it adds to the
profit and value of the existing business and
ultimately maximises the use of your assets
on the farm. It is the creation of new income
streams. A firm of Accountants Francis
Clark advise that before the bottom line
figure is finally identified that additional tax
considerations must be considered. They
say “Think Tax”. Landowning Initiatives says
“get advice on one of the 2000 schemes LI
has on its books for a new opportunity” but
make sure that the bottom line adds up and
one is not the victim of taxation which might
be blind to the creator.
Solar Panels and Solar Farms
Why is it that as a Country we always shoot
ourselves in the foot.
The introduction of Solar Panels as a new
invention was a revolution in the quest for
heat power and energy and has on the whole
proved to be an asset to house owners
generating power for their own use and even
receiving money back from the fixed tariff
and to landowners/farmers who are anxious
to cover large areas of agricultural land with
these panels.
There is nothing wrong in this, however,
what happens is that little or no thought goes
into the choice of panels. We are now
seeing beautiful roofs in villages being spoilt
because no thought has gone into the type of
panel, the colour or the shape that goes on
the roof so the style of roof you see as you
approach the villages today are totally
different to what was originally planned and
passed by the Planning Authorities.
The same applies to solar farms of which
there are in the region of 250 with a similar
amount waiting. Sites must be selected away
from the public gaze and in areas that do not
influence the general countryside. There is
a need for new panelling that blends in with
the Countryside and it is up to the
manufacturers to meet this need.
We can help at Landowning Initiatives
give us a call. You might be surprised!
On any questions in this Newsletter ring
01404861284 at Landowning Initiative
Correct at the time of gong to press. Landowning Initiatives accept no liability for errors or omissions.