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Insights

The Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice for England: A Fairer Deal for Tenant Farmers?

Posted on 13th May 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Residential Property

In 2022 Baroness Rock chaired a Tenancy Working Group which tasked with reviewing practices to ensure tenant farmers could access government finance and with considering practices in the agricultural tenanted sector more generally.

Posted by

Kate Bolt

Partner & Solicitor

Insights

Buying a Farm as a Home

Posted on 05th March 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Residential Property

Fresh air, closer to nature, room to grow, the ability to forge farming and other business ventures, control your own space and to positively affect the landscape and ecosystem around you; there are many reasons why farms can be great places to live, work and raise families.

Posted by

Josh Gilbert

Partner & Solicitor

Insights

Key Points to Consider When Selling a Farm or Land in the UK

Posted on 27th February 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Residential Property

It always serves to do some basic groundwork ahead of a sale of your land, whether that sale is imminent or not. Prior preparation can facilitate a smooth sale at the agreed price, rather than having to deal with the disappointment of delays and price adjustments down the line.

Posted by

Josh Gilbert

Partner & Solicitor

Insights

Liability For Escaping Animals: Animals Act 1971

Posted on 16th February 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Dispute Resolution

As an animal owner, you may have thought about - or even experienced - your animals escaping and causing damage to property or even injuring someone. Have you ever worried about your liability for damage caused by your animals? Our latest insight provides advice to animal owners on this Act which is notoriously difficult to interpret.

Posted by

Jill Headford

Partner and Solicitor

Insights

How do restrictive covenants limit the use of land?

Posted on 09th February 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Dispute Resolution

A covenant is the legal term for a promise, usually not to do something on your land (a negative or restrictive covenant) but occasionally to do something (a positive covenant).

Posted by

Jill Headford

Partner and Solicitor

Insights

What Is Adverse Possession and How Does It Work?

Posted on 08th February 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Dispute Resolution

Adverse possession is all about claiming someone else’s land as your own on the basis of your possession of it for a period designated by law. Of course, not all kinds of occupation lead to eventual ownership.

Posted by

Jill Headford

Partner and Solicitor

Insights

Resolving Boundary Disputes

Posted on 08th February 2024 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Dispute Resolution

Land is a great asset to have - I don’t think anyone would dispute that. But by the same token owning land (like having money) can be a worry as well. If you are lucky and your land has clearly identified boundaries and so long as there is no argument about them, all is well. That is the case for most land but some people are not quite so lucky. Boundary disputes can be a headache, especially if not well handled from the start.

Posted by

Jill Headford

Partner and Solicitor

Insights

Public rights of way over private land: what are they?

Posted on 01st November 2023 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Property Litigation

One of the joys of living in the southwest is the access to the countryside that can be enjoyed. Many people will make regular use of the network of paths and trails - for the morning dog walk, for a lengthy weekend ramble or perhaps for something as simple as a shortcut to school – without ever giving their existence much thought.

Posted by

Joanne Young

Senior Associate & Solicitor

Insights

Carry on Camping (but not everywhere….)

Posted on 10th September 2023 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Property Litigation

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor has been allowed under local law for decades until earlier this year when it was challenged by a local landowner. This insight takes a further look at the case in question where landowners argued that wild camping should not be classed as open-air recreation.

Posted by

Joanne Young

Senior Associate & Solicitor

Insights

What is Biodiversity Net Gain and how to achieve it?

Posted on 31st July 2023 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Planning and Licensing

Biodiversity Net Gain (“BNG”) in the context of planning and development is the principle that development of land should leave the natural environment of those sites in a measurably better state than they were prior to the development taking place.

Insights

How can you deal with illegal or unauthorised encampments?

Posted on 20th July 2021 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Parks, Affordable Housing

As we move into the school holidays, we are seeing an increase in instructions for removing unauthorised encampments from land. Given the lack of affordable housing, traveller sites and, now, holiday accommodation in hot spot areas, we expect to see a big rise in unauthorised encampments across popular visitor sites.

Posted by

Stephen Burtchaell

Partner and Solicitor

Insights

Farming estate succession planning

Posted on 04th February 2021 in Rural Property & Countryside Matters, Later Life Planning

Succession planning is an essential part of running a family farm business. Effectively planning for the future allows you to protect your assets, safeguard your business, ensure continuity and provide for your family. Succession planning in the farming industry is also vital to the sector's viability as a whole. In this post, we look at some of the key things you need to consider when succession planning for your farming estate.

Posted by

Rachael Morley

Partner & Solicitor