Latest news with #CountryLandandBusinessAssociation
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farmer's dad 'feels he has to die' before new tax
A farmer says his dad feels he has to die before April so the family avoids changes to inheritance tax. Russell Abbott from Cragg Pitt Farm in Tattingstone, Suffolk, says his father, who is in his early 80s, is troubled by the upcoming changes to the tax. From April, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m will be taxed at a rate of 20%, which the government said was "vital to fix public services we all rely on". Graham Miles, a rural and agricultural Anglican chaplain for Suffolk, said those at the top must listen to farmers' concerns. "He now feels he's got to go before next April," Mr Abbott told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme. "He just says he'd be better off if he wasn't here. "I understand my father and I don't think he's in that state of mind. "I don't think he'll do anything silly not for one second, but I do understand what he is saying. "I suppose in some ways what he said to me is, 'If I take my last breath before next April, I'll die happy'. "That's awful to hear... I'd never wish that upon my father. "I'm just so thankful for every day that I have had with my dad." How are the inheritance tax rules changing? For the general population, inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the property, possessions and money of somebody who has died, above a £325,000 threshold. The tax has not applied to inherited agricultural assets, such as small family farms and farm buildings. But from April 2026, for the first time, a tax of 20% will be imposed on these assets worth more than £1m. The government says the changes will only affect the wealthiest 500 farms each year. However, the National Farmers Union and the Country Land and Business Association estimate that up to 70,000 farms could be affected overall. Many farmers have said they feel betrayed by the changes, with protests taking place. Mr Miles's role is to support farmers through difficult times, offering them pastoral care. He says it is not the first time he has heard similar concerns from farmers. "Unfortunately I'm getting this nearly every day of the week - farmers coming up to me and saying, 'Graham my family would be better off if I wasn't here'," he explained. "The closer we get to next April the more I'm going to get of this." The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said three quarters of estates would continue to pay no inheritance tax at all. It pointed out that these inheritance payments could be spread over 10 years, interest-free. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Tax row will put young people off farming, M&S boss says Inheritance tax plans tormenting farmers, union tells Starmer How are the inheritance tax rules changing? Related internet links Defra
BBC News
30-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Suffolk farmer's dad 'feels he has to die' before new tax
A farmer says his dad feels he has to die before April so the family avoids changes to inheritance Abbott from Cragg Pitt Farm in Tattingstone, Suffolk, says his father, who is in his early 80s, is troubled by the upcoming changes to the April, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m will be taxed at a rate of 20%, which the government said was "vital to fix public services we all rely on".Graham Miles, a rural and agricultural Anglican chaplain for Suffolk, said those at the top must listen to farmers' concerns. "He now feels he's got to go before next April," Mr Abbott told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme."He just says he'd be better off if he wasn't here."I understand my father and I don't think he's in that state of mind. "I don't think he'll do anything silly not for one second, but I do understand what he is saying."I suppose in some ways what he said to me is, 'If I take my last breath before next April, I'll die happy'."That's awful to hear... I'd never wish that upon my father."I'm just so thankful for every day that I have had with my dad." For the general population, inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the property, possessions and money of somebody who has died, above a £325,000 tax has not applied to inherited agricultural assets, such as small family farms and farm from April 2026, for the first time, a tax of 20% will be imposed on these assets worth more than £ government says the changes will only affect the wealthiest 500 farms each the National Farmers Union and the Country Land and Business Association estimate that up to 70,000 farms could be affected farmers have said they feel betrayed by the changes, with protests taking place. Mr Miles's role is to support farmers through difficult times, offering them pastoral says it is not the first time he has heard similar concerns from farmers."Unfortunately I'm getting this nearly every day of the week - farmers coming up to me and saying, 'Graham my family would be better off if I wasn't here'," he explained."The closer we get to next April the more I'm going to get of this."The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said three quarters of estates would continue to pay no inheritance tax at pointed out that these inheritance payments could be spread over 10 years, interest-free. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Agriland
11-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Farm groups voice concerns over UK agriculture budget
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and several high-profile nature groups have joined forces to warn that cutting the agriculture budget will have 'grave consequences for the environment'. The call comes ahead of UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' statement at lunchtime today (Wednesday, June 11), which will outline all departmental finances from 2027-2030, including the agriculture budget. On the eve of the spending review, a CLA poll of nearly 500 farmers found that the majority would abandon nature-friendly practices and revert to intensive methods if government funding is cut. The main findings of the poll of 460 members included: 88% say they will have to revert to intensive farming if funding is pulled for Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes; 95% say they will reduce the amount of land managed for the environment; 98% say that Labour does not understand or respect rural communities; 99% don't trust Labour to make decisions that benefit their business; 76% say they are not in a position to fully fund the land management actions in their SFI/CS agreements by themselves. The CLA and groups including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), National Trust, Soil Association, and the Nature Friendly Farming Network have also sent a joint letter to farming minister Daniel Zeichner outlining the impact a reduced budget will have on nature. The letter outlines how the organisations are 'deeply concerned about the rumoured cuts to the agricultural budget in the upcoming spending review'. It warns that any reduction in the budget will be 'catastrophic' to the government's aims. 'Many of the environmental features present in the countryside and enjoyed by the public will be under threat and will disappear. This would be a poor legacy for this government,' the letter states. Agriculture budget CLA president Victoria Vyvyan said that 'if funding for sustainable farming schemes is cut, government won't just abandon nature – it will abandon its word'. 'The Sustainable Farming Incentive is working – for farmers, for nature, for the public, and for the Treasury. 'It's bringing back wildlife, cleaning up rivers, and restoring the health of our soil. 'Take that funding away, and farmers will be pushed back to intensive methods – forced to undo years of progress. Nature will suffer as well as farmers, and on the environment, it will go against everything government claims to agree with,' she added. James Cameron, a farmer based in East Kennett, Wiltshire, explained that since entering these schemes, his farm has become 'a haven for nature'. 'What was once arable land, is now species-rich grassland. Red-listed birds, butterflies and bees have all returned in full force. What we've been able to build is magical. 'But now, all of that could vanish. Our entire financial model depends on this scheme. If funding is cut, it will be disastrous. 'We can't afford to fund all this work ourselves, and the private sector simply isn't there yet. We may have no choice but to re-adopt intensive farming practices just to stay afloat. 'Farming is already an uncertain enough business. We need a government that brings stability, not one that plays policy roulette and makes it impossible to operate at every turn,' he said.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farms are told to diversify – but they can't get the planning through
Peter Hogg's family have farmed at Causey Park, near Morpeth, under huge Northumberland skies, since 1854. With his daughter now involved, he has no plans for the centuries-old family business, which he runs with his brother Stephen, to shut up shop. But it has become far more challenging. Some farms have faced the loss of entire crops over the past two years due to record rainfall. Changes to inheritance tax and farm subsidies have put more pressure on Hogg than ever before, just at the point where he is readying himself to hand the business over to the next generation. Like farmers up and down the country, Hogg, 73, has a choice. It is not enough to simply work the land: you have to diversify – find new income streams – or bust. An obvious solution to the mounting financial pressures, for Hogg, was to convert unused farm buildings into holiday accommodation. Diversifying is just 'making use of everything – I suppose it's nothing new,' he says. As well as a mixed arable, beef and sheep farm, 'when our great-grandparents bought the place, there was a sandstone quarry, a clay mine. There was a brickworks. There's been all sorts going on.' He soon found out it was not that simple. 'The difficulties with planning laws mean that businesses are held back and don't grow,' he says. Behind every farm gate, there's a glut of red tape. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has warned that farmers, and rural communities more broadly, are facing lengthy waits to secure planning permission, sometimes of five years or more. To illustrate this, the CLA sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 38 councils in rural areas. Of the 35 that replied, 14 had stalled planning applications from before 2020 still waiting for approval. Dorset council, for instance, took an average of 1,372 days, or three years and nine months, to issue a decision. In one case in south Norfolk, a 2007 application for a recreational fishing lake took seven years to process before apparently stalling in 2014. Victoria Vyvyan, the CLA's president, said 'our planning system is in crisis and it's stagnating growth in the countryside.' In Hogg's case, an application to turn a disused farm building into a B&B took 18 months because of a quibble over adding a sunroom. 'It was exactly where there was a building that my father knocked off about 40 years ago. So we just thought, 'oh, we'll stick it back on,'' he continues. 'The planners came along and said, 'you need planning permission for that.' It took 18 months and £8,000 in planning fees, architectural drawings, building inspection fees and god knows what to get it through, and then once it was done, it cost £800 and a fortnight to put the thing up.' The majority of farmers have no choice but to turn to other sources of income, and are being actively encouraged to diversify their businesses: most commonly by letting out buildings for non-agricultural use, selling produce or, like Hogg, providing holiday accommodation. In most cases, it is no longer enough to work the land: government figures show that in 2023-24, even before sweeping reforms to inheritance tax were enacted, 30 per cent of farms in the UK failed to make a profit. 'You're trying to do your best to run a business, and then in every way they're putting blocks in front of you,' Hogg says. 'There's a load of bureaucracy in the way. We're trying to work our way towards being sustainable [as a business].' But the local authority's planning system makes this far harder than it needs to be. Henry Doble is the associate director of rural planning consultancy Acorus and advises farmers on a daily basis. 'On the one hand, you've got government ministers coming out and saying, 'well, tough, the inheritance tax [rise] has come in and you'd better go out and diversify',' he says. 'But it's not actually as simple as that, because of a whole raft of issues in the planning system. The main thing we're experiencing at the moment is just the cost and time involved.' Local authority planners are one thing, but farmers face another foe when it comes to securing planning permission: the great-crested newt. This species of newt, like bats, badgers, water voles and otters, is protected by legislation including the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They are an old adversary: Boris Johnson once claimed 'newt-counting delays' were holding the country back. Rachel Reeves said that developers would no longer need to worry about 'the bats and the newts' in an attempt to kick-start Labour's ambitious house-building plans. Despite this, for farmers, they are still a going concern. Hogg says a local friend was widowed and decided to renovate an old farm building she owned that had previously been used for storage. 'She thought she would convert it back into a house and go and live in it,' he says. 'She had to apply for planning permissions, as you do, and they said you'll need to do a bat survey, an owl survey, a hedgehog survey, a crested newt survey, a toxicology report on the soil, in case there have been toxins stored in the shed, an environmental impact study… it took forever, because they said they can only do some in nesting season,' he continues. Some ecology surveys can only be done in certain seasons, which can add significant delays before an application has even been submitted. 'Eventually she got planning permission, but they said some of the wildlife surveys were now out of date, and she'd have to do them again, Hogg says. 'It cost her over £30,000 before she'd even bought a brick.' For small business owners and farmers who are short on cash, the lengthy surveys and the cost of building delays can be debilitating. These stories will likely resonate with farmers nationwide. Jeremy Clarkson was so frustrated by the red tape he encountered when he applied to build a restaurant and car park on his Diddly Squat farm near Chadlington, Oxfordshire, that he lobbied the government into changing planning laws last year. 'Clarkson's clause,' as it has been called, came into effect last May. Officially an extension of Class R and Q permitted development rights, the changes apply across all local authorities and were designed to allow farmers to diversify their businesses more easily by turning certain disused agricultural buildings into homes or shops without applying for planning permission. While this has gone some way in encouraging growth in the countryside, it does not seem to have cleared the backlog. 'I've seen a number of applications that technically should have been determined in eight weeks rumble on for 12 months or more,' says Mark Turner, a partner at Aaron & Partners solicitors who specialises in planning and the environment. 'I have, on occasion, seen applications drag on for five years.' This is an issue that the National Farmers Union (NFU) is all too aware of. In its newly published blueprint for growth, it calls on the Government to address planning delays by adequately funding the planning system and making a biodiversity net gain (BNG – a mandatory requirement in England for developers to leave the natural environment in a better state than before) exemption for development relating to agriculture. The changes permitted development rights have 'certainly provided a bit of encouragement and impetus in the industry for more diversification,' he adds, 'but the issue is still resources in local authorities – or a lack of resources. It can be difficult to get anything from them when it's needed.' Hogg says, all things considered, the situation is 'dismal'. 'Our farm will survive,' he says, 'but in an increasingly uncertain future.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Farms are told to diversify – but they can't get the planning through
Peter Hogg's family have farmed at Causey Park, near Morpeth, under huge Northumberland skies, since 1854. With his daughter now involved, he has no plans for the centuries-old family business, which he runs with his brother Stephen, to shut up shop. But it has become far more challenging. Some farms have faced the loss of entire crops over the past two years due to record rainfall. Changes to inheritance tax and farm subsidies have put more pressure on Hogg than ever before, just at the point where he is readying himself to hand the business over to the next generation. Like farmers up and down the country, Hogg, 73, has a choice. It is not enough to simply work the land: you have to diversify – find new income streams – or bust. An obvious solution to the mounting financial pressures, for Hogg, was to convert unused farm buildings into holiday accommodation. Diversifying is just 'making use of everything – I suppose it's nothing new,' he says. As well as a mixed arable, beef and sheep farm, 'when our great-grandparents bought the place, there was a sandstone quarry, a clay mine. There was a brickworks. There's been all sorts going on.' He soon found out it was not that simple. 'The difficulties with planning laws mean that businesses are held back and don't grow,' he says. Behind every farm gate, there's a glut of red tape. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has warned that farmers, and rural communities more broadly, are facing lengthy waits to secure planning permission, sometimes of five years or more. To illustrate this, the CLA sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 38 councils in rural areas. Of the 35 that replied, 14 had stalled planning applications from before 2020 still waiting for approval. Dorset council, for instance, took an average of 1,372 days, or three years and nine months, to issue a decision. In one case in south Norfolk, a 2007 application for a recreational fishing lake took seven years to process before apparently stalling in 2014. Victoria Vyvyan, the CLA's president, said 'our planning system is in crisis and it's stagnating growth in the countryside.' In Hogg's case, an application to turn a disused farm building into a B&B took 18 months because of a quibble over adding a sunroom. 'It was exactly where there was a building that my father knocked off about 40 years ago. So we just thought, 'oh, we'll stick it back on,'' he continues. 'The planners came along and said, 'you need planning permission for that.' It took 18 months and £8,000 in planning fees, architectural drawings, building inspection fees and god knows what to get it through, and then once it was done, it cost £800 and a fortnight to put the thing up.' The majority of farmers have no choice but to turn to other sources of income, and are being actively encouraged to diversify their businesses: most commonly by letting out buildings for non-agricultural use, selling produce or, like Hogg, providing holiday accommodation. In most cases, it is no longer enough to work the land: government figures show that in 2023-24, even before sweeping reforms to inheritance tax were enacted, 30 per cent of farms in the UK failed to make a profit. 'You're trying to do your best to run a business, and then in every way they're putting blocks in front of you,' Hogg says. 'There's a load of bureaucracy in the way. We're trying to work our way towards being sustainable [as a business].' But the local authority's planning system makes this far harder than it needs to be. Henry Doble is the associate director of rural planning consultancy Acorus and advises farmers on a daily basis. 'On the one hand, you've got government ministers coming out and saying, 'well, tough, the inheritance tax [rise] has come in and you'd better go out and diversify',' he says. 'But it's not actually as simple as that, because of a whole raft of issues in the planning system. The main thing we're experiencing at the moment is just the cost and time involved.' Local authority planners are one thing, but farmers face another foe when it comes to securing planning permission: the great-crested newt. This species of newt, like bats, badgers, water voles and otters, is protected by legislation including the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They are an old adversary: Boris Johnson once claimed ' newt-counting delays ' were holding the country back. Rachel Reeves said that developers would no longer need to worry about ' the bats and the newts ' in an attempt to kick-start Labour's ambitious house-building plans. Despite this, for farmers, they are still a going concern. Hogg says a local friend was widowed and decided to renovate an old farm building she owned that had previously been used for storage. 'She thought she would convert it back into a house and go and live in it,' he says. 'She had to apply for planning permissions, as you do, and they said you'll need to do a bat survey, an owl survey, a hedgehog survey, a crested newt survey, a toxicology report on the soil, in case there have been toxins stored in the shed, an environmental impact study… it took forever, because they said they can only do some in nesting season,' he continues. Some ecology surveys can only be done in certain seasons, which can add significant delays before an application has even been submitted. 'Eventually she got planning permission, but they said some of the wildlife surveys were now out of date, and she'd have to do them again, Hogg says. 'It cost her over £30,000 before she'd even bought a brick.' For small business owners and farmers who are short on cash, the lengthy surveys and the cost of building delays can be debilitating. These stories will likely resonate with farmers nationwide. Jeremy Clarkson was so frustrated by the red tape he encountered when he applied to build a restaurant and car park on his Diddly Squat farm near Chadlington, Oxfordshire, that he lobbied the government into changing planning laws last year. ' Clarkson's clause,' as it has been called, came into effect last May. Officially an extension of Class R and Q permitted development rights, the changes apply across all local authorities and were designed to allow farmers to diversify their businesses more easily by turning certain disused agricultural buildings into homes or shops without applying for planning permission. While this has gone some way in encouraging growth in the countryside, it does not seem to have cleared the backlog. 'I've seen a number of applications that technically should have been determined in eight weeks rumble on for 12 months or more,' says Mark Turner, a partner at Aaron & Partners solicitors who specialises in planning and the environment. 'I have, on occasion, seen applications drag on for five years.' This is an issue that the National Farmers Union (NFU) is all too aware of. In its newly published blueprint for growth, it calls on the Government to address planning delays by adequately funding the planning system and making a biodiversity net gain (BNG – a mandatory requirement in England for developers to leave the natural environment in a better state than before) exemption for development relating to agriculture. The changes permitted development rights have 'certainly provided a bit of encouragement and impetus in the industry for more diversification,' he adds, 'but the issue is still resources in local authorities – or a lack of resources. It can be difficult to get anything from them when it's needed.' Hogg says, all things considered, the situation is 'dismal'. 'Our farm will survive,' he says, 'but in an increasingly uncertain future.'
