May seems to have crept up on us. We are now well into Spring 2024 and looking towards the summer months, which will hopefully bring us brighter and more promising weather! Typically, Spring has always been a busy time of year for the Agricultural Team, who are normally occupied with submitting Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) claims on behalf of clients before the May deadline. As BPS is gradually phased out between 2024-2027 with the replacement of de-linked payments, the Agricultural Team are no longer required to make BPS claims on behalf of clients from 2024 onwards, however exciting new instructions across all areas of our professional work means that we remain extremely busy and this shows no signs of slowing down.

In particular, we were pleased to have launched three exciting new properties to the market at the end of April:

• 114.90 acres (46.50 hectares) of commercial and productive grade 2 arable land at Thurleigh, Bedfordshire – available as a whole or in 2 lots and offered with a Guide Price of £1,200,000 for the Whole - Bletsoes Sales Particulars - Land at Thurleigh.pdf
• 298.32 acres (120.71 hectares) of commercial and productive arable land at Broughton, Cambridgeshire – available as whole or in 6 lots and offered with a Guide Price of £2,870,000 for the Whole - Sales Particulars - Land at Broughton, Cambridgeshire.pdf
• 0.64 acres (0.26 hectares) of Paddock Land off Walgrave Road, Old, Northamptonshire, suitable for a variety of uses and may have longer-term development potential subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents – available as a whole and offered with a Guide Price of £75,000 - Land off Walgrave Road - Sales Particulars.pdf

Although these properties have only recently been launched, they have generated a significant number of enquiries from a range of prospective purchasers. The interest received demonstrates the continued confidence in the agricultural land market. The forthcoming general election, may of course bring uncertainty to some, but the fact remains that the market is showing no signs of slowing down and prices being paid for agricultural land remain at the same strong levels that were experienced in 2023. The key to achieving a successful sale of any property is working with an agent that you can trust, who understands the intricacies and nuances of the market at a ‘local scale’. As a firm founded in 1881, we have been successfully selling and purchasing agricultural land and farms on behalf of clients for more than 140 years, and we combine excellent knowledge of the land market with a tailored and individual approach that takes into account the clients objectives in order to negotiate the best possible deal. If you would like to get in touch for an informal discussion about the sale or purchase of agricultural property, please do not hesitate to contact the Agricultural team on 01832 732241 to see how we can assist you.

In other news, there have been significant changes to Permitted Development Rights which will take affect from 21^st May 2024, and these ultimately look to make it ‘easier’ for farmers and landowners to develop without requiring a full planning application. In particular, changes to Class Q (conversion of agricultural buildings to dwellinghouses) include:

• An increase in the maximum number of dwellings from 5 to 10
• An increase in the combined maximum floorspace from 865 sq.m to 1,000 sq.m, although the maximum size of any dwelling is now 150 sq.m.
• The ability to extend beyond the curtilage of the agricultural building on any hard surface by up to 4m in any direction which was present on or before 24^th July 2023.
• Buildings no longer in agricultural use may now also qualify for Class Q - buildings on an existing established agricultural unit and former agricultural buildings that were previously part of an established agricultural unit are now capable under the legislation of converting to dwellinghouses.

It is somewhat reassuring that the government are actively seeking to support farmers and landowners, and increasingly recognise the importance of farm diversification projects and the ability to utilise assets in order to generate investment for other areas of the farming business. The Agricultural Team work closely alongside our Planning and Development Team when assisting with the purchase and sale of agricultural property, as we recognise the importance of planning policy and the impact that this can have during the sales process and ultimately on values. It will be interesting to see how our clients will be able to benefit from these changes and we look forward to continuing to assist with a range of projects and schemes for new and retained clients. 

Alex Abrahams

Graduate Rural Surveyor