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diversification & planning

Diversification

The rural way of life has changed dramatically over the last thirty years and many farms and rural businesses have had to adapt and evolve their enterprises to ensure their continued growth, and in some cases, existence. We have been active in advising farmers on how to manage the changes in the rural economy and to make the most of their assets. Diversification is often the only way to keep a healthy balance sheet, and we can advise on different options including the conversion of buildings to residential and holiday lets, business units or storage (including preparing and submitting planning applications and all subsidiary reports as required), changes in farming practices such as joining agri-environment schemes or conversion to organic status, investing in systems to add value to existing products, such as making cheese, butchery and marketing of specialist products, or even adding fishing lodges to an existing fishing day ticket business.

In some cases rural businesses have made changes to their working practices without fully realising the planning consents required to operate legally, and we are experienced in handling appeals against Enforcement Notices, including preparing full Agricultural Need Assessments or Business Need Assessments to support the appeal.

Planning

We can provide planning advice to help maximise the value of property assets, which might include obtaining planning consents for development land, barn conversions and agricultural dwellings. We can also advise upon change of use applications and listed building consent.

These services can include expert witness reports, Agricultural Need Assessments and environmental impact assessments as well as full drawings for planning applications, Design & Access Statements and arranging for all other necessary reports such as Wildlife and Traffic Surveys.

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