News

A Tamworth potato processor has been fined £6,500 for a pollution incident killing over 450 fish. The company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations, 2010. A total financial penalty of £21,264 was imposed on the company which included a contribution to prosecution costs of £10,000. The pollution resulted from a split pipe pumping into the lagoon, and a crude attempt had been made to repair it. This was discharging into a ditch then...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 8th July 2021. Government announcements will see yet more focus not only on mitigating climate change (just now modelled by the Office for Budget Responsibility to cost Government less than its Covid measures) but also on adapting to and preparing for the new conditions. The UK, leaning into the Atlantic at median latitudes, appears better buffered from extreme change than many parts of the world but that is relative. The...

On 6th July, The Welsh Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, set out an “ambitious three-pronged approach” to address the impact of second home ownership on Wales’ communities. The three-pronged approach will focus on: support - addressing affordability and availability of housing,regulatory framework and system - covering planning law and the introduction of a statutory registration scheme for holiday accommodation; anda fairer contribution - using national and local taxation...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 1st July 2021. Seven months after the Agriculture Act and England’s Agricultural Transition Plan with its new schemes, DEFRA has published its approach to payments for environmental land management above the regulatory baseline. The Welsh Government has talked of payments appropriate for the value of environmental services achieved. Both have high ambitions to achieve real environmental improvement, knowing that needs a new...

DEFRA is running three webinars to talk through its proposals in the lump sum exit scheme and delinking consultation with the opportunity to ask questions. The links to each webinar are: Tuesday 6th July 15:00-16:00 - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/defra-lump-sum-exit-scheme-delinking-consultation-webinar-tickets-160972076815 Wednesday 7th July 16:00-17:00 - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/defra-lump-sum-exit-scheme-delinking-consultation-webinar-tickets-161202572233 Thursday 8th...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 24th June 2021. In the more agricultural world of two hundred years ago, the economist David Ricardo summarised pricing in a market economy: “Corn is not high because rent is paid, but rent is paid because corn is high.” The price of corn rises with the demand for it since, in Adam Smith’s phrase of forty years earlier, “Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production”. Production has no value unless...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 17th June 2021. The completion of the tenancy legislation for England under the Agriculture Act 2020 has prompted a new edition of the CAAV’s Schedule of Time Limits for Valuers and a moment for reflection before it goes to members with the News Letter, the Agricultural Tenancies Update and Value to an Incoming Tenant. There is continuity. With statutory tenancy regimes, previous Schedules have long aided members since...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 10th June 2021. The CAAV’s Annual National Conference, being held virtually on Thursday 24th June with support from the AMC, McParland Finn and Michelmores, is one key part of the Association’s life. Ordinarily, it is a major opportunity for renewing fellowship with other members and guests from across the country and further afield. As a conference, it covers current subjects with either a range or a focus that takes...

The Scottish Land Commission has launched a campaign aiming to connect people to the land around them, using inspiring stories to show how Scotland’s land ownership, use and management impacts the lives of the public. See the Scottish Land Commission website for more detail.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 27th May 2021. With new tenancy regulations published on Tuesday, this part of the Agriculture Act is now complete for England. Welsh regulations are expected as the newly elected Senedd gets to work. These Regulations set out the Act’s tenancy changes that most directly bear on England’s Agricultural Transition Plan’s two goals: a competitive agriculture and environmental improvement. Three years notice is given for...

The Environment Bill has today (26th May) returned to Parliament for Report Stage and Third Reading in the House of Commons. See the press release for more detail.

The Government is inviting local authorities in England and Wales to bid for up to £100,000 of funding to help develop their capacity to enforce the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in the private rental sector. A lack of resources has been cited as one reason for the lack of policing of compliance with the Regulations to date....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 20th May 2021. Past the mourning for the Duke of Edinburgh, the purdah for devolved and local elections and Queen’s Speech, DEFRA policy statements are now coming thick and fast. The policies proposed in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the 2018 Health and Harmony paper are now becoming real, demonstrating the importance of advice to clients navigating the new world. Tuesday saw: the Tree Action Plan with plans...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 13th May 2021. The Queen’s Speech is both ritual and manifesto, bringing the Lord and Commons together for an outline of the Government’s intended legislation and policies for the coming year. Tuesday’s Speech can be seen as the real start of this Government’s busy domestic programme, eighteen months after its election, having been preoccupied with Brexit and the pandemic, albeit with the Agriculture Act done. Now...