A major independent review commissioned by DEFRA and led by Julian Glover has called for radical shakeup of the running of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website. DEFRA will now consider the recommendations made in the review....
Farmers in parts of North Yorkshire and Wainfleet, Lincolnshire affected by flooding over the summer can now apply to the Farming Recovery Fund for grants of between £500 and £25,000 for a range of farm restoration work, including rebuilding dry stone walls, re-cultivating productive land and replacing damaged gates. Further details on how to apply are available on the GOV.UK website....
The National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB have said that at least £2.9 billion per year is needed to support nature-friendly farming in the UK post-Brexit; just under the current CAP UK budget of £3.2 billion. The charities said: "For decades, farmers have struggled within the CAP’s food and farming system that delivers little profit for their produce and few incentives to deliver positive outcomes for the environment. Once we leave the EU and these payments stop, alternative...
The Government is arranging Brexit Business Readiness Events across the UK to help you prepare, starting Monday 16 September. Join us at a free event in your area to meet government advisers and to find out what actions your business needs to take to prepare. The events will combine a keynote address, interactive support, advice stands and in-depth sessions led by subject matter experts. They will provide you with specific business-focused advice and help. Register to attend an event at:...
Following recommendations made in an independent review led by Lord Bew which was looking at what factors should be used to determine the distribution of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 'convergence' funding, the Government has confirmed it will allocate £56.59m of new funding. This should address concerns around the formula used to distribute this 'convergence' funding across the UK so that it rewards land that previously received less CAP funding per hectare than the EU average. The...
We have been told that emails continue to circulate which claim to be from the CAAV, asking members to verify their details. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THESE EMAILS - they are not from the CAAV. Please ignore and delete them.
The CAAV's Kate Russell will chair a series of seminars on Best Practice in Compulsory Purchase and Compensation this autumn in Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, London and Manchester. CAAV members are entitled to a discount when booking before 9th September 2019 by entering the discount code CAAV820. Further information can be found at https://cptevents.co.uk/event/best-practice-in-compulsory-purchase-and-compensation-1...
There appear to be fake emails circulating which purport to be from the CAAV, asking members to validate their details for our database. These emails were not sent by the CAAV and members are advised not to respond to it. We recommend that members ignore the request and delete the email.
The Government has announced an independently-led review of HS2 to review whether and how the scheme should proceed. The review is expected to report in autumn 2019 in order to inform the "Notice to Proceed" decision for Phase 1, which is to be made by the end of the year. Further details are available on the GOV.UK website.
As part of a wider commitment to achieving a carbon neutral water industry by 2030, English water companies have announced plans to plant 11 million trees over 6,000 hectares across England. Further information is available on the Water UK website.
The Prince's Countryside Fund has announced £50,000 of emergency funding to assist farmers and rural communities affected by the recent flooding in Reeth and Arkengarthdale, North Yorkshire. The funding is being provided via The Addington Fund. Further information is available on the Prince's Countryside Fund website. The Addington Fund is also working with Forage Aid to assist farmers whose livestock have been affected and are in need of forage and/or bedding....
£5.25m of emergency government funding has been made available to assist local communities and businesses impacted by the recent flooding at Whaley Bridge. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
With Ministerial responsibilities now being clarified following Boris Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister, the Department for Transport has confirmed that responsibility for HS2 has returned to Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, who returns to a role he held previously.
The fourth national round of funding for the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund has opened for applications today. An additional £2.5 million fund has been made available for groups of farmers and landowners to apply for financial support to work together as a facilitation group to deliver landscape-scale environmental improvements over a three year period. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website....
Following the announcement made in June, the RPA has confirmed that the Treasury-funded payments for outstanding Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship annual revenue claims 2015-2018 have now been completed. For further information, please see GOV.UK....
George Eustice has been reappointed as a DEFRA Minister. Having been a DEFRA Minister since May 2015, he resigned earlier this year over concerns relating to Brexit. Mr. Eustice replaces Robert Goodwill. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a statement in the House of Commons on the priorities for the government. The statement can be viewed on the GOV.UK website.
Following yesterday's Cabinet reshuffle which saw Michael Gove become Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Teresa Villiers has been confirmed as the new Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Boris Johnson has delivered his first speech as Prime Minister this afternoon. The transcript of the speech is available on the GOV.UK website.
Boris Johnson has been elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party and will take over as Prime Minister later this week. The ballot results were: Johnson - 92,153 and Hunt - 46,656. Further details are available on the BBC News website.
Education is crucial to agriculture’s future, says CAAV Educating the younger generation and embracing technology will be crucial to safeguarding the future of agriculture in the UK, a group of professionals has warned. The approach taken towards attracting young people to pursue an education and career in farming needs to change to ensure the industry can survive, said speakers at the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers’ (CAAV) AGM on June 28. “The industry needs more...
New Part-Time Master’s Course in Rural Land and Business Management University of Reading The University of Reading has now approved a part-time two year version of its Master’s course in Rural Land and Business Management which can be taken in conjunction with work. It is now available for applications for September this year, subject to numbers. The course is aimed at those already working in the rural sector who want to improve their career prospects by further study on an...
Natural England has declared Bolton Fell and Walton Mosses as a new National Nature Reserve in Cumbria. Located near Carlisle, Natural England's press release confirms that the new reserve encompasses the recently restored Bolton Fell Moss Site of Special Sceintific Interest (SSSI) and the pristine condition Walton Fell Moss SSSI. Further information can be found on GOV.UK.
Many members will make use of the RICS/RAU Rural Market Survey, which is the longest running independent survey of land transactions in the rural market. The survey is produced half yearly and the survey team, which is led by Nick Millard at the RAU, is collecting data for the first 6 months of 2019 now for publication at the end of July. The survey is in two parts: - the list of transactions, which is of particular interest to practitioners; and - the opinion survey which, conversely, is of...
DEFRA has announced today that Environmental Stewardship (ES) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreement holders who have not as yet received a full payment for 2015-2018 annual revenue claims should receive a Treasury-funded payment in July whilst the RPA continues to process these annual revenue claims. This payment should be for 100% of the estimated claim value held on the RPA's IT system at the point in time the payment is made. Emails and letters from the RPA should start going out this...
Please note that this website is being updated on Wednesday, 19th June 2019, and you may encounter some minor interference whilst navigating the site. We thank you for your patience and trust you will not encounter too much inconvenience.
DEFRA has announced that three new general licences will be available from Friday 14th June. The new licences will allow users to control certain species of wild birds in order to: conserve wild birds and flora or fauna (WML GL34) preserve public health or public safety (WML GL35) prevent serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters (WML GL36) Further detail is available on the GOV.UK website....
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has announced that the UK will work towards a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Legislation has been laid today to set this target in law. For further information, please see DEFRA's blog on GOV.UK.
The Judicial Appointments Commission is advertising posts for fee-paid Professional Members of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The application process will open on 10th July and close on 24th July 2019. Details can be found on the JAC website at https://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/vacancies/136 The JAC is also advertising for fee-paid Valuer Chairmen and Valuers for the same Tribunal - the closing date for these posts is 19th June 2019 and details can be found at...
HS2 has published a website giving information on the progress of the scheme in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, including contact details, forthcoming events and details of the works currently being carried out. The website can be found at https://hs2inbucksandoxfordshire.commonplace.is/
The Environment Agency has warned landowners to be aware that criminal gangs may seek to use land or buildings to store baled waste temporarily but then abandon the site, leaving the landowner facing the clean-up costs. The EA has given the following advice for landlords and landowners: Carry out rigorous checks on prospective new tenants. Land and property owners have a responsibility to ensure anyone leasing their land/premises complies with regulations, so it is essential that you...
The Scottish Rural Payments and Services website will be unavailble from midnight on Friday 31st May to midnight on Sunday 2nd June to allow for routine maintenance.
The Ecosystems Knowledge Network is offering a Natural Capital Management Training Course for rural land owners, estate managers and their advisers. The course is to be held on 3rd July 2019 at Throws Farm Conference Centre, Essex, CM6 3AQ on 25th September 2019 at Lilleshall National Sports & Conference Centre, Shropshire, TF10 9AT The cost is £275 and CAAV members are entitled to a 20% discount. Further details are available on the EKN website....
NEW UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ESTATE MANAGEMENT COURSE RURAL ROUTE FOR CHARTERED SURVEYOR DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP A second degree apprenticeship course giving entry to the rural profession is starting this autumn at the University College of Estate Management (UCEM) at Reading. With the course at Harper Adams now entering its second year, the UCEM course, developed in conjunction with professional practices: leads to a Real Estate degree, not a specifically rural one but with a rural...
DEFRA has announced a new Urban Tree Challenge Fund which will see £10 million funding made available to encourage the planting of more than 130,000 trees in "green urban areas" across England's towns and cities over the next two years. The fund will open for applications this week and will require match funding from successful applicants. Further information can be found on GOV.UK....
DEFRA has published the first progress report for the 25 Year Environment Plan which was launched in January 2018. The progress report shows that up to March 2019, 90% of the plan's actions have been delivered or are being progressed. Further details can be found in the press release on GOV.UK.
A new farmer-led initiative to drive low-carbon, environmentally sustainable farming practices in Scotland has been launched as part of the Farming for a Better Climate (FFBC) programme. Further information is available on the Scottish Government website.
With just over one week until 15 May deadline for BPS 2019 claims, the CAAV's Alice De Soer gives essential tips about applying in England in the attached Farmers Weekly article.
The House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy has published a report calling on the Government to develop a rural strategy for England and help realise the potential of rural economies. The report "Time for a Strategy for the Rural Economy" can be downloaded from the Parliament website.
Two new Surveyor Members are sought for the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), with one to start in 2019 and the other in 2020. Full details are available on the Judicial Appointments Commission website and the closing date for applications for both posts is 7th May 2019. Although some cases are heard in London and others elsewhere in England and Wales, home-working is permitted and daily attendance in London is not required....