RUGBY Offices

Private Client Department, Address: 16 Church Street, RUGBY, CV21 3PW, Telephone: + 44 (0) 1788 579 579, Fax: +44 (0) 1788 570 949

Conveyancing Department, Address: 26 Regent Street, RUGBY, CV21 2PS, Telephone: + 44 (0) 1788 551 611, Fax: + 44 (0) 1788 551 597

Commercial/ Wills, Trusts & Probate Departments, Address: The Robbins Building, 25 Albert Street, RUGBY, CV21 2SD, Telephone: + 44 (0) 1788 579 579, Fax: + 44 (0) 1788 552 888

LONDON Offices

2nd Floor Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6BD, Telephone enquiries: +44 (0) 2078876590, Fax number: +44 (0) 207 8876001

BANBURY Offices

Strathmore House, Waterperry Court, Middleton Road, BANBURY, OX16 4QD, General Telephone enquires: + 44 (0) 1295 270999

AgriFILE August 2011

 


New Trainee Solicitor joins the firm


Ben Brassington has recently joined Brethertons as a trainee solicitor after having completed the Legal Practice Course with The College of Law, Chester.

Ben is a partner in his family’s dairy farming business. As an active dairy farmer Ben is well aware of the current practical issues affecting landowners, tenants, farmers and individuals within the rural community and able to provide prompt, proactive and practical legal assistance to businesses and individuals.

 


Blakesley Show


Once again, Brethertons are pleased to be attending Blakesley Show on the 6th August at Hootons Farm in Northamptonshire.

Blakesley Show is an extremely popular event with something interesting for everyone who enjoys the countryside, including livestock and horse showing, terrier racing, heavy horses as well as a variety of displays in the main and surrounding rings. The show is well supported by local and regional businesses and Brethertons are proud to be involved in the show this year.  In our marquee there will be free refreshments, a pig roast, drinks supplied by Hook Norton Brewery and exciting entertainment. Come along and see us, we hope to see many of you there!

 


The Breakfast Club


Brethertons Breakfast Club had over 50 people attend their event earlier this summer at the Upton Estate which sits on the Oxfordshire / Warwickshire border between Banbury and Stratford Upon Avon.

Farming remains the principal activity on the Estate and working in conjunction with the Wildlife Farming Company (WFC), Upton Estate provides a ground for environmental trials on behalf of organisations such as DEFRA, Natural England and Centre of Ecology and Hydrology.  Upton Estate also offers; Commercial and Residential Lets, Thoroughbred Stud, Racing Yard, Conference facilities, Events Field, and an In hand farming enterprise.

An enjoyable morning was had by all who attended. The short tractor and trailer tour of the Estate seemed to prove rather popular for the attendees.

 


Future Event – Farming Family Fireworks


Following the success of our Agri Horror stories seminar last December, we are pleased to confirm that we will be holding our Agricultural Farming Family Fireworks seminar this year in early November.

Details will follow shortly, watch this space!

 


HMRC Sees sense over Farmhouse


Farmers will give a sigh of relief following a decision of the First Tier Tribunal in a case in which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) attempted to deny Agricultural Property Relief (APR) for Inheritance Tax (IHT) on a farmhouse.

APR operates to exempt wholly or partially the agricultural value of an agricultural property from IHT in situations in which a chargeable transfer would otherwise occur. The relief includes ‘any farmhouses, cottages or buildings, which are of a character appropriate to the property’.

The Tribunal concluded that, based on the history of the agricultural holding, the three-bedroom farmhouse should qualify.

The HMRC guidance states that ‘Normally a farm cottage or farmhouse occupied by someone who is not employed in agriculture will not qualify for relief. By concession, a cottage occupied by a retired farm employee or their widow, widower or surviving civil partner is treated as being occupied for agricultural purposes if either:
 
the occupier is a statutorily protected tenant; or the occupation is under a lease granted to the farm employee for his or her life, and that of any surviving spouse or civil partner, as part of the employee's contract of employment by the landlord for agricultural purposes.’

It was the ‘character appropriate’ restriction that was seized upon by HMRC to contest the claim for APR, the tax man arguing that the property was not appropriate for a 16-acre smallholding.

 


Home on the Farm Policy to tackle Rural Housing


The availability of affordable housing in rural areas has been a problem for many years, with young people often having to move away in order to find employment that will enable them to get on the housing ladder.

Such housing as is available in the countryside is often bought as holiday or weekend homes by people from outside the area, keeping the cost of housing unaffordable for those employed locally and, in some cases, causing the creation of ‘ghost villages’; which are virtually deserted a lot of the time, especially on weekdays in the winter. The effect on the local retail economy can also be devastating.

In a bid to combat these issues, the Government has suggested that councils in rural areas consider changing their planning policies to allow unused farm buildings to be converted to use for residential purposes, rather than insisting that they only be used as farm buildings.

This idea is part of the 'Home on the Farm' scheme, the aim of which is to turn unused farm buildings into affordable housing. It is hoped that young families will thereby be able to remain in their local communities, rather than having to move to cities to find housing.

The Government hopes to adopt the scheme nationally. It has been outlined in the Government's response to the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's report into farming in England's upland areas.