Bm ruraloutlook 2014 singlepages

1RURAL OUTLOOK

Summer 2014

Rural Outlook

Planning proposalsBatcheller Monkhouse covers them all

Estate Succession Planning

Residential Development

CAP Reform

Tackling this thorny issue

How best to promote your land

Practical advice on implementation

Telecoms world moving fast againBut don’t believe everything you’re told

The Wotton EstateFrom Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II

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AMC available locally

INVEST IN YOURFUTURE

Batcheller Monkhouse are long-established AMC agents covering Kent, Sussex andSurrey. We can assist you with securing a flexible and highly competitive AMC loan tohelp you buy, run or improve your business.

To discuss your requirements please contact:

Leo Hickish FRICS MBIACTel 01892 509281 Email [email protected]

Andrew Sadler FRICS FAAVTel 01444 412402 Email [email protected]

Martin Sadler FRICS FAAVTel 01798 877555 Email [email protected]

Batcheller Monkhouse Advert:Poster template.qxd 13/05/2013 16:06 Page 1

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3RURAL OUTLOOK

It is traditional, in such introductions, to talk about the challenges and pressure on the rural economy. True, we have endured another dreadful winter and we face some uncertainty in policy as we move inexorably towards the General Election in 2015. For once however it is not a question of how property owners and occupiers cope in challenging time, but rather a question of how to focus the right resources in the right direction. I would like to quote a few examples in particular:

Firstly, we have a planning system which, despite, rather than because of, almost constant government intervention is starting to deliver results. Land is being allocated for major development right across the South East. Making sure that our clients’ hats are firmly in the ring is a challenge to say the least. At the other end of the spectrum, as we go to press we are absorbing the implications of the new Permitted Development rights on conversion of agricultural buildings. Perhaps this can be the fillip that land owners have been looking for: that is to say, a means of raising capital to help re-invest in the myriad opportunities out there, or to tackle the not-uncommon issue of lack of investment in farm infrastructure. Just how old are those ‘modern’ farm buildings?

On the farming front we are at last in the back straight so far as the introduction of the new Basic Payments Scheme is concerned. As always with DEFRA, we will need to be vigilant, but at least most of the uncertainty is over. The new CAP brings with it some interesting opportunities, not least further grant funding.

Market prices for farmland continue to rise; with continued interest from investors and “roll-over” money from development land sales we expect to see values continue to increase throughout the year. It should therefore be no surprise to hear that HMRC are increasingly interested in land-based transactions in terms of both potential tax revenue from Capital Gains Tax, and Inheritance Tax.

Overall, the message is one of optimism and opportunity, coupled with a need to remain ever vigilant to opportunities and threats to your farming or property enterprise.

Head of Professional Services Tunbridge Wells

Leo HickishPartner

Keeping you in the picture

4 10 POINTS OF NOTE

10 Points of note

‘LEADER’ FUNDING

DEFRA has indicated that the funding for LEADER groups, for individuals or community groups to establish new businesses in rural areas, will be in place by January 2015. The funding will total £140 million – which is to be welcomed. Top priorities are improving farm productivity and diversification, as well as small and micro start-ups. DEFRA says that approximately 70% of the money will part-fund activities which directly support the rural economy, and the remaining 30% will need to ‘make a contribution’ to it. Now is not too soon to start to consider possible applications to ensure you can submit one as soon as the scheme opens.

AGRICULTURE-TO-RESIDENTIAL CHANGE OF USE

The government’s changes to the planning system - to allow better use of redundant and under-used agricultural buildings – are now in force. We all know that the UK needs more housing stock, and thoughtfully-converted buildings can be very attractive to house-buyers, as well as an excellent source of revenue for landowners. Under the new rules up to 450 square metres of buildings can be converted to provide a maximum of three dwellings. The buildings can only be converted, not demolished and re-built. Not all locations are suitable and one needs to think carefully about impact on the retained property and consider possible tax liabilities.

THE GREEN DEAL

Some privately rented properties can benefit from the Green Deal if both tenant and landlord agree to the work being done. Using a Green Deal assessor will cost around £100, and the work is paid for by the tenant through their electricity bills – though that increase should not be higher than the savings made in reduced energy loss. This scheme will work best for longer-term tenancies where the property has a cavity wall, though solid wall insulation is still possible.

BUILDINGS INSURANCE

The winter floods have turned the attention of rural property owners to their insurance cover – and that’s no bad thing. It is a good idea to double-check replacement and reinstatement values annually, and don’t forget to include associated costs such as professional fees and VAT. If you own a Listed property, or even a Listed feature such as a garden, an ancillary building or even a historic wall, costs will be higher. The same is true of any historic elements, even if they are not Listed by English Heritage. It is worth also considering putting your policy out to competitive tender every few years.

VAT ON STORAGE

All farmers and land-owners must be aware that since 1 October 2012 VAT has been payable on lettings of buildings for storage, if the structure in question has closed sides. This is old news, but what is new is HMRC’s vigilance on the subject. VAT is payable at 20%. If in doubt, do have a word with a professional advisor, who can clarify the position, and help you avoid any penalties imposed by the VAT inspectors.

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ENTITLEMENT ROLLOVER

Entitlements bought in 2014 will roll over into the new CAP scheme. Good news indeed for all farmers and landowners who have taken possession of land and farms in recent years.

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5RURAL OUTLOOK

10 Points of note

4 RIGHTS OF WAY

Rights of way are often as thorny as a hawthorn hedge, so don’t forget that since 1 October 2013 landowners have been able to re-dedicate rights of way over their land. Failing to do so can cause a bit of annoyance, at best, and a loss in land values if walkers or other users are able to claim multiple or diverse rights of way, at worst. Any mapping done now remains valid for twenty years, so it’s only a once-in-a-generation task. Be aware though that county councils can charge £500 and more for their services, provided that they are ‘reasonable’.

VAT AND SHOOTING

Sadly, the days when the head keeper could hand out half a sovereign and a piece of game pie to the beaters at the end of a day’s shoot are long gone. HMRC has issued new guidelines to shoots, and no one is surprised that cash payments are specifically mentioned. Records need to be kept, and the HMRC may well follow these up - with particular regard to the beaters’ personal taxation.

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7 9 THE RENEWABLE

HEAT INCENTIVE

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is the world’s first long-term financial support programme for renewable heat. The non-domestic scheme has been in place since 2011. The Domestic RHI was launched on 9 April 2014 and is open to homeowners, private landlords, social landlords and self-builders. The new scheme will be available to help cover the cost of installing biomass boilers, ground or air source heat pumps as well as solar thermal panels. The domestic RHI will pay as an ongoing income based on a tariff per unit of heat generated over a seven year period.108

GREY SQUIRRELS

Much of the region has experienced a very mild but very wet winter. Apart from regional flooding, a further downside is that you may see increased numbers of grey squirrels in your woodland. As ever, trapping, shooting and baiting are the best methods of reducing their numbers, preferably before they do too much damage. The European Union are currently considering a ban on warfarin.

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6 FARMLAND & COUNTRY ESTATES

There is of course one question which everybody asks me, and that is “What’s the state of the market?”. Right now that is easily answered. I can sum it up in two words “very robust”.

Land values have been increasing steadily over the last ten years, and prices didn’t drop during the recession. The demand for

farms and rural houses with a good holding of land within Sussex and Surrey is very strong, and there is undeniably an excess of demand over supply.

In terms of open market values, commercial blocks of arable land are fetching around £8,000 an acre, pasture land is worth about £7,000 an acre, and smaller parcels around £12,000 per acre. I’m seeing larger blocks of commercial woodland sell for about £5,000 an acre, and smaller parcels of amenity land are fetching in the region of £8,000 an acre.

The noticeable strength in the current marketplace is coming from wealthy individuals who are looking to invest in land. Agricultural land and woodland is attractive because it is such a solid and stable investment, and of course because of the inheritance

tax advantages. Many of these purchasers do not come from an agricultural background but simply want to add strength to their portfolio. They also find that letting farms and land is more attractive with the flexibility that Farm Business Tenancies can offer.

In many cases though, as well as the investment in land, these buyers are looking for a substantial and attractive house. In these cases the character of the house is important, and it is an advantage if it sits in the middle of its land and provides privacy and a higher than usual degree of security.

For wealthy buyers who want to live within their own rural surroundings, Sussex and Surrey are ideal. They can enjoy the fine countryside, whilst pursuing equestrian or other rural activities, and yet communications to London and abroad are excellent, providing all round cultural opportunities. In addition the South Coast is close at hand.

The high end of the country house market has been slightly unsettled, although this is showing signs of improvement along with the rest of the residential market, reflecting the strength in the farm and estate market place. Good farms and estates are selling rapidly, and we have recently handled the sale of a delightful Sussex farmhouse with a holding of about 140 acres, that came on the market in the autumn of last year and found its buyer at Christmas.

Farmland & Country Estates are well positioned

SOLD

The noticable strength in the

current marketplace is coming from wealthy individuals who are looking to invest

in land.

Russell ParkesPartner

So says Russell Parkes MRICS FAAV, Partner with Batcheller Monkhouse, specialising in valuations and sales of farmland from the Pulborough office

7RURAL OUTLOOK

Good farms and estates are selling fairly rapidly too. We have recently handled the sale of a delightful Sussex farmhouse with a holding of about 140 acres; that came on the market in the autumn of last year and found its buyer at Christmas.

One effect of the recession was that people who had plans in mind decided to hold tight for a while, and see which way the wind would blow. We have seen families moving out of London to country homes in this part of the market, and the bread-winner still commuting, but less so than you might have thought - for now at least. I think it’s likely that the trend towards setting up a substantial rural base and then either commuting or keeping a pied-a-terre will grow.

The farm and estate market will stay strong, so far as anyone can see, and prices will edge up over the next few years. In this part of the market, in short, there’s nothing but good news.

SOLD

The noticable strength in the

current marketplace is coming from wealthy individuals who are looking to invest

in land.

£0

£2,000

£4,000

£6,000

£8,000

£10,000

Grasslandmore than 10 Acres

Grassland less than 10 Acres

Woodland less than 10 Acres

WoodlandArable

£12,000

Land Prices 2014 Per Acre

8 WOTTON ESTATE

From Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II

The Wotton Estate, which sits four miles west of Dorking, has been owned by the Evelyn family since 1579. The family’s fortunes were originally based on the manufacture of gunpowder. George Evelyn, born in 1526, secured a hugely lucrative royal monopoly to make gunpowder – thanks to the saltpetre mines he had judiciously acquired in Kent and Surrey. Previously gunpowder had been almost entirely imported, and having a domestic supply was obviously a great advantage.

Wotton was just one of seven large manors which George Evelyn and his son, Richard - acquired, originally totalling 7,000 acres in all. George was a fascinating and entrepreneurial Elizabethan, who married twice and fathered the astonishing total of twenty four children.

Richard’s son George inherited the estate on his death. His younger brother John (1620-1706) was the famous diarist, whose work chronicled some of the most turbulent times in English history. John was a highly cultured gentleman,

a respected linguist, and a founding member of the Royal Society. He was a noted sylviculturalist and gardener, and his friends included Samuel Pepys, Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren.

George died without a male heir and John inherited the estate at the age of seventy-eight. From that point onwards the estate descended through the male line without interruption until the early Nineteenth century. There was one slight shift out and in again from the direct line during the reign of George III, but that apart, the estate has followed the line of primogeniture to this day.

The current owner, Patrick Evelyn inherited in 1965, then aged twenty-five, the estate at that time being in relatively run-down condition, and he has dedicated himself to putting it in good order.

Wotton is almost exactly equally split between farmland and woodland, and includes a large number of cottages, which are very popular with existing and potential tenants. Wotton House –‘the big house’ – has not been occupied by the family since 1945. Sitting right in the centre of the estate, the original house was much altered over the years, but was completely re-modelled in the ‘Jacobethan’ style in the Nineteenth century by Patrick Evelyn’s great-grandfather, who re-built many buildings on the estate. During the Second World War it was used, firstly, as a school, and was then requisitioned for use by the Canadian army. As was almost always the case, military use had a very deleterious effect on the house.

In 1947 the house was leased by the Ministry of Works as a training college for the Fire Service. At this point the house spread over 30,000 square feet, and accommodation blocks and other outbuildings totalled 40,000 square feet.

Philip Trower FRICS Partner

The Wotton Estate has been in the Evelyn family since Elizabethan times, and has been a client of Batcheller Monkhouse and its previous incarnations since about 1900. The firm’s partner with the longest involvement with the estate is Philip Trower FRICS.

9RURAL OUTLOOK

Dorking

London

Tunbridge Wells

Haywards HeathBattle

Pulborough

Wotton was just one of seven large manors which George Evelyn and his son, Richard, acquired - originally totalling

7,000 acres in all.

The house continued in this role for many years; but in the early Eighties the fire service moved out and training was concentrated at the base near Moreton-in-Marsh. There was still nine years of the lease left to run and, conveniently, it was taken over by British Telecom for their training needs.

In 1986 the lease was handed back and in 1987 the building started a new life as a hotel and conference centre. It has been extended considerably since then and is still part of the estate – its long lease now being owned by the American ‘Starwood’ group (the new-build on the hotel totalled 70,000 square feet and it has more than one hundred bedrooms). The family now live elsewhere in other properties on the estate.

The estate has farms and a large number of cottages which are let out. When Patrick Evelyn came to the estate almost fifty years ago few cottages had indoor bathrooms, or indoor sanitation. Mr Evelyn undertook a long programme of updating and improvement, but with such a large portfolio of properties not everything could be done at once, and there was something of a ‘painting the Forth Bridge situation’ – once all the updating was completed it was in effect time to start again at the beginning and a constant programme is in hand.

In the 1960s the income from the let farms was worthwhile but the rents on the cottages could be as little as £1 a week. Most of these were let on Rent Act tenancies, which could be inherited – without much in the way of improvements in rent. One government initiative which made a big difference to this estate, as it did to so many landlords, was the Assured Shorthold Tenancies introduced in the 1988 Housing Act, which is now the most commonly-used tenancy agreement. Landlords such as the Evelyns could be assured of an almost decent return on their investment, and nowadays the rental income from the residential letting out-weighs the income from the let farms.

The estate has two chains of pools – about a dozen in each of two valleys - rising from springs on the estate. The fishing is let to a local fishing club in what is described as “a gentlemanly, low key operation”. There are also let watercress beds, and that tenant has recently diversified and created a farm shop. There are no longer any farms in hand, as there had been previously; all the land and the buildings are let.

In 1982 an almost defunct arboretum was re-established at Wotton, and with royal approval was named Prince William’s Plantation. This is a delightful addition to the estate which is now growing well. The establishment of the arboretum was prescient; the estate suffered very badly in 1987 and again in 1990 when very many mature trees were brought down by the gales. A total of 250 acres had to be completely re-planted, following what can only be described as devastation.

Batcheller Monkhouse is very proud to be associated with this historic estate, now in its fifth century of ownership by the Evelyn family.

The family’s fortunes were originally based on the

manufacture of gunpowder.

Wotton Estate

Look at development now – or wait a very long timeThanks to central government initiatives and local authority inertia the time is right to try for planning consent on your land.

No one disagrees with the premise that this country desperately needs more homes, and one of Batcheller Monkhouse’s many specialities within the Professional Services department lies in offering a comprehensive service for landowners who wish to promote their land for development – be it for a single home or hundreds.

Batcheller Monkhouse tailors the service to exactly what the client requires, and we can work on a scheme from very first principles. We can do this because we combine planning expertise, project management and rural surveying into a single team, thus ensuring planning theory results in commercial success.

The firm will look closely at a parcel of land, research what the local position is on housing, and assess the local authority’s strategy, and indeed any weaknesses. As seen in our case study, failure of one authority to demonstrate a sound five year housing supply allowed us to secure consent for up to 276 houses on un-allocated land.

There are several ways that a proposal can be structured to maximise the return and ensure the best position with regard to taxation, and Batcheller Monkhouse guides its clients through them all.

The steps along the planning road are many; they include planning constraints, access, environmental issues, and local planning policy. What can kill a proposal however is if you cannot demonstrate deliverability. Few sites are developable in isolation, and indeed larger sites are commonly more achievable than smaller sites, when LPAs are struggling to reach their housing targets. One of our chief skills is in negotiating and structuring Joint Ventures and Access Option Agreements between neighbouring landowners, who may be best served by co-operating and pooling their parcels of land to create a more viable and worthwhile proposal.

Chris Tipping MRICS FAAVAssociate

Go it alone or bring in a third party?The cost of taking a site to the submission of a planning application can be extremely expensive. Two of our recent schemes, both for approximately 250 houses, have cost between £300,000 and £500,000. Few landowners can either afford this investment or are prepared to accept the level of risk. The solution is then to consider either selling an Option or entering into a Promotion Agreement.

Under both agreements the costs and risks of going to planning are met by a third party. Under the Option however the developer has a binding right to purchase at an agreed discount from Market Value. Under a Promotion Agreement the parties work together to secure consent and then sell on the open market. The Promoter then receives his costs back plus a fee as a percentage of the sale price.

There are risks and merits to both alternatives. Our skill is in negotiating the best deal, removing areas of dispute and ensuring the landowner secures right value at the end of the day. The choice between the two is an article in itself! What is fundamentally important however is to go with a company which has both the expertise and focus to act fast and effectively.

10 DEVELOPMENT LAND

Batcheller Monkhouse recently brought together a consortium of landowners to apply for planning consent on an 11.80 hectare (29.18 acre) site to the north of Eastbourne. The proposed site had good access to the A27, was well served by local amenities, and was around forty miles from both the M25 and the M23 – with London Victoria just eighty minutes by train. Outline planning consent was gained on the site – the site is soon to be sold – within ten months of bringing the consortium together.

There were technical issues with the site; the number of houses which could be created was limited by the sewage infrastructure locally, but we were able to address that before presenting the application. We were also able to make it a truly attractive proposition, with properties ranging from one-bedroom flats to five-bedroom houses, mature trees and landscaped open areas, and even allotments. The result was that the application was immediately well received by the planners. What most impressed them was our proven ability to deliver this site for housing development if planning consent was granted.

Initially the local authority was considering a proposal for five acres. In discussions however it became apparent that they would welcome a larger proposal, if more land could be brought in. We met the original three owners and then approached two adjacent farmers. In rapid succession we were able to secure agreement in principle to a co-operative, and ultimately negotiated a legally binding Joint Venture agreement and Equalisation agreement. The firm pro-actively brought other landowners into the consortium to create a legally-binding joint venture on almost thirty acres.

The key to this project’s success was firstly the knowledge that the local authority did not have a local plan in place and could not demonstrate a sound five year housing supply. This meant that they were in a vulnerable position for a well thought-out and attractive application such as this. The second important element in the success of this site has the ability to clearly demonstrate that the project could be delivered though the Joint Venture agreement.

Case Study

11RURAL OUTLOOK

DEVELOPMENT LAND12

Site Promotion

For landowners whose assets are in remote areas within the National Park the fight might well be an unrealistic proposition, but even within the Green Belt, attempts to obtain planning consent for housing can stand a good chance of success in the current climate.

The pressure on local authorities from central government is a very important factor. Authorities have been set targets and there

are lucrative incentives on offer; a total of £900 million has been allocated under the New Homes Bonus Schemes for 2014/15 alone.

In 2011 central government brought in the Localism Act, and part of that Act replaced a thousand pages of planning guidance with just forty seven, which was a real advance. Local authorities were required to make an assessment of the housing needs over a five year period and publish a Strategic Housing Market Assessment [SHMA] and a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments [SHLAA]. The position has been helped further by other government initiatives; the Help To Buy equity loan scheme (which has just been extended to 2020), Shared Ownership, and New Buy and Help To Buy Mortgage Guarantees.

The SHMA is the council’s statement of how many new homes are needed in its area, and the purpose of the SHLAA is to identify land which can be used for that housing. Many authorities have not completed either assessment, or have generated the SHMA but not identified enough land to satisfy the target.

The government looks closely at the SHMA, and doesn’t just take it at face value. To cite a local example, Guildford assessed their housing needs recently as just over three hundred new homes per annum; the government told them to look at the figures again and the total rapidly rose to eight hundred. The lower figure did not require any use of the Green Belt, but the later figure did. Every one of those new homes needs a landowner to sell land to build the house upon.

From that point onwards, in this climate, the onus is on the landowner – and the landowner’s expert professional advisor – to move rapidly, and to demonstrate that their parcel of land is the best site available for development in terms of the environment and sustainability, as well as in planning terms. The other factor which planning officers are looking for is deliverability; all kinds of problems can arise with developments, but these can usually be foreseen, and the development proposal which succeeds will be the one with all the questions already answered. If the ownership and access is not secured and the scheme being promoted diligently, maintaining your site at the top of the ‘deliverability’ list can be almost impossible. The competition will be very quick to exploit any weaknesses in your case.

Obtaining planning consent is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for landowners, and the current climate is as good as it gets. We are urging landowners to consider promoting their land for Allocation and the possibility of applying for planning consent right now, and to come and talk to us. These conditions could easily and rapidly change, particularly after the 2015 election, and not be seen again for a very long time.

Oliver Robinson MRICSAssociate

13RURAL OUTLOOK

Ask anyone at a local planning department what is currently crowding their in-tray and you might be surprised by the diversity of the answer. It could easily range from an application to change the colour of a front door in a conservation area, or to lengthen a suburban garden wall – right up to a proposed development of a couple of hundred new homes, or a massive new industrial estate.

The breadth and depth of the advice that Batcheller Monkhouse’s planning department can offer is just as extensive. The firm deals with, quite honestly, anything and everything – from that garden wall right up to allocations of national importance. Our professionalism is second to none. There must be very few types of planning application which the firm has not encountered in the past; very few indeed! Our expertise is yours to call on at every step of the way. We talk elsewhere in this issue of Rural Outlook about some recent larger schemes, but here are just four recent examples of the planning applications which we have handled for clients locally.

Canan Clatworthy MRTPISenior Planner

Planning proposals of every size and shape

“There must be very few types of planning application which the firm

has not encountered in the past”

No matter the size or complexity of the proposal, Batcheller Monkhouse covers them all.

14 PLANNING PROPOSALS

Landing a successful result

Sophie and Keith Curtis had been running a successful business at Herstmonceux for some while, which they had bought and were developing but they ran into a complex problem. They consulted Batcheller Monkhouse asking for professional assistance in reviewing the planning situation with regard to their fishery, Brick Farm Fishing Lakes.

The site had a very complicated planning history and there were issues which Sophie and Keith had inherited from the previous owners, which were still unresolved. This needed careful thought – and indeed time for all the components to be worked through.

It was found that planning permission for the site had been granted on the basis that the Fishing Lake was run on a membership-only basis, whereas they knew that there was demand from those wishing to purchase day tickets. There were few facilities; the fishery hut was several hundred metres from the nearest lake. Another problem was that while there was a house on the site, it was too far from the water to ensure either sound management or adequate security.

In working on Sophie and Keith’s application, wider business knowledge was needed, and that called on expertise which Batcheller Monkhouse had within the firm. The staff working on this submission were able to call on colleagues to provide valuable advice as to how the owners should best proceed.

Having reviewed the planning history very carefully, assessed the merits of the business, and considered both local and National Planning Policy and guidance, Batcheller Monkhouse was successful on all 3 counts.

The fishery can now sell day tickets, a new club house with excellent catering facilities has been built by the lakes, and planning consent was secured for a new residence adjacent to the water. The result is that Sophie and Keith Curtis can now live right on top of the business and devote their time and resources to managing and expanding the business. The commercial confidence this has given them has already allowed them to build a third lake on the site, thus providing even more sport to the growing band of fly fishermen. With Batcheller Monkhouse’s help, Keith and Sophie have netted the results they needed.

A brilliant solution to a literary problem

Batcheller Monkhouse was delighted to be approached by the Headmaster of Gad’s Hill School in Kent when they required professional assistance after it had been decided that a new building was needed for their growing school.

The school had previously been named as Britain’s top-performing school by both The Times and The Daily Telegraph, and is both well known and very well regarded. The problem lay in the fact that the school’s core was a Grade I listed property; not just any property but one of national importance. For fifteen years, between 1856 and his death in 1870, it was the home of the great novelist Charles Dickens.

Dickens had first set eyes on the house when he was just 9 years old. He commented on it to his father, who told him that if he became rich and successful he might one day live in just such a house. At the age of 44 he didn’t buy “just such a house”; he bought that exact house (paying the very considerable sum of £1,790 for it). Dickens wrote many of his most famous novels there.

This was obviously an application which needed handling with the greatest sensitivity. There were two other complications; a number of other buildings of no great architectural merit had been built around the house over the years as the school expanded, which needed consideration – and the whole site was inside the Green Belt. As the school’s plans were regarded as “inappropriate development” for the Green Belt, that fact alone could scupper the application.

With Batcheller Monkhouse’s assistance a very creative decision was made; to move the school out of the Grade I listed building completely and use that to create a new Dickens visitor centre, and build a new school from scratch in the grounds. This was an exciting and far-sighted proposal, but it meant that the two school buildings – for the lower and upper schools – needed to be even larger.

It took time, diplomacy and the ability to give expert answers to every question at every step, but the council agreed that the proposal had special merit and consent was granted. The council did impose a special ‘S106’ agreement, and there were a number of technical issues to be addressed, but the consent was granted in 2012, and the junior school opened in 2013. Since then we have been working hard to further enhance the school. We were successful in securing planning consent for new playing fields on land adjoining the school. No mean feat given the sensitivity of the location.

Sometimes you can’t help feeling that the whole world is lined up in opposition to your plans, no matter how good you think they are. For example, imagine that you want to build a new home for a family member, but the site in question is in the High Weald, an Area Of Outstanding Beauty, and has twice been refused consent. In that situation you could either (a) decide that everything is indeed against you and you might as well give up or (b) go and talk to Batcheller Monkhouse.

Fortunately our client opted for the second choice, and we undertook a detailed review of the case. The proposal was for a new two-bedroom house next to an existing house in Cranbrook, Kent – between Maidstone and Hastings.

The objections to the proposal included the argument that the new house would adversely affect the existing street scene and the building would not relate well to the existing properties. The Planning Inspector had accepted the need for the new home, but the application had been denied consent on those grounds. Our client had gone to appeal, but that too had failed.

We fully accepted that the National Planning Policy Framework states unequivocally that local planning authorities should oppose any inappropriate development which may cause harm to the local area, and we submitted a revised proposal which we believed truly reflected the character of the immediate area. We took into account all aspects of the site, including transport needs and the local services.

Batcheller Monkhouse’s planning professionals also argued that the Inspector’s report was contradictory, and indeed the council members questioned why so much weight should be given to the Inspector’s appeal decision. The firm’s staff worked very hard to create a scheme which incorporated all the design elements needed to overcome the earlier objections.

Although the proposed site for the new home was inside the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), it was positioned within an existing settlement and it did not, in any way, adversely affect the AONB in terms of its environment. In the appeal decision it had been agreed that the principle of a third house, in addition to the existing semi-detached pair, would be acceptable, and we also argued that in fact the new house would add balance and would augment the existing street scene.

We were quietly confident of our arguments, but were absolutely delighted that they were accepted, and that consent for the new building was granted. To say that our client was delighted is an under-statement.

John Forster launched a pig farming business on newly-bought land near Horsham some years ago, and his enterprise grew quickly. Produce from his pigs soon delighted customers in many different types of outlet (they are particularly popular with diners in local pubs), but he had one particular problem.

The problem, to put it simply, was that he needed to be on site 24 hours a day. To best look after his pigs and to be able to give them all his attention he really needed a home within oinking distance.

In 2010 John approached Batcheller Monkhouse with the problem, and the firm opened discussions with Horsham District Council. Planning consent was secured for three years for a temporary residence, which was an acceptable compromise at that point, but eventually John and his partner wanted to establish a permanent home. The firm returned to the Council’s planning officers and opened up the discussion anew.

The Council, quite reasonably, required that the argument be made resolutely in order to prove the planning argument. The firm’s professionals were in their element with this challenge (as happy as a pig in mud, you could say). They went back to basics, examining John’s original business plan, and from that were able to show that he was entirely on track with his projections, and the business was performing well and was in very good heart. Both the financial and functional needs tests were very positive and a very strong argument could be placed before the council. The application has just been approved to the delight of us all.

One of Batcheller Monkhouse’s strengths is the great depth of knowledge within the firm. Our planning staff can call on other experts within the firm to help with their cases. In this case Batcheller Monkhouse Partner Leo Hickish was responsible for preparing the agricultural report which confirmed the financial viability and functional needs of the business.

A new home for the pig farmer

New build in the high weald

15RURAL OUTLOOK

16 SINGLE PAYMENT SCHEME

Common Agricultural Policy Update

David Blake MRICS FAAVPartner

Almost as much will be written over this summer about the football world cup as will be on CAP reform, and this comes after a period of several years of debate and analysis about what the new scheme will mean for UK farmers. It would be wrong however not to look more closely at what is proposed now, not least because key decisions need to be taken now on how best to adapt to the new system.

The Single Farm Payment will be replaced with a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and existing entitlements will simply roll forward, but they must be claimed against in 2015 to remain active for future claims.

The revised scheme will introduce many new measures, with the underlying principle being to cut the budget, make agriculture ‘greener’ and show ‘value for money’ to the tax payer.

The Basic Payment Scheme is to introduce a ‘Greening’ payment which will equate to 30% of your BPS funding; therefore everyone will have to go ‘green’ in order to obtain this part of the payment. Until 2017 there will be no additional penalty for those farmers who do not go green - you will simply lose the 30% payment. However, in 2017 an additional penalty of 20% will be implemented for those who do not comply. The following year this will rise to 25%. Therefore, you risk losing 125% of the greening payment if you are found to be non compliant. The following comments relate to England only.

Keep in touch with us

We are following the reforms closely. If you are concerned about how these proposals may affect you, please contact us:

David Blake MRICS [email protected] 01798 877555

Charlotte Pearson-Wood FRICS FAAV [email protected] 01892 509280

17RURAL OUTLOOK

1. Crop diversification If your arable land covers 10-30 Ha you will be required to grow at least two crops, the main crop cannot cover more than 75% of your arable area. If your arable land covers more than 30 Ha you will be required to grow three crops, again the main crop cannot cover more than 75% and the two main crops together must not equal more than 95% of your arable area.You will not have to comply with this if more than 75% of your arable land is either temporary grass, fallow or leguminous crops. Provided the remaining arable land is not more than 30 hectares. Nor will you need to comply if more than 75% of your holding is temporary or permanent pasture (again provided the remaining arable land is not more than 30 Ha).

Permanent pasture is classed as any land in grass for more than five years.

Different crops are classed as being of different genus, so wheat, barley, oats and oil seed rape are different. Also winter and spring varieties will be classed as different crops.

Action Point: Consider crop rotations now. There may well be a greater role for cover crops in the future.

2. Permanent PastureIf your permanent pasture is designated under the EU Habitat or Birds Directive you will not be permitted to plough this land. The Government has been given powers to designate further areas if they are considered to be sensitive areas. In all other respects the current rules for permanent pasture will remain; DEFRA will not allow the total amount of permanent pasture to fall by more than 5% nationally. If this was to happen you could be asked to restore recently ploughed land back to pasture. The rules over ploughing up pasture otherwise remain unchanged.

3. Ecological focus areas (EFA) If your arable land exceeds 15 Ha, you will have to map 5% of the land for EFAs. Examples of what could qualify as an EFA;

• hedgerows • buffer strips • in field trees • nitrogen fixing crops such as clover

In 2017 the 5% quota may rise to 7%. Organic farmers will not need to do anything to qualify for this part of the scheme.

You will not be able to receive double funding under this option and you cannot map a feature for EFA which is already included in an Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ELS/HLS/OELS). Under new stewardship scheme agreements (since January 2012) a clause has been included which will allow you to alter your scheme if needed, or if unacceptable you can withdraw from the scheme without penalty.

Action Point: Begin to consider which features on your farm might be eligible for this requirement. Check your RLR map to ensure potential EFA areas are mapped.

Greening is to be made up of three strands:

Environmental Schemes The current environmental schemes as we know them have closed to new entrants. The new scheme, the New Environmental Land Management Scheme (NELMS), will commence on 1 January 2016. With a few exceptions, there is currently no transitional scheme for claimants whose current schemes expire before 2016.

It is likely the new scheme will be target area led and therefore if your holding is not within one of these areas (yet to be decided) you may not be eligible to enter. The basis of the scheme will be a menu approach whereby the more points you achieve the more likely you are to be successful, and the higher payment you will receive. It is likely the minimum requirements will be considerably higher than the current stewardship schemes; the broad and shallow approach will be abandoned. It may be possible for groups of farmers to submit applications based on a landscape approach to environmental management. We are awaiting further details on the development of environmental stewardship.

Claim SizeCurrently under the Single Farm Payment the minimum claim a landowner can make is for 1 Ha of eligible land however under the BPS the minimum claim will be 5 Ha of eligible land.

EntitlementsYour current Single Farm Payment entitlements will roll over into the new scheme. To remain valid they will need to be claimed on in 2015 in full. Thereafter they will need to be activated every two years and there will be no rotation of unused entitlements.

National ReserveIt is likely the national reserve will be reduced as no new entitlement scheme will be introduced, instead current entitlements will roll on into the new scheme.

Young FarmersThere will be an annual payment to young farmers running a business set up in the last five years for a maximum of five years by way of a top-up payment. This payment will be reduced by the number of years elapsed since setting up the business. For example if the business was set up in 2013 you would receive three years aid but if set up in 2015 you would get the full five years top up payment.

CappingClaims over €150,000 excluding greening will be subject to a 5% deduction in the amount paid over €150,000. This is still currently being discussed and this amount may vary.

Action Points:• You will need to consider crop rotations for the

‘greening’ criteria.• Consider whether the younger generations should go

into business with regards to ‘top-up payments’ and the national reserve.

• Have you any unproductive areas of the farm which could be used for buffer strips or left fallow in order to qualify for 5% EFA?

• Claimants who claim less than 5 Ha should consider their position.

18 SUCCESSION PLANNING

19RURAL OUTLOOK

In Tudor England it was a very bad idea to discuss succession planning – in royal circles at least. To discuss the succession of a monarch was to confirm the mortality of kings (and queens), and

that was treason. Chatting about the succession of, say, Elizabeth I could lead you to the executioner’s block.

Nowadays succession planning is not just allowed, but is a remarkably good idea for farmers and landowners in particular, who wish to see their estates stay in the family – and avoid assets having to be sold to pay the taxman. Surprisingly, not enough people do it, and when they do it without the help of an expert, harsh words can be spoken and metaphorical fur can fly.

In farming and land ownership - more so than in any other industry nowadays - generation often follows generation; assets are handed down from parents to the next generation. It has always been so, but times have changed, primogeniture is not always the assumed and natural route of succession, and the taxman is always standing in the wings rubbing his hands together.

It can be the most difficult issue for families to face, but if a family can’t agree how to pass on their assets to the next generation fairly, the consequences can be dreadful. You can get huge family fall-outs, or the estate can suffer crippling taxation and a subsequent forced disposal of assets – or both. Not sitting down and discussing the issue is in no one’s interest.

The most important point to make is that it is never too soon to be talking about a generational shift of responsibilities and ownership, even if that may be a generation away. The discussions may take place on and off, and may proceed over a couple of years; it’s a serious question, and people need to think over their futures and further discuss them.

Outlook: Succession PlanningNot everything needs to be done at once, so long as there is no imminent crisis. Careful, thoughtful steps and steady progress can benefit all parties.

Also, there is no substitute for having a third party, in effect chairing the discussions; bringing their long experience into play, and advising on all the technical and legal ramifications of all proposals and decisions. That is our role.

The first step is to talk to all parties individually and find out what they want to achieve, what they really want in life, and what their hopes and fears are. It’s a question of building up a mental jigsaw, but one needs to create the pieces first, before they can be slotted into the right places.

An awful lot of information comes out of those initial, informal chats. Most often the older generation isn’t making demands, but – quite the reverse – don’t want to impose on their children. People can say things which they might not want to say in front of other family members – or simply bounce ideas around the room.

Some fundamental markers can then be put in place, with answers to questions such as; who is/are the primary successor(s), does the older generation want to retire – fully or partly, where do they want to live and what do they want to be doing, what income do they need, who amongst the siblings would ideally do what, what might be equitable between them, and indeed do they want to continue the business or would they prefer to retain the assets but put in a manager or management team? ...

Leo HickishPartner

Generation often follows generation; assets are handed

down from parents

20 SUCCESSION PLANNING

... Even in very close-knit families people make assumptions about their loved ones which can be completely wrong.

The other point about using an expert third party is that – not to gloss the point – the principals can be rude about him or her when they’ve left. And the family can be scathing about suggestions put forward, without falling out with each other – and yet then be able to mull them over and come back to them. The external expert’s role is often as a mediator; an ‘honest broker’, and - if necessary - the whipping boy. Someone has to break the ice and ask the awkward questions.

Every case is unique, and thus the answers are never the same. Batcheller Monkhouse handled a case recently where an arable farmer wanted to retire and split the assets and responsibilities between his three sons. A solution which met everyone’s ambitions was for one son to take on the arable farm itself, a second played to his strengths by managing the property arm, and for the third – who is passionate about outdoors sports – a now very-worthwhile mountain biking business was created in the estate woodland. Thus the estate is preserved intact, all three brothers remain share-holders of the holding company, and the father has retired, delighted that his legacy is both preserved and prospering.

What of the son or daughter who remains at home, farming with his parents, whilst his siblings build careers of their own elsewhere? If the farm is given equally to all siblings on their parents death, is it fair that the person who stayed behind should not have his efforts rewarded fully? Worse still the family may be faced with the dilemma that the only way to divide the inheritance is to sell the family farm. From this dilemma has grown the principle of what is now referred to as “Sweat Equity”.

The sibling who remains and works on the farm in effect builds up equity in the farm in proportion to the difference between their actual salary or drawings and the commercial salary that might otherwise have to be paid to a third party. Trying to agree that figure retrospectively, following the death of a father or mother, is almost always very difficult indeed.

You can create a wonderful strategy

but if the tax situation doesn’t add up then the heirs may well

have to sell the assets, and that can be

catastrophic.

21RURAL OUTLOOK

Market Value of Farm £2,000,000

Sibling Share - Two siblings £1,000,000

Sweat Equity £150,000

Cost of buying out non-farming sibling £850,000

Buy out

Years Market Rate Actual Drawings Sweat Equity

Farm Worker - 5 years £18,000 £18,000 £0

Manager - 10 years £40,000 £25,000 £150,000

Sweat EquityThe table shows how this might work for a £2m holding. In this instance the son who stays on to work on the farm accrues equity of £150,000.

If only one person can sign the cheques and he or she becomes incapacitated the whole business can draw to a halt very quickly, which is both very frustrated and commercially very dangerous.

Once an outline plan has been put in place there is a need to deal with all the technical issues, and of course taxation is right at the top of the list. You can create a wonderful strategy but if the tax situation doesn’t add up then the heirs may well have to sell the assets, and that can be catastrophic.

The taxable assets will fall into a number of different categories. The status of the land is one question, and is usually fairly straightforward. More difficult is the position with regard to the main house; without any planning, inheriting a £1,000,000 farmhouse is going to come with a £400,000 bill from the taxman. Few people can pay sums of that size without re-mortgaging or disposing of assets – and with planning they shouldn’t need to.

Usually farms and estates have one principal house, and surprisingly often the older generation are all too keen to move out of it and see their children (and grandchildren) using it as a family home. Taking a longer view allows such assets to pass between generations, and other homes to be built, converted, or bought – and perhaps be rented out, to

generate income, until they are actually required. On the other hand, if the older generation wants to remain in the principal house for the rest of their life then we must be able to argue that they are actively involved in the running of the farm.

Farmers and landowners might not want to talk about succession planning because they fear a lack of flexibility and freedom of movement in the future, but no agreement can be set in stone. Life goes on; there will be changes in ambition or circumstances, people will get married (and divorced), children may well be born into the family, and indeed there may be early deaths.

At the moment the Inheritance Tax regime for business assets is relatively fair, but of course that could change. We have seen more aggressive policies towards farming, land ownership and inheritance in the past, and we may see them again. Retrospective legislation is quite rightly very rare, and it’s another reason why plans should be agreed and actioned now.

Succession planning need not be complex or expensive – indeed too much complexity is a bad thing - but stopping and considering the subject is always far better than inertia, and the sooner the better.

22 TELECOMS

The amount of data being transmitted through communications masts is increasing in a way which no one could ever have predicted when we saw the first masts erected more than thirty years ago. Hugely more data is being processed through radio mast sites; texting was added to speech, then there was internet browsing, and now we are seeing streaming as well. The auctions for the 4G licenses have taken place, and both 4G

and the increased use of ‘smart’ equipment which uses the mobile network – such as self-reporting electricity and gas meters - means more data still.

This increase in the amount of data is rapidly absorbing the capacity of the networks. The astonishing facts are that the mobile phones operators need to double their capacity every year, and Ofcom say that by 2030 the capacity will need to have increased by a factor of eighty to meet demand. In the past the phone companies boasted of their geographical coverage, but that is no longer an issue. What matters now, and will matter even more in the years to come, is this crucial question of capacity.

What we have also seen in recent times is increasing network consolidation, with telecom companies merging their infrastructure with what were their competitors. This is happening frequently, and new company names for the joint ventures are appearing. One client of ours who had three dozen agreements a decade ago has less than two dozen now – albeit with greater total rental income.

For landowners the most important question is, of course, the rents they receive, and which way those rents are moving. When companies consolidate they try to push landowners to accept lower rents, often with the argument that as two operators have joined forces, they only need one of the two masts in any area. They demand a lower rent, with the alternative that they will simply abandon the mast on your land and use the other.

Batcheller Monkhouse’s message to its clients is to hold their nerve. We represent landowners in negotiations with the operators (and we only represent landowners, not operators), and we have proved that the successful strategy is to stand your ground. We have the largest data base of mast sites in the country, with more than 34,000 entries, and we can use that to check claims made by operators. This knowledge also allows us to analyse rents, and be certain that, going into any negotiations, our position is solid.

Our figures show that ‘green field’ rents did fall slightly between 2010 and 2012 but are now rising. On the other hand, ‘roof top’ rents, taken as a rolling three-year average, have only increased over the past ten years.

The operators have been telling landowners that the market for mast sites is collapsing, but our research leads us to believe that their argument is no more than a tactic in trying to reduce rents, and simply isn’t the case. We point out that the operators have a considerable investment in existing sites, and in particular that planning consent for a telecoms mast is in itself an asset. The operators will not abandon any sites easily; they will only remove masts if two merging operators have their existing masts very close to each other.

As mentioned earlier, when operators merge they often use a new trading name, and need to assign leases to that new company. They can also use any confusion around this process – as they attempt to re-assign leases - to lower rents, or increase their rights at no extra cost to themselves.

To summarise; a smaller than expected number of sites are disappearing, but rents are not falling and the market is expanding – and needs to expand still further over the foreseeable future. The key point to make is that in this area there is no substitute for having an expert advisor and negotiator; and no one knows more about this subject than Batcheller Monkhouse.

Telecoms: It’s all about data and rents

The telecoms world is moving fast – but don’t believe everything you are told

Tom Bodley Scott MRICS FAAVPartner

23RURAL OUTLOOK

Telecoms News

• A Law Commission review into the law as it affects telecoms sites is now not expected to be before this government

• The Mobile Operators’ Association say that 10,000 mast sites will need to be upgraded to handle 4G over 2014 and 2015

• The government has pledged £530 million to improve high-speed broadband access, especially in rural areas

• Between 2008 and 2012, only 72% of all planning applications for telecoms masts were approved, with a comparatively large 18% undecided

• Upgrades to sites usually require a new planning consent

• Equipment on the ground is getting smaller and smaller, and nowadays resembles a stack of domestic hi-fi equipment

• Batcheller Monkhouse is successfully arguing to operators that joint sites, used by two networks, are worth 15% more per annum

• Pressure for new sites is coming from Ofcom, who want to see networks being improved close to roads and railway lines.

Ren

t (£

per

ann

um)

Year’s average rent (0-29m)

Rolling 3 year average (0-29m)

Year’s average rent (30m+)

Rolling 3 year average (30m+)

“Green Field” Telecoms Site: Relationship between Rent & Mast Height

£9,000

£8,000

£7,000

£6,000

£5,000

£4,000

£3,000

2002

2004

2009

2003

2008

2005

2010

2006

2011

2007

2013

24

We are delighted to announce a new Rural Lettings department at Batcheller Monkhouse’s office in Pulborough. The Pulborough department brings together Rebecca Batchelor, whose background is in estate management, with Angela Phillips (Letting Manager), who has extensive experience in the residential sector.

With established rural lettings departments in Battle, Haywards Heath and Tunbridge Wells, the firm covers Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and offers a truly comprehensive service to both landlords and tenants across the South.

The letting offices’ remit runs across all rural residential properties, from small cottages right up to country houses, and the new Pulborough department came about, quite simply, because of demand from the firm’s existing clients. The number of rural lettings enquiries that have been presented to the estate management team had increased noticeably in recent times, and it was recognised that the firm had to create a new dedicated department to provide the best service.

The firm covers the whole market, from the letting of a single cottage, to servicing the requirements of a large estate, which might have dozens of residential units.

The market for residential lettings is very strong in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. More people in the countryside are wishing to rent their homes than there are properties available. The current supply of homes for renting is smaller than the demand, so Batcheller Monkhouse letting departments are keen to take on Landlord instructions to take advantage of the situation.

New Rural Residential Lettings Office Opens

Bringing owners and tenants together across three counties to create the perfect fit.

Angela PhillipsLettings Manager

OPENS

RURAL

LETTINGS

OFFICE

NEW

RESIDENTIAL

of our tenants own one or more dogs

NEW LETTING OFFICE

25RURAL OUTLOOK

Prospective tenants are very focussed in terms of their desired location; they want to be in a certain village or rural area. That matters more to them than whatever the features and attractions of the individual property might be.

Two big factors with rural lettings are – unsurprisingly – horses and dogs. A large number of tenants are looking for equestrian use, at whatever level, and about 90% of our tenants own one or more dog.

Interestingly, tenants include home-owners who already have their own home let out and wish to rent elsewhere for a while. People are not automatically thinking in terms of buying their home these days. Flexibility is the key word; some of our tenants have the price of a home invested, but wish to let in order to keep their options open.

It is also true to say that landlords are not necessarily purely commercially-minded. Their top priority is for Batcheller Monkhouse to find the right tenant for their property, and he or she is not necessarily the first person who comes along. It has to be a perfect fit for both sides. Some clients are traditional estates, offering long-term lets, but the firm also sees new landlords coming into the market. A very attractive property which was owned by an older gentleman who was going into a home was let by the firm recently; the family decided to let the house for the time being rather than sell immediately.

Tenants in the countryside are taking a longer term view than those in urban areas. It is not always seen as a short-term option (which is good news for the landlord). Having said that, families who are moving into the area are often deciding to rent for six or twelve months so that they can be sure that they will eventually be buying in the ideal location, and with their preferred schools and other amenities near by. With their equity earning interest they can take the pressure off a big move and take their time finding their ‘forever’ home.

Four dedicated rural lettings offices across the South

Unrivalled local knowledge & unmatched professionalism

Highly experienced staff with great local contacts

Operating right across the market, from cottages to country houses

Expert, impartial advice on all aspects of residential letting

Why you should talk to Batcheller Monkhouse

about Rural Lets...

1.2.3.4.5.

Pulborough

BattleNEW

NEW

Haywards Heath

Tunbridge Wells

OPENS

RURAL

LETTINGS

OFFICE

NEW

RESIDENTIAL

of our tenants own one or more dogs

26

Our TeamEstate Management and Property Consultancy

Planning and Development

Telecoms

Rural Agency

Estate Agency

Lettings

Leo Hickish FRICS MBIAC Partner, Tunbridge Wells 01892 509281

David Blake MRICS FAAV Partner, Pulborough 01798 874524

George Chapman MRICS Associate, Rural Surveyor, Pulborough 01798 877515

Peter Reddall BSc MSc Rural Surveyor, Pulborough 01798 877524

Alex Wilks MRICS FAAV Partner, Pulborough 01798 877520

Martin Sadler FAAV Partner, Pulborough 01798 877512

Oliver Robinson MRICS Associate, Rural Surveyor, T. Wells 01892 509280

Chris Tipping MRICS FAAV Associate, Rural Surveyor, T. Wells 01892 509283

Philip Trower FRICS Partner, Pulborough 01798 877510

Sarah Archer BSc MSc FAAV Rural Surveyor, Pulborough 01798 877523

Charlotte Pearson-Wood MRICS, FAAV Rural Surveyor, Tunbridge Wells 01892 5092887

Canan Clatworthy MRTPI Senior Planner, Tunbridge Wells 01892 509280

Tom Bodley Scott MRICS FAAV Head of Telecoms, Tunbridge Wells 01892 509282

Derek Harvey BSc MBA ARICS Associate, Telecom Surveyor, T. Wells 01892 509284

Marcus Curle LLB MSc Telecom Surveyor, Tunbridge Wells 01892 509288

Russell Parkes MRICS FAAV Partner, Pulborough 01892 877503

Andrew Sadler FRICS FAAV Partner, Haywards Heath 01444 412402

Matthew Braxton BSc Partner, Battle 01424 775577

Battle 01424 775577

Haywards Heath 01444 453181

Pulborough 01798 872081

Tunbridge Wells 01892 512020

Battle 01424 775577

Haywards Heath 01444 453181

Pulborough 01798 872081

Tunbridge Wells 01892 512020

27RURAL OUTLOOK

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