Property

Farm payment scheme ‘ignores public access’

Campaigners have voiced dismay after details of a forthcoming scheme failed to include payments for farmers who offer public access to farmland.

The Open Spaces Society said it was disappointed there was no mention of public access payments when the government unveiled details of its new Sustainable Farming Incentive – due to launch later this year.

The society said the omission went against repeated assurances from government ministers that public access to farmland was a public good and would be funded through payments to growers and livestock producers.

Open Spaces Society general secretary Kate Ashbrooke said: “This is a huge, missed opportunity to improve access and meet the targets in the 25year environment plan, as well as to help with enforcement against pathblocking.”

Payments withdrawn

The society argues that any landowner who blocks or abuses a public path should have grant payments withdrawn – thereby deterring law-breaking and helping hard-pressed highway authorities.

Ms Ashbrooke added: “The government has failed lamentably to deliver on its promises. We shall not give up, and shall keep pressing ministers to listen to all those who want better access to our countryside.”

Other organisations calling for payments for better and improved public access to farmland include the Ramblers, British Mountaineering Council, British Canoeing and the British Horse Society.

They say access should be by the creation of routes to help walkers, riders, cyclists and carriage drivers to avoid dangerous roads, and to form circular paths with greater opportunities to explore the countryside.

They also suggested payments for improving existing paths, with crossfield paths left unploughed, green lanes rolled, and rights of way through grassland regularly mown and maintained.

Priorities outlined

Defra secretary George Eustice unveiled details of the scheme in a speech to a rural conference hosted by the Country Land and Business Association last month. But payments for public access were not included.

Speaking to the conference, Mr Eustice said farmers would receive payment for actions which generate environmental benefits, such as improving arable soils and grasslands.

With nearly 1,000 farmers signed up to a pilot version of the scheme, Mr Eustice said payments would be rolled out this year to farmers who farm more than 5ha of land and are eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme.

Setting out his priorities for the scheme, Mr Eustice added: “While it is not for me to tell an individual farmer what to do, I accept that we need to be clear about the policy outcomes we seek.”

These priorities include halting a decline in biodiversity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, planting up to 10,000ha of trees annually, improving water quality and creating more space for nature in the farmed landscape.

Farmers should be rewarded for keeping paths in good order, say campaigners

Land prices hit highest level since 2018

Average prices for arable farmland in England reached £9,700 per acre in the third quarter of 2021 – the highest quarterly average since early 2018.

This rise reflects historically low levels of supply in the marketplace, combined with firm demand from a range of buyers, according to land agents Strutt & Parker. It shows that fewer than 10,000 acres came to the market in Q3 2021.

This represents about half the amount of land typically offered for sale. It takes the total amount of land coming on to the market to 48,100 acres so far in 2021 – compared to 48,200 acres at the same point in 2020.

The reduction in area can be partly attributed to the private market being active, says Strutt & Parker. It estimates that private sales currently account for about 25% of the market nationally, and up to 40% in some regions.

In some areas, there are virtually no farms left unsold because demand continues to outstrip supply. Such is the strength of demand that every farm over 500 acres marketed in the first half of 2021 has already sold or is under offer.

Prices for vacant arable land in the Midlands during the third quarter of 2021 ranged from £6,100 to £10,000 per acre.