Summer Newsletter 2014 by Savills inc Smiths Gore

Summer Newsletter 2014

Contents

4 6

Welcome Andrew Harle, Senior Partner

Reflections from the Deputy Ranger at The Crown Estate in Windsor Philip Everett CVO Planning Review

How to achieve speedy, successful planning consents

Simple, clear and easy to use? I don’t think so

10 11 12

Various

Rebecca McAllister

Conversion tick list

How to spot an estate

Water can become an obsession

26 28 29

Fair planning contributions David Parry

Danielle Troop, CLA

Should we be more self-sufficient?

32 33

Common Agricultural Policy reform

Agri-tech investment

It’s a great time for farm shops

New York World’s Fair 1964

21 22

Try it - use the mirrors to look at the ceiling Neville Stankley, Principal Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University

Are you a destination venue? Lucy Back

Going underground Charles Baker

Douglas Ogilvie, Andrew Teanby

Simon Blandford

Michael Mack

Dr Jason Beedell Renewable Energy

Try before you buy - almost… Thomas McMillan

Free energy savings Dr Alan Harries

Large-scale solar PV set for major change Dr Alan Harries, Thomas McMillan

Dockyard charts course for commercial success Bill Ferris, Chief Executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Tim Cathcart Property Market Review

Tackling the housing crisis

Professor Tim Benton, UK Champion for Global Food Security

Ewan Harris

Dan Coston, Ross Aylward

Food, Farming and Innovation

Lucy Moore

35 36 37 38 39 40

Farmland Giles Wordsworth, Gerald Fitzgerald

Agricultural rents Stephen Spencer, Toby Metcalfe

Commercial and Equestrian Lucy Winzer, Simon Derby

Residential lettings and Residential sales Chris Jowett, Andrew Turner

A picture paints a thousand words… Various

The RICS on housing bubbles Josh Miller, Senior Economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Forestry and Telecoms Andy Greathead, Kay Paton

Sporting David Steel

News in brief

Welcome The business of rural chartered surveying has come a long way since Smiths Gore was founded in 1847. Although there is a raft of opinion about what lies ahead for the rural economy, one thing is certain: things will continue to change. A swiftly changing regulatory environment is a challenge for any business. Farmers now face the challenge of implementing the CAP reform’s detailed rules as they affect cropping plans for 2015. Andrew Teanby and Douglas Ogilvie examine the impact on and preparation required by farmers to avoid falling foul of the Basic Payment Scheme’s greening requirements on page 14. Energy policy also seems to be changing constantly. Dr Alan Harries reports on changes to large-scale solar PV support in England while Thomas McMillan is leading an initiative in Scotland that enables farmers and landowners to see a range of renewable energy technologies in practice. As always, it is essential that we grasp financially sound and sustainable business opportunities.

In this edition, we pay tribute to Philip Everett, long-standing Smiths Gore Partner, who has retired as Deputy Ranger at the Windsor Estate after 16 years serving the Royal Family and The Crown Estate. His award of the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, CVO, is a personal gift from Her Majesty The Queen. We are delighted that he will continue working for the firm in a consultancy role and you can read Philip’s reflections on his time at Windsor on page 6. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor, Simon Knight. Under his direction, the firm has more than doubled in size, both organically and through acquisition, and sealed its reputation as one of the foremost chartered surveying firms in the UK. Simon saw the importance of constantly broadening and improving the quality of our services to clients through specialised departments and staff, and demonstrated an incisive ability to recognise the demands and challenges facing land and property owners. Following the end of his tenure of 18 years at the helm, Simon will bring his customary focus and commitment to supporting his many clients as a hugely experienced and effective partner in our business. I intend to build upon this legacy and, with the energy, integrity and talent of my partners and our staff, I am looking forward to further enhancing our reputation as market leaders in our sector. I hope you enjoy reading our latest publication and find value in our thought provoking articles. In today’s market place, survival and, moreover, success is largely dependent upon the ability to recognise and adapt to change. We strive to be at the forefront of providing clear and practicable advice and, at the same time, to value and enjoy the personal relationships we have and those yet to come.

Andrew Harle Senior Partner

Reflections from the Deputy Ranger at the Crown Estate in Windsor Philip Everett CVO Smiths Gore Partner Philip Everett has recently retired from his position as Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park.

In June Philip was formally recognised for his hard work and dedication with the award of the CVO (Commander of the Royal Victorian Order). Philip has worked with great dedication over a number of years serving the Royal Family and The Crown Estate Commissioners and the CVO is a personal gift from Her Majesty The Queen. Philip joined Smiths Gore in 1981 and was swiftly appointed as the managing agent at the Exbury Estate in the New Forest National Park before moving to the Blenheim Estate in Oxfordshire, where he was managing agent for 12 years. We are delighted that he will continue to work for Smiths Gore in a consultancy role. The role of Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park is an historic post which is recorded as commencing in 1649, the same time that the post of Ranger of the Park was created. The Estate is still a Royal Estate and the current Ranger of the Park is HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who has held the post for 61 years. The Estate is actually owned by The Crown Estate, which also has the responsibility for its financial performance.

There have been 14 Deputy Rangers. Philip says that the work is very similar to a traditional resident land agentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role, with responsibilities for managing the 15,600 acre estate, its 190 staff, over 450 residential properties, tenants and around 3 million visitors who use it for many different activities each year.

It has not been a quiet 16 years, but it really has been a lot of fun and it has been a great privilege to be able to lead such an excellent team of people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Back in 1998 when I started out in my role, it seems to a certain extent as though it was prehistoric times as we had only just installed the first computers, a mobile phone only did what it said on the tin, i.e. a phone, and our range of facilities across the Estate was actually very poor. Having said that, the strong traditions of the Estate were well established, including maintaining it to the highest of standards. The Savill and Valley Gardens were held in high esteem and of

course we had in place one of our main objectives of encouraging the general public to make use of the facilities of the Estate.

It is sobering to me that the Queen has known the Estate all her life and the Duke has been Ranger for 61 years. I really am a novice. A traditional rural estate such as Windsor only changes slowly and this does show up when comparing it with the rest of The Crown Estate, where changes take place very rapidly. Sir Christopher Howes, who was Chief Executive when I started, said that, whilst Windsor was one of the anomalies of The Crown Estate, in many ways it is one of its highest profile shop windows. So, with the team of staff at Windsor, my earlier remit was to make sure the Estate retained its obligation to be one of the foundation elements of the whole operation of The Crown Estate, as embedded in the Crown Estate Act. Since Sir Christopher, I have worked with two CEOs, Roger Bright, and the current CEO, Alison Nimmo. Roger tasked us to follow the principle of Sustainability, Commercialism and Integrity, and these worked incredibly well for Roger during his 10 year period of tenure and helped considerably to encourage the list of improvements to the Estate. More recently with Alison, I have absorbed the phrase ‘Conscious Commercialism’ and again I can see how these words easily apply to the Windsor Estate, where our consciousness is very much around protection, conservation and innovation.

There is no doubt in my own mind that one of the great improvements has been to the facilities for visitors and this started with the construction of the Savill Building and has been followed with the visitor pavilion at Virginia Water. In addition to these flagship projects, much work has gone on in the background to provide improved car parking, visitor signage, information and improved catering. I also reflect on one or two projects which have been a particular privilege to manage and these include the commissioning of the Jubilee Statue and the bust of the Ranger, assisting with the changes at Ascot racecourse and the upgrading of facilities in Swinley Forest. The commitment to improve the Windsor Estate continues with the commencement of the new biomass plant which is due to be completed in the autumn to help provide cheaper, green heating for the Estate village. So it has not been a quiet 16 years, but it really has been a lot of fun and it has been a great privilege to be able to lead such an excellent team of people and have support from London to enable me to showcase the Estate whenever possible. In addition I have also had the privilege of the support of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in his role as Ranger of the Park, keeping a close eye to ensure standards are maintained. It is sobering to me that the Queen has known the Estate all her life and the Duke has been Ranger for 61 years. I really am a novice.” Philip Everett 01753 860222 philip.everett@smithsgore.co.uk

How to achieve speedy, successful planning consents New research sets out a blueprint to reduce planning constraints

There remains a perception that planning is a major constraint on development, and that the effectiveness of the planning system varies significantly between apparently similar local planning authorities.

•

Introducing customer relationship management processes in local planning authorities

•

More training for elected members

Research by The University of Cambridge for a House of Commons committee explored these issues.

Clear processes

It found that housebuilders generally thought the changes to the planning system in the last few years, such as the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), had been positive and most urged that the Government should not change policy further. What they wanted now were changes in good practice to achieve speedy, successful planning consents:

•

A clear pre-application process but with the capacity for developers to discuss a potential project informally with local planning authorities

•

Lessening the detail needed at the pre-application stage and prior to determination

•

Efficient consultation processes - reducing non statutory consultations

•

Meeting members early in the process i.e. before determination

•

Early negotiation of section 106 / section 75 planning agreements and conditions

•

Efficient discharging of conditions post consent

An adopted local plan •

An adopted local plan and five year land supply

Being open for business •

A pro-development attitude amongst Chief Executives, planning officers and elected members

•

A culture of dialogue with developers and a focus on providing good customer service

•

Sufficient capacity and skills within planning departments, particularly in dealing with large sites

Sounds simple - and so obvious - but the research echoes our experience. Local planning authorities have different cultures, processes and requirements. The most efficient are a pleasure to deal with and the worst are a nightmare and can lead to good applications getting stuck for some significant time and potentially leading to time consuming and costly appeals.

Please call our specialist planning team for advice on the best way to achieve a successful planning consent in your area. Jo Robison

Debbie Mack ay

David Goodson

Lee Scott

Rebecca McAllister

Steve Briggs

North 01325 462966 jo.robison @smithsgore.co.uk

Scotland 0131 344 0891 debbie.mackay @smithsgore.co.uk

Midlands 01733 567231 david.goodson @smithsgore.co.uk

South East 01798 345971 lee.scott @smithsgore.co.uk

South 0118 903 5191 rebecca.mcAllister @smithsgore.co.uk

South West 01823 445039 steve.briggs @smithsgore.co.uk

Reference The nature of planning constraints. Report to the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee. March 2014. Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. The research focussed on new housebuilding: there are of course lots of other types of application but many of the constraints are the same.

Simple, clear and easy to use? I don’t think so England’s National Planning Practice Guidance The new on-line Guidance came into force in March and sets out the way in which the Government’s planning policies, in the National Planning Policy Framework, should be applied. It is supposed to consolidate around 7,000 pages of ‘complex and often repetitive documents’, according to the Planning Minister, but it leaves some areas, such as the use of conditions and enforcement, inadequately covered.

would carry is uncertain. Indeed, the Guidance may need to be beefed up and some of the more detailed guidance will re-emerge. Combined with the NPPF, does it make the planning system simpler, clearer and easier to use?

Planners around the country are working out how to deal with this. It may be that previous ‘complex and often repetitive’ guidance will need to be referred to, although the weight that it

I don’t think so, but we will only know once it is applied. Whilst the guidance may be reduced in size and is all in one place, the issues it seeks to address are just as complex and, most importantly, the room for interpretation is just as prevalent.

For planning authorities:

For applicants:

•

Councils will feel more able to say that an application is premature in relation to an emerging Development Plan now that it no longer needs ‘exceptional circumstances’ to do so.

•

Councils are encouraged to work together but it is noted that the duty to co-operate for councils is not a duty to agree.

•

Local Plans may be found ‘sound’ and adopted, where they might previously have been rejected by the Planning Inspectorate, on condition that there is an early review of them, within five years.

•

Government protection of the Green Belt remains strong. Unmet housing need is unlikely to be one of the very special circumstances that justifies development in the Green Belt.

•

Housing land assessments no longer need to identify housing land for years 11-15 of the Local Plan and can include ‘windfall’ housing across the whole of the Plan period, as well as student and older people’s housing. The re-use of empty homes, past over-supply and delivery (or lack of delivery) by landowners and developers can all be taken into account in assessing housing requirements. Housing land supply assessments are not automatically outdated by new household projections.

•

Renewable energy proposals. There is new guidance on how heritage and amenity considerations should be taken into account, and noting that the visual impact of solar farms is an important consideration.

Rebecca McAllister 0118 903 5191 rebecca.mcallister @smithsgore.co.uk

Neighbourhood Plans. The Guidance stresses that they must be deliverable, and not threaten the viability of development by placing excessive burdens upon it. They can be brought forward even where there is no up-to-date Local Plan and that the weight to be applied should ‘respect the evidence of local support’. Based on this, developers should seek to influence emerging Neighbourhood Plans if possible.

•

The viability of development should not be jeopardised by the combined effect of planning obligations and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

•

There is a renewed emphasis on bringing brownfield land into use and Councils’ policies should take into account the fact that brownfield land is often more expensive to develop.

•

Housing need assessments should consider ‘market signals’, such as house prices, rents and affordability, which could lead to more land being required for housing.

•

Local authorities should aim to deal with any undersupply in new housing within the first five years of a Local Plan period and take into account the time it takes to commence and build-out developments.

•

Previous announcements have widened the scope of change of use of existing buildings, such as from agriculture to housing, and the Government will consult on further changes.

Rebecca McAllister heads our planning team in Reading and joined us with the Hives Planning team in February. Please contact any member of our planning team, who will help navigate the new guidance. http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/

Conversion tick list Simple questions to assess the potential for a building conversion Converting traditional farm buildings to houses can be a desirable but bureaucratic and expensive process. Because of this conversions have generally only happened where the value of the finished product is high. With the announcement that up to 450 square metres of buildings per holding (or about four standard-sized semis) can be converted into up to three dwellings without full planning permission, the economics have improved for the better. Our previous newsletter covered the ‘planning’ changes and a copy of that article is available at http://tinyurl.com/SGchange-of-use. This article focuses on the more practical site and building considerations. Here are some simple questions that you can ask yourself that will assist in assessing the potential viability of a conversion. If the answer to most of the questions is ‘yes’, then conversion may be possible; it would still need designing and some approvals are still required. Simple conversions of buildings in good condition start from around £750 per square metre, depending on services, level of finish and any abnormal conditions.

• Was the building in agricultural use on or before 20 March 2013?

• Does the building have a complete roof and walls? Are they in good, structurally sound, condition?

• Is it smaller than 450 square metres (about four standard-sized houses)?

• Is it more than 3 metres wide?

• Is the ceiling/lowest beam of sufficient height? i.e. more than 2.3 metres from the ground?

• Is the building close to a public highway, without the need to construct a lengthy and costly roadway?

• Are utility services, such as electric, water and sewage available / close by?

• Is the building and site free from contamination?

• Is the building away from other uses or buildings that would mean the site is unattractive?

• Would the surrounding land need only minor landscaping?

• Is the building:

o Outside a conservation area?

o Not listed?

o Not a scheduled ancient monument?

o Outside an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?

o Not part of a heritage site or Site of Special Scientific Interest?

Examples of our architects’, building surveyors’ and planners’ recent projects are available to view on our website. Dan Coston is a building surveyor and works throughout the Midlands. Ross Aylward is an architect working in Southern England.

Dan Coston

Ross Aylward

01733 559317

01962 857425

dan.coston @smithsgore.co.uk

ross.aylward @smithsgore.co.uk



Fair planning contributions Our commercial surveyors help Croydon Council win case justifying affordable housing contribution We need more houses and we also need developers to make a fair contribution towards affordable housing. In order to encourage more development, the Government has changed the rules on the contribution a developer has to make to the community. Developers can now apply to reduce contributions towards community infrastructure, including affordable housing provision, if they can demonstrate that the original planning agreement makes development financially unviable. In this case, Croydon Council turned down such an application and the developer lodged an appeal. At the hearing, the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inspector stated that there was no satisfactory evidence to demonstrate that the payment was unrealistic and found in favour of the Council.

The decision makes it harder for developers in London to argue for lower community contributions but, in areas of the UK with lower house prices, there could still be a case.

David Parry is a commercial surveyor and advised the Council on financial viability. He advises developers and landowners nationally on viability.

David Parry 01732 879063 david.parry @smithsgore.co.uk

Tackling the Housing Crisis CLA Housing Policy aims to unblock development The CLA’s new policy was launched in January, following 12 months of work by its Housing Working Group, analysing the issues affecting landowners and formulating recommendations. Top of the agenda for landowners was frustration at their lack of ability to contribute to the economic recovery because they were blocked from bringing forward land for development in rural areas. The Housing Working Group, of which Smiths Gore is a member, is clear that the National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) has the capability to deliver a range of CLA Housing Policy recommendations: What we said…

The NPPG contains…

We said that planning guidance should recognise the lack of 1 and 2 bed units in the countryside

...specific wording saying just that

We said that planning guidance should recognise that subsidised farmhouses held within Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies should be recognised as inappropriate retirement housing

...a raft of wording covering older persons housing, including rural areas

We said that planning guidance should recognise that not all rural housing can be brought up to minimum energy performance standards

...specific wording saying just that

We said that planning guidance should recognise that the ability to generate employment in the countryside was new and that housing needs would be affected

...specific wording on new employment linked to housing needs

We said that planning guidance should recognise that rural site allocations linked to rural settlements of all sizes should be implemented through the Local Plan

...specific wording to say EXACTLY that (albeit with a single caveat)

Many of the recommendations, and particularly those covering taxation, will take time to deliver. However, we have seen positive movement on the following ‘asks’: What we said…

Positive movement…

We highlighted the need for a streamlined and more reasonable building standards regime

This occurred on the back of the 2014 Housing Standards Review with 100 standards reduced to 10

We highlighted the importance of excellent design in new build housing and promoted Building for Life 12

Building for Life 12 was relaunched in Spring 2014 by Nick Boles MP

We said that solid walled insulation promoted by Green Deal and ECO was not fit for purpose and should comply with building regulations Part L

This was delivered through a House of Lords amendment in Spring 2014

4. We said that the best renovation occurs when properties are vacant and that ECO grant should not require a tenant to be in situ

This was delivered through the same House of Lords amendment and we use the rationale to keep lobbying against Council Tax payments on units empty for less than 12 months

We said that the government should not use mandatory landlord registration to tackle criminal landlords

The Government has stated that a national register of landlords would be a financial burden and cost more than £40 million a year

Danielle Troop National Housing Officer CLA

Should we be more self-sufficient? How would the UK cope with a self-sufficient food system? About 62% of our food is produced in Great Britain according to the government. If you apply this to a ‘food year’, our larders would be bare from August onwards if there was no international trade. Self-sufficiency implies growing more of what we eat. Assumed logic is that growing more food locally would benefit our food security by increasing self-sufficiency. But is being more self-sufficient necessarily a ‘good thing’? I think the answer to that is ‘it depends’.

The demands of supply We cannot be 100% self-sufficient - we can never grow coffee and cocoa - and can we imagine living in a world without both? I can’t! We import food from most (about 88%) of the world’s nations but 90% of our imported food comes from 24 of them and our closest neighbours too. If the international food market is working well, we should perhaps concentrate on growing and selling products we grow really well given our soils and climate, exploiting our ‘comparative advantages’. What we don’t grow, we can then buy in. Pretty much, this is what currently happens - a significant proportion of global production is traded internationally (with some estimates as high as 60%). But this specialism brings risks. Firstly, complex international supply chains pose a challenge for food safety and authenticity, and may not be resilient to interruptions over competition for resources, conflict, weather or disease. For example, if our supply of soy, the largest traded global commodity, was interrupted it would affect many foods (soy is a generic ingredient in most supermarket processed foods) as well as livestock feed, driving up meat, eggs and dairy prices.

Realistic alternatives So, should we have a plan B? Yes, within reason. In a world where extreme weather is becoming appreciably common,

farmers growing fewer products risk ‘putting all their eggs in one basket’. Recent research indicates that farmers growing a greater diversity of products spread their risks and reduce income variance. This bet-hedging does come at some cost to overall income; although that can, potentially, be offset by better forecasting and playing the markets. Diversified landscapes are also likely to be better at delivering a range of ecosystem services. In addition, it is often easier to manage waste (such as manure) as what one enterprise sees as waste, another may see as a resource. They therefore may be both economically resilient and more sustainable. The growth of consumer demand for local food is also a potent diversifier at local or regional level, and short supply chains are seen as more trustworthy. Thus there are a range of arguments for promoting resilience in diversity at the local level.

End game At the national level, how much should we diversify to ensure a minimum local supply of important goods if things ‘go wrong’? Pragmatically, we can’t aspire to self-sufficiency both because of the range of goods we want and because the importance of our exports will likely grow as other production areas get hit by climate change more than we are likely to. Equally, concentrating on producing too few products and relying on the market always to supply the rest is increasingly risky. There are multiple benefits for encouraging diverse production systems and diverse products. Should we leave the market to shape the mix, or would it be sensible to take a more strategic view of land use? That’s a can of worms for another day…

Professor Tim Benton

UK Champion for Global Food Security & Professor of Population Ecology, University of Leeds

Common Agricultural Policy reform the future becomes clearer What impact could it have and how can you prepare? Farmers’ preparation for the Basic Payment Scheme will start when crops are established this autumn, so understanding the greening requirements will be essential to avoid falling foul of the rules. For English farmers, Defra has announced that farmers will be able to meet their Ecological Focus Area (EFA) greening requirement by using a combination of five options: Farmers with over 15 hectares of arable land need to have ‘5%’ of their arable land area covered by the EFA options… …but it is not as simple as that, as the EFA weightings (see table) mean more or less than 5% of the arable land may be required...

EFA options

Weighting

Catch and cover crops

1m² = 0.3m2 of EFA

Nitrogen fixing crops

1m² = 0.7m2 of EFA

Fallow

1m² = 1m2 of EFA

Buffer zones

1m = 9m2 of EFA

Hedgerows

1m = 10m² of EFA

Nitrogen fixing crops are likely to prove a popular option, so there could be implications for seed availability and prices this autumn and next spring. The market should be able to accommodate increased production, as the EU is a net importer of protein crops; 13.3 million tonnes of soya beans were imported last year. The fallow, catch and cover crops options could provide welcome opportunities for farmers to adopt cultural control methods to assist with the management of black-grass and other weeds, as could spring pulses. However, the fine print conditions which Defra has yet to announce will need to be checked for limitations and key dates.

not wish to lose ‘5%’ of their most productive land. The EFA requirements can also affect contract farming agreements as it can prevent ‘block cropping’ across land owned by a number of landowners, as each landowner must satisfy the greening requirements individually. We are already working with clients on solutions to this, including tenancies and share farming agreements. In Scotland, the key theme is to “…make every effort to [support] those who wear dirty wellies, not comfy slippers”. This includes the ‘Scottish clause’ that requires minimum stocking rates or alternative measures, adding sporting estates that can’t prove that they have a genuine farming business to the list of businesses that are ineligible for the Basic Payment Scheme, a third entitlement region, more support linked to livestock production and a lower ‘cap’ (or maximum) on payments for large land managers. Although all the details haven’t been announced, we do know that there are big winners and big losers. Arable farmers will see their entitlement payments slashed by 39%, from €342/ ha to €210/ha. Beef finishers will lose all their old headage payments and rely solely on the grassland payments, whereas some hill sheep farmers could see their payments treble. And slipper farmers - land with no farming activity - will get no Pillar 1 payments at all! Smiths Gore has produced an interactive English greening calculator and English and Scottish CAP Reform updates, which have been used by over 3,000 people so far. For the latest rules, and t o download our greening calculator please visit www.smithsgore.co.uk/cap

We don’t yet know how wide buffer strips will need to be, and the Secretary of State’s announcement concerning hedges carried a caution as they may need to be mapped in greater detail than they were for Entry Level Scheme agreements. So farmers using this option might therefore expect to receive their payments towards the end of the payment window. A further complication exists for around 4,000 farmers who started a new ELS agreement on or after 1 January 2012. If their agreement includes options which Defra considers to duplicate the EFA management options, the agreement will need to be amended to prevent ‘double funding’. This is done by changing or removing the options or ending the whole agreement early. There is also an emerging market for landowners to let out lower quality land which is suited to EFA use to other claimants who do

Douglas Ogilvie

Andrew Teanby

01738 479181 douglas.ogilvie @smithsgore.co.uk

01522 507312 andrew.teanby @smithsgore.co.uk

Agri-tech investment Investment is building a platform for a more sustainable future Global demand for food is increasing and requires farm productivity to rise in response. To complicate matters, the challenges of climate change make the situation truly dynamic, having implications for livestock, crops and the pests and diseases affecting them. Recognising the need for improved co-ordination of research in the UK and ensuring new techniques are translated onto farms, the UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies was launched in 2013. It was jointly developed by government, researchers and the food and farming industry.

Agri-Tech Catalyst funding With such a broad range of research areas, and new developments occurring in many of them, such as nutrition, genetics, informatics, satellite imaging, remote sensing, meteorology, precision farming and low impact agriculture, a more co-ordinated approach to planning research should pay dividends. This spring, the first projects to receive Agri-Tech Catalyst funding were announced, which include: Developing a set of tools to make it easier, cheaper and faster to incorporate useful properties from wild plants into related mainstream varieties

Led by the James Hutton Institute, Scotland

Improving the treatment and management of mastitis in dairy cattle

The University of Nottingham, with Quality Milk Management

Sustainable Intensification Research Platform Defra has also recently launched the Sustainable Intensification Research Platform which will involve agricultural, environmental and social scientists, economists, stakeholders and policymakers from over 30 organisations working together to increase farm productivity and environmental performance. There are three projects underway: Integrated farm management for improved economic, environmental and social performance

Led by NIAB

Opportunities and risks for farming and the environment at landscape scales

Led by The University of Exeter

Scoping study on the influence of external drivers and actors on the sustainability and productivity of English and Welsh farming (6 month scoping study)

Led by ADAS

The technological and land use developments which are likely to result from these projects will be valuable, and we await the first results with interest.

Simon Blandford Head of Farm Management 01962 857405 simon.blandford @smithsgore.co.uk

It’s a great time for farm shops Smiths Gore’s work with the farmers’ Retail and Markets Association is driving forward farm retail businesses

With the economy improving, a passionate renaissance for Great British produce and consumers valuing the work of the farming community more, farm shops are seeing improved turnovers in 2014. Smiths Gore has been appointed as managing agents for the national Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA), which is a not-for-profit co-operative of over 400 farm retail businesses. We will be working with FARMA’s council to develop the services and support offered to the members: • The new website provides members with a state-of-the-art communication platform for promoting farm retailing to the public and for supporting the members •

The support package that members can use has been enhanced, for example with new strategic alliances with organisations like Anglia Farmers, helping to reduce members’ business running costs

•

The 2015 FARMA Retail Awards have been launched, so members can showcase the best shops and markets. The winners will be announced at the 2015 conference (Peterborough, 23 - 25 February 2015)

Farm retailer of the year 2014 “A first-class farm retail business, very well managed front-ofhouse and behind the scenes. The Barn is a beautiful place to eat with a simple, well executed menu. Service and product knowledge among staff in the farm shop and the cafe was excellent.” Gordon Wilson, Awards Judge Blacker Hall Farm Shop, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has 6,000+ customers a week. At the heart of this family-run business is a team of 120 people with a real passion for producing top quality foods. Over three-quarters of the foods sold in the farm shop are grown, made or prepared on-site, with the balance coming from a network of local farmers and businesses. Husband and wife team Edward and Cheryl Garthwaite head up the business. It is based on a grassland and arable farm of 800 acres, which produces feed for 500 beef cattle and 1,200 finishing pigs. All of the beef and pork sold comes from the farm, and goes through the butchery, which has two fully trained, experienced Master Butchers, with a further six full-time butchers and a team of nine serving staff. They all take pride in the fact that customers return over and over again for meat that cooks perfectly, every time.

• Delivery of the FARMA Farmers’ Markets Certification to ensure that markets represented by FARMA are true farm retail experiences •

Benchmarking the shops’ business performance; by independently benchmarking the farm shops, we will be able to help improve performance while also commentating nationally on the state of the sector

If you would like to know more about joining FARMA or discover the location of a great farm shop near you, please contact me or FARMA.

Michael Mack is a member of our Business Improvement team and advises farming and other rural businesses on improving management and financial performance.

Michael Mack 01638 665848 michael.mack @smithsgore.co.uk

www.farma.org.uk

18 18

Dr Jason Beedell Head of Research 01733 866562 jason.beedell @smithsgore.co.uk

In 1964 Isaac Asimov imagined the world in 50 years time... so how does 2014 measure up to his vision? After visiting the World’s Fair in 1964, science-fiction writer and Boston University professor Isaac Asimov was inspired to write an essay on how he imagined what the world would look like in 50 years - at the 2014 World’s Fair. Some of his predictions on the types and uses of technology were off the mark, such as moon colonies and underwater housing, but many have been remarkably accurate. But perhaps his most important observation was that without efforts towards equal access to technology, it can hurt, rather than help, the goal of “peace through understanding”, which the Fair was dedicated to.

Asimov’s vision of the future in 2014 “Men will continue to withdraw from nature in order to create an environment that will suit them better.” 1.

“Electroluminescent panels will be in common use. Ceilings and walls will glow softly, and in a variety of colors that will change at the touch of a push button.”

“The degree of opacity of [window] glass may even be made to alter automatically in accordance with the intensity of the light falling upon it.”

“Suburban houses underground, with easily controlled temperature, free from the vicissitudes of weather, with air cleaned and light controlled, should be fairly common.”

“Gadgetry will continue to relieve mankind of tedious jobs.” 4. “Complete lunches and dinners, with the food semiprepared, will be stored in the freezer until ready for processing.” Anyone popped a M&S meal for two in the microwave? And don’t forget that the world’s first laboratory-grown burger was unveiled and eaten last year. 5.

“Robots will neither be common nor very good in 2014, but they will be in existence. (Robots for gardening work will also have made their appearance.)” And on farms.

“Communications will become sight-sound and you will see as well as hear the person you telephone. The screen can be used not only to see the people you call but also for studying documents and photographs and reading passages from books.” Anyone skyped recently?

“As for television, wall screens will have replaced the ordinary set; but transparent cubes will be making their appearance in which three - dimensional viewing will be possible.”

“Ordinary agriculture will keep up with great difficulty and there will be “farms” turning to the more efficient micro-organisms.” 10. “An Algae Bar at which ‘mock-turkey’ and ‘pseudosteak’ will be served…but there will be considerable psychological resistance to such an innovation.” Too right! “Not all the world’s population will enjoy the gadgetry world of the future to the full.” 11. “A larger portion than today will be deprived and although they may be better off, materially, than today, they will be further behind.” 12. “…the increasing use of mechanical devices to replace failing hearts and kidneys, and repair stiffening arteries and breaking nerves will have cut the death rate still further and have lifted the life expectancy in some parts of the world to age 85.”

So what might we get in the next five years? IBM, like Asimov, tries to identify innovations that will change our lives - but in the next five years. The theme of them is that machines will learn, reason and engage with us in a more natural and personalised way, to assist making good choices and protect us. Its current ‘5 in 5’ are: 1.

The classroom will learn you, so that what and how you learn is matched to your skills and attributes.

Buying local will beat online. Retailers will layer increasing levels of engagement and personalization on top of the shopping experience, so merging the instant gratification of physical shopping with the richness of online.

Doctors will routinely use your DNA to keep you well, as cognitive systems and cloud computing make this form of treatment faster and more affordable.

4. A digital guardian will protect you online. Security is evolving from being based on rules, like passwords, to being automatic. It will make inferences about what’s normal or reasonable activity and what’s not, ready to spot deviations that could be precursors to an attack and a stolen identity. It will be more sophisticated than at present. 5.

8. “An experimental fusion-power plant or two will already exist.” They don’t but there is a major project to do this by 2028 in France. His predictions about large solar - power stations in deserts are accurate.

“Much effort will be put into the designing of vehicles with ‘robot-brains.’” Sounds like GPS and intelligent cruise control to me. Sadly we don’t have cars that travel on air jets yet.

The city will help you live in it. Smart phones will provide a digital key to the city by having access to information about everything that’s happening and knowing what their users like.

Based on Visit to the World’s Fair of 2014, by Isaac Asimov; World’s Fair: Isaac Asimov’s predictions 50 years on, Kim Gittleson, BBC technology reporter, 22 April 2014; and, IBM Research’s 5 in 5 predictions.

Try before you buy – almost… Smiths Gore is facilitating the NFUS’s renewables project NFU Scotland’s Renewable Development Initiative gives land managers the chance to see renewables schemes in action. It is doing this by running 27 farm visits, until the end of 2016, so farmers can see all types of renewables, at different stages of development - from feasibility through planning to operation (see table). As well as seeing the technology, there are also industry and regulatory experts, including from Smiths Gore,

at each visit to provide information, answer questions and discuss what would suit the farmers’ land. The project is being funded by the Scottish Government’s SRDP Skills Development Scheme. For details on future events and excellent, clear project reports visit www.renewableenergyonfarms.co.uk. The project is looking for more farms as case studies!

“There is no better way to showcase the technology than by showing it in action on farms, be it large developments or smaller domestic projects. Scottish farmers should grasp the financial opportunity that renewables present, rather than leave it to corporate investors!” Davie Smith, a host farmer and NFU Scotland North East’s renewables convener

Host farmer

Host farms

Technology

Stage

400kW log batch boiler used for grain drying

20 Hamish Watson

Balring Farm, Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire

200kW woodchip boiler heating three houses, workshop and top-up heat for the grain dryer

Operating

Biomass gasification boiler

Being commissioned

Iain Stewart

East Knockbrex Farm, Dumfries & Galloway

150kW anaerobic digester combined heat and power scheme at 600 dairy unit. Provides heat, power, fertilizer and income

Under construction

Andrew Stewart

Marshill Farm, Lesmahagow, Lanark

3 turbine community wind project (totalling 3.9MW, involving the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES)

Feasibility

Davie Smith

Cairndally Farm, Ellon

800kW Wind turbine

Feasibility

Rupert Shaw

Gledpark, Dumfries and Galloway

4kW solar PV 6kW wind turbine

Operating

11kW wind turbine Robert Ramsay

West Mains of Kinblethmont, Arbroath

50kW solar PV 4 biomass boilers

Thomas McMillan heads our Sustainability and Renewables team in Scotland. Thomas McMillan 0131 344 0886 thomas.mcmillan@smithsgore.co.uk

Operating

Free Energy Savings Grants are available through the new Green Deal Home Improvement Fund The Green Deal has evolved, positively. Its new Fund provides 100% cashback for installing new energy efficiency measures although the total claimable is limited to £1,000 in most cases. Homeowners and private or social landlords can claim up to £1,000 for the ‘two measures’ option and up to £1,500 for those who have bought a property in the 12 months prior to application. An additional £6,000 can be claimed specifically for solid wall insulation to cover 75% of the costs.

on an eligible Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which is less than 24 months old or in a Green Deal Advice Report. The work must be carried out by a registered Green Deal Installer. There is also up to £100 available towards the cost of a Green Deal Assessment. The Fund only applies to England and Wales. A separate scheme will apply in Scotland.

Importantly, it does not require you to sign up to the Green Deal Finance Scheme, where loan interest rates can be high. The application process is not complicated but is quite rigid. The improvement measures have to be selected from the approved list (see table) and must also have been recommended

Category

Heating

Doors and Windows

Insulation

Heat recovery

Dr Alan Harries Head of Sustainability 0207 409 9490 alan.harries @smithsgore.co.uk

Eligible Energy Efficiency Measure

Funding level

 

Condensing gas boiler (on mains gas)

100%

Replacement warm air unit

100%



Replacement storage heaters

100%



Double glazing (replacing single glazing)

100%



Secondary glazing

100%



Replacement doors

100%



Cavity wall

100%



Floor

100%



Flat roof

100%



Room-in-roof

100%



Solid wall (up to £6,000)

75%



Flue gas heat recovery units

100%



Waste water heat recovery systems

100%

Large-scale solar PV set for major change New rules challenge solar farms The Government has proposed changes to the support system for large-scale solar projects over 5MW (which is about 25 acres) commissioned after 1 April 2015. They are to be moved from the Renewable Obligation Certificates system to use the new Contracts for Difference scheme. This creates more uncertainty in terms of project revenue and project viability but also shifts the renewable energy developersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; focus from speculation to cost effective energy delivery. This could result in a focus on 5MW (25 acre) sites and some smaller developers and middlemen exiting the market, leading to the grid capacity that they have reserved coming back onto the market. We are already working with developers to determine the best approach to deliver large-scale solar projects post April 2015. If you have any questions about how these proposals may affect specific projects, please contact us. The support mechanism for projects commissioned before 1 April 2015 will remain the same.

Dr Alan Harries heads our Sustainability and Renewable Energy team in England and Wales. For questions relating to projects in Scotland, please speak with Thomas McMillan.

Dr Alan Harries Head of Sustainability 0207 409 9490 alan.harries @smithsgore.co.uk

Thomas McMillan 0131 344 0886 thomas.mcmillan @smithsgore.co.uk

How to spot an estate Ten telltale signs 1. The Big House and the gateway - but not always! 2. Parkland and specimen trees 3. More trees along boundaries - especially avenues 4. Distinctive boundaries - park walls, parkland fencing 5. Distinctive design - especially estate cottages 6. Consistency - in maintenance of property and signage 7. Consistency â&#x20AC;&#x201C; of the estate-colour paint 8. Consistency - in the way hedges and verges are maintained 9. Pub and hotel names 10. The feeling - sometimes you just know!

Lucy Moore 01434 632001 lucy.moore@smithsgore.co.uk

Lucy Moore has been spotting, and managing, estates in the North East.

Water can become an obsession Managing salmon fishing beats The state of the river is a daily feature of the working life of fisheries owners, their managers, clients, and of course their ghillies. For them, there is no such thing as a casual glance at the weather forecast or an uncaring look over the parapet of the bridge as you trundle past in your car. From the opening of the salmon fishing season on through to its autumn close, water, or more particularly the water that makes its way downstream, is an all too common topic of conversation. Such is the obsession and importance of water height there are a number of websites which report levels at key points in the main rivers several times a day. There are even live web cams for those for whom statistics alone are not enough.

Ironically, of all the factors which salmon fisheries have to consider and influence to be successful, water is the one over which they have the least (no!) control. The seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prospects can be made and lost on the back of a spell of heavy rain or prolonged drought at the wrong time. Some fisheries can see their catches double or shrink to nearly nil, depending on conditions. It can be frustrating for those beats who wait all season for water only for it to arrive all at once and for those salmon to run straight past with only one thing on their mind. River catchment management is a hot topic now and there are plenty of old hands who have seen a huge difference in the way in which even the larger rivers rise and fall following a spate.

Flood prevention works which slow the release of water into the upper stretches of rivers can have the positive side effect of happier salmon - and those that pursue them. Putting aside factors such as location and rainfall, there are plenty of other aspects which can be influenced to enhance the quality of a beat.

Grumpy, gruff ghillies are thankfully the exception My top three are:

Staff Fishing is an entertainment business and grumpy, gruff ghillies are thankfully the exception. Professional, friendly and, most important, optimistic ghillies, guides and boatmen are an essential factor to get right. The quality of staff can make or break a fishing trip for a client and can do the same for a beatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation. Arriving at your chosen beat, having looked forward

to your trip for months to be greeted by a pessimistic ghillie is no fun and, not surprisingly, rods do not react well to this.

Facilities Most quality salmon beats now have a serviceable hut where rods and ghillies can meet. It is important to have a base in which lunch can be enjoyed and, if the weather is against you, take shelter. The requirements and expectations of rods vary greatly, but most rods are not looking for The Ritz, just a wellplaced, comfortable hut, preferably overlooking a productive pool. Photos of past piscatorial triumphs are a must to inspire rods and ensure that they are eager to leave the hut after lunch. Access to the river should be well maintained. Most rods do not appreciate their car being shaken to bits on their way to the river, neither do they expect to be embarking on an expedition through an unkempt jungle.

Profile

your product and make sure it is obvious to rods, who may spend hours online. Know what your beat offers - you should have an identifiable product. Set the right tone and an air of exclusivity can be maintained. The majority of rods like to speak to someone with knowledge of the beat before booking.

Photos of past piscatorial triumphs are a must to inspire rods Ewan Harris is a Partner in our Wooler office. He oversees the management and letting of a number of prime Tweed salmon beats, as well as advising fisheries owners throughout the UK.

The trend towards instant catch returns, blogs, tweets and Facebook is not for all and neither should it be. But, for beats looking to attract their fair share of rods, a good web presence is essential, whether this is a standalone website, part of an estate website or on one of the successful portals, such as FishPal. Good quality fishy photos are important temptations! Know

Ewan Harris 01668 281042 ewan.harris @smithsgore.co.uk

Try it - use the mirrors to look at the ceiling Visitors to country houses and gardens now expect involvement and interaction in their experience

The great houses of this country have always had the visitor in mind; from the prodigy houses of Elizabethan England, built in the hope of royal favour, via the classical Georgian piles, exhibiting the correct taste for a polite society, to the eclectic Victorian mercantile and industrial homes, built as the ultimate business showcases. The 20th century saw the reinvention of the country house as a visitor attraction for the general population as society, politics and economy had changed forever. The country house, garden and parkland has remained one of the most popular forms of visitor attraction for the cultural tourist in the second half of the twentieth century and a select number have become immense commercial concerns, such as Longleat, Beaulieu and Chatsworth. Are traditional visits to rooms passé? The most common form of interpretation for the general visitor has been the room setting as part of a fixed visitor route complimented by a combination of leaflets, guide books and room stewards. The whole experience is relaxed, completive and predominantly passive. The vital question is whether this will suffice for the new generation of visitors, who have the internet, smart phones

and social media? What will the new generation of visitors expect? I want to be a part of it They will expect involvement, participation and the ability to adapt their visit to what they want: “Our history has stayed the same, but the people and how they choose to explore and experience it have changed. Twenty years ago people wanted to be observers; now they want to be part of it.” Timothy W. Andrews, Director of Public Relations at Colonial Williamsburg Central to allowing visitors to be ‘part of it’ is to embrace a democratisation of the interpretation. Some of the success of Downton Abbey is due to the inclusive nature of the storylines. Both the upstairs and downstairs lives are given equal importance, female characters are given equal prominence and the broader social, political and economic issues are the underpinning themes that the general audience can relate to. The trick for the country houses in the 21st century is to remain relevant to a changing society; attractions that do not embrace this new psychology will not meet visitors’ expectations. Embrace the visitor as a participant, not an observer.

Don’t forget the garden and landscape National Trust visitor surveys regularly find that families speak of the gardens as ‘the best part of their day’, and many identify that the ’natural beauty and landscape’ are the main reason for visiting. We all know that the garden and the designed landscape are integral to the history of the house and estate. The 300th anniversary of the birth of ‘Capability’ Brown in 2016 is a great opportunity to take the landscapes more seriously. Yet, interpreting the natural environment is a very difficult thing to do; seasons change and visitors find traditional interpretation intrusive to their experience. The challenge is to find a role for interpretation to support visitor participation rather than to vie for audience attention. It is an exciting time for anyone involved in managing and interpreting our past. We should re-assess how best to present country houses to enhance public understanding but, more importantly, to make audiences care about our country house legacy and thereby help conserve them for future generations.

27 Neville Stankley Principal Lecturer at the Centre for Public History and Museum and Heritage Management at Nottingham Trent University.

Encouraging participation does not have to be high-tech and expensive. Simple low-tech interventions can begin the engagement process.

Customise the visit

Slow Down

Change the pace

Provide obvious opportunities for visitors to sit and rest, especially later in the visitor route. This provides opportunities for visitor reflection, social group interaction and conversation with strategically placed volunteers and staff.

Use a transition area (closets, landings, ante-rooms) to change the pace and mood of the experience. This reinvigorates the visitor - it could be an activity area, a research area, contemplative area, or an experiential area.

Communities 2.0 Does your social media and web presence have an identified community space to which staff regularly contribute? This will begin to build relationships and begin to form the basis of special audience targeted events and user generated content.

Use the initial visitor orientation to identify interests and learning styles so that the experience is tailored for them. Do they want to read, be shown or discover for themselves? A tagging system will then make it obvious for room stewards to engage appropriately.

Always something new Not just events, treasure hunts etc. What about demonstrations, short tours off the main route, objects that only come out with the staff, or community suggested interpretation? This will help develop the reputation for a lively, different and friendly content- based visitor attraction.

Are you a destination venue? Festivals and mass sporting events present profitable opportunities 28

Event organisers want venues for all types of events - from sports to obstacle courses to music and film festivals. Historic houses tick a lot of boxes for the organisers, with space, photogenic buildings and history that creates a special atmosphere. But farms and other properties can host events too.

Running and hosting events has become more competitive and the compliance burden has increased. We provide support for venue owners - on running and improving visitor attractions, feasibility studies, staffing, health and safety and traffic management. So come and see us!

An advantage of becoming a ‘venue’ is that event organisers do the organising and take a lot of the liability away from the owner. Depending on the scale and frequency of events on your property, ‘change of use’ and planning consents may be required, traffic management will need to be considered and, if you are hosting a rock concert - remember Disaster Area, the loudest band ever? - noise may be an issue as well.

Lucy Back is Head of Visitor Attractions and Event Management.

Lucy Back 01823 445035 lucy.back @smithsgore.co.uk

Going underground Check you have protected your manorial mineral rights

After what seemed to be an interminable lead-in, the deadline for registering manorial rights has come and gone; it was 13 October 2013. Landowners, their legal advisers and researchers have been busy checking ancient documents and gathering evidence to prove the existence of these ancient rights and submitting registration applications to the Land Registry.

So what happens next? Rather like the arrival of the new millennium, we all awoke the following day to find that nothing much had changed. It will take time for the Land Registry to process the flood of last minute submissions and, inevitably, some applications will be challenged along the way. Manorial rights that have not yet been registered, whilst no longer having protection as ‘overriding’ interests, will not have been lost and can still be registered, provided that there has been no subsequent disposal of surface property over which they could be exercised. Surface owners who receive notice from the Land Registry that an application has been made to register manorial interests affecting their land will need to be satisfied that sufficient evidence exists to prove such a title. Time limits for making responses can be short so prompt action is often necessary. In the long run, the registration process will result in greater awareness and transparency surrounding rights that already existed but were not previously widely known about or understood. In the majority of cases, the existence of such interests will have little or no impact on the surface owner. However, where mineral owners seek to exploit previously unworked minerals of value, it may be necessary for them to enter an agreement with the surface owner to access the minerals beneath.

Conversely, where major commercial and infrastructure projects are proposed, disturbance to reserved minerals beneath may result, for example, where deep foundations are required. In such cases, developers may need to reach agreement with the owner of reserved minerals to avoid committing a trespass. They will need to know the nature of the mineral reservation and whether there are any known minerals of value present. In other cases, developers may seek to acquire reserved minerals in order to simplify subsequent disposals, for example of houses, and to satisfy lenders who may be wary of third party reserved interests. The government legislative agenda has not been unaffected by this renewed interest in property rights; controversially, the recently announced Infrastructure Bill and ongoing consultation by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on underground access arrangements seeks to address a concern that some surface owners (and owners of severed minerals) will delay the process of extraction of gas and oil from shale (‘fracking’) and geothermal drilling beneath their properties. The Commons Justice Select Committee has also launched an inquiry into manorial rights and their possible abolition, although there are currently no plans to do so. For those affected by the more complex cases, whether surface or mineral owners, a proper understanding of the minerals, valuation and legal issues is essential. Charles Baker acts for a number of mineral owners.

Charles Baker 01228 554221 charles.baker @smithsgore.co.uk

Dockyard charts course for commercial success

The team responsible for marketing the Historic Dockyard Chatham’s commercial property is optimistic about the future When the Royal Navy left Chatham thirty years ago in 1984, few would have predicted it would now be home to 140 small businesses, with more than 1,000 people employed on site or studying at the University of Kent. The 80 acre Historic Dockyard Chatham, on a sixth of the land that was once the Royal Naval Dockyard employing an estimated 10,000 people, has been transformed by the combined efforts of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust (CHDT) and property experts at Smiths Gore. Today, independent research has shown that the dockyard is worth £16m a year to the Medway economy. Following the Navy’s departure, the newly formed CHDT set about reviewing the 100 vacant properties, including 47 scheduled ancient monuments, finding many dilapidated and in need of urgent repair. The challenge was to bring these buildings back into use, whether for business, as visitor attractions, education or housing. The bigger challenge was then finding the funding to make it happen. Over the last 30 years, the majority of buildings have been refurbished to meet the requirements of today’s businesses.

“

The Dockyard has successfully weathered the recent economic storm and is now plotting a course to attract more businesses. Where once carpenters and welders plied their shipbuilding trades, now you are as likely to meet a creative designer, solicitor or accountant, as you are an engineer. There is a community of creative companies and traditional skills have been encouraged; the Dockyard is home to many artisan businesses, offering woodcarving, furniture restoration and signwriting.

“

Having been involved with the Trust for many years, the transformation has been significant yet sensitive to the heritage and historical significance of the site.

Demand from prospective tenants remains strong and many of the existing tenants have grown since arriving and have no interest in moving elsewhere.

”

Tim Cathcart, Partner at Smiths Gore, who is responsible for providing property marketing and consultancy services

CHDT continues to bring other buildings back into business use with more coming to the market to let shortly. For information on the property available at the Historic Dockyard Chatham, contact Tim.

We recognised that to preserve the Historic Dockyard for the use and benefit of the public, we had to secure sustainable long-term income and this meant finding uses for the vacant properties. While not an easy task, today it is a great community of small businesses, many, if not all of them, employing local people and each playing a part in underpinning the Medway economy.

”

Bill Ferris, Chief Executive of CHDT

Bill Ferris

Tim Cathcart

Chief Executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust

01732 879057 tim.cathcart @smithsgore.co.uk

Property market review Farmland at record levels Although the pages of farms and land for sale in the press recently make it look like there is more for sale this year, there has actually been less than in 2013 - but only by 4%. We have almost caught up after the slow start to the year.

England Prices hold firm in early 2014 - at their record levels - as the amount of land for sale fails to meet demand.

Values remain at record highs throughout the UK and our farmland model estimates that they will remain so. Investors continue to move into the ‘safe haven’ of farmland and farmers remain the dominant, if slightly more careful, buyers, which makes lotting and marketing land attractively even more important than usual.

Scotland Prices are expected to rise on the back of continuing low levels of supply. Demand remains strong for the best farm land and amenity units but investor interest is being affected by land reform.

There is definitely a preference for bare land or equipped farms without significant principal dwellings. We saw this for our sale of the Trinley Estate, a well - equipped 1,400 acre farming estate in Hampshire with twelve cottages but no principal house.

Wales Prices remain at record levels for both bare (£8,100 per acre) and equipped farms (£11,250). Too few farms are being sold to meet demand.

Investment demand strong 32 Rural property continued to generate impressive returns for investors in 2013 - a total return of 12.3% - and has been one of the best performing types of investment over the recession and in the longer-term too. It also has the lowest volatility of returns a valuable trait within a portfolio!

Total return (including sales and transactions)

2013

Last 5 years

Last 10 years

Last 20 years

12.3%

12.9%

13.8%

14.2%

Most of the return is generated by rising capital values (10.7% in 2013) but income, although smaller (1.4% of capital employed), is important. Farm rents are rising and we think the rise is a long-term change in the sector. The difference between oldstyle Agricultural Holdings Act rents and market rents, such as Farm Business Tenancies, had become unrealistic. So we are seeing rents on investment farms, with Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies, rising by significant percentages, in single reviews and over several rent review cycles. The effect is rising investment capital values, particularly for arable farms, reflecting the sector’s recent profitability.

Looking forward, the prospects are for further increases in farm rents over the medium-term (5 years). Farming will remain profitable, based on the outlook for commodity prices. And the generous subsidies for the sector will continue for at least the next six years, as the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy was as benign as it could have been. These good prospects mean the strong demand for farmland continues, with investors looking for asset performance, not just seeing the investment market as a cheaper form of ‘wealth protection’. As a result, there has been more interest and activity from new private purchasers. They have boosted competition and driven yields lower, to below 1.5%, especially for arable holdings where maintenance expenditure is generally lower and more predictable. They can also be controlled from a great distance away and so appeal to a wider range of purchasers. We recently sold a 765 acre let arable farm like this in Kent, which exceeded its £5m guide price. But lower quality investments are struggling to sell, to such an extent that there is almost a 50% difference in yields between the best and worst. Market knowledge is king!

Giles Wordsworth

Ger ald FitzGer ald

Head of Farms and Estates Agency 01865 733302 giles.wordsworth @smithsgore.co.uk

Head of Valuations and Investment 020 7409 9492 gerald.fitzgerald @smithsgore.co.uk

Agricultural rents rise for arable FBTs Our farm management team is often asked by businesses to help produce winning tenders for land. As well as advising on farming systems and likely profitability, they use their market knowledge and the firm’s database. So this data is for ‘new’ (or tendered) arable Farm Business Tenancies (either with new tenants and new tenancies with existing tenants) only. It does not include rent reviews of existing arable FBTs and so is probably the purest reflection of market demand for arable land.

of agreements at over £200 per acre has increased. We have also seen recent tenders in excess of £350 per acre. There is a significant regional variation. Although rents above £200 per acre are increasingly common in Southern and Eastern England and up into the East Midlands and Yorkshire, they remain rare in Northern England. Most of the land being let is bare land without a house or building (89% bare, 11% equipped) and 89% is reasonable sized blocks of more than 66 acres.

Demand continues to be strong, pushing average rents to £160 per acre in the year ending 31 October 2013.

Rents are on average 50% higher than under previous lettings whether they were FBTs or other types of tenancy.

The maximum rents being paid have remained very constant, at around £300 per acre, over the past five years, but the number Arable farms only Year Ending 31 October

New rent average (£/acre)

New rent maximum (£/acre)

Previous rent (£/acre)

Percentage change

Number of agreements

Area (acre)

2009

£126

£301

£103

35%

1,999

2010

£99

£183

£81

24%

3,436

2011

£119

£300

£75

39%

4,386

2012

£136

£279

£89

50%

8,192

2013

£160

£293

£114

49%

5,255

188

24,239

Agricultural Rent Survey We have agreed over 3,000 rent settlements covering 825,000 acres in the last five years. There is lots of demand for land to rent and our latest data is that rents for all tenancy types rose by an average of 29% for reviews and new lettings in the year ending 31 October 2013. We expect similar increases in rents in 2014. Visit http://tinyurl.com/SG-agri-rent-survey for the latest figures or contact any of our staff for advice on letting out land or writing bids for land that is being advertised.

Agricultural rental market stays active The firm has marketed around a quarter of all of the agricultural land to let in the UK in 2014 to date. Over the first six months of the year, 19,800 acres were marketed in national farming publications, compared with 22,900 acres in 2013. Overall 31,000 acres were marketed in 2013.

Some of our recent lettings • • • • • •

Over 1,700 acres of mixed farmland, including a dairy unit, at West Dean Park, near Chichester 405 acres at Petworth in West Sussex A 438 acre mixed farm on the Dartington Hall Estate near Totnes, where the Trust is looking for a tenant who will develop sustainable farming practices 385 acres at Lockerbie 404 acres of arable and pasture land near Crewe 207 acres of grade 1 land at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire

Stephen Spencer England & Wales 01543 266403 stephen.spencer @smithsgore.co.uk

Toby Metcalfe Scotland 0131 344 0885 toby.metcalfe @smithsgore.co.uk

Rural offices showing signs of recovery The commercial office market was hit hard by lack of demand in 2012 and 2013 apart from in cities and key commercial centres. The regions suffered, not only because of the recession, but also because businesses had limited choices and were faced with poor quality offices as so few new offices were being built. Demand for rural office space is finally picking up with both established businesses and start-ups looking for the right premises and not prepared to compromise.

Many commercial property owners have invested in radio broadband systems to provide high speed services, which are fundamental to the success of any business operating from a rural location. To capitalise on this recovering market, we are advising landlords to offer flexible lease terms in order to secure new tenants and compete with urban locations.

Rural office space is increasing in popularity as businesses begin to realise the benefits of working in pleasant surroundings, with generous parking and that broadband is available. To illustrate this point, just under half of the 58,000 square feet of office space which was let in Kent between January and April of this year was in rural locations.

Lucy Winzer 01732 879068 lucy.winzer @smithsgore.co.uk

Equestrian properties ticking the boxes Demand for equestrian properties is rising nationally and our team is getting more requests from buyers looking for properties with existing facilities or with scope to create them. We have also noticed a change in the market over the last few years. Because of the specialist nature of this type of property, buyers often cannot find the right property for them â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;off the pegâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or even on the market and so ask us to identify properties with suitable potential on their behalf. We are currently looking for properties sited for generating income as equestrian centres; land suited for training racehorses; properties with private steadings with good access to sporting facilities for example. Finding properties that fulfil all the objectives of clients often is not achievable. We often identify a number of properties which have the right general characteristics, such as privacy and the right location for work or schools, and then advise on how it can

be adapted. The advice can be on the suitability of the land for horses, the scope and adaptability of buildings, availability of off-road and safe riding, and the potential to create more specialist training facilities, such as mĂŠnages, horse-walkers and gallops. Our planners and architects are often involved. With such strong demand, sellers need to highlight the potential of their property so that buyers can quickly see that it ticks the boxes.

Simon Derby Head of Equestrian Services 01823 445036 simon.derby @smithsgore.co.uk

Residential lettings team grows I am delighted that we have employed more specialist letting agents to add to our existing team, as we have taken on the management of a large number of lettings recently. It is particularly pleasing to do this when the sales market has been buoyant, which usually leads to a slowdown in lettings instructions. I have previously written about the importance of compliance. A recent case reinforced that tenancy deposit documentation should be reissued when a fixed term tenancy ends and changes into a statutory periodic tenancy i.e., a six month fixed term ends and the tenancy runs on from month-to-month. Failure to do this can lead to penalties and can affect being able to end the tenancy. This is disappointing as we had hoped the Government would act to close what is really a technical legal loophole. But it hasn’t happened so tenants, landlords and their agents need to ensure that they issue the right documents at the right time.

Finally, it is interesting to speculate whether Boris Johnson is blazing a trail for others to follow, by inviting landlords to sign up to the London Rental Standard. It aims to improve the experience for the capital’s tenants by asking landlords to comply with 12 ‘standards’ in their dealings with tenants, on the quality of the property, repairs, deposits and communication. It could lead to something similar nationally which, if it happens, would give our clients an advantage as our approach to the management of their rental property is already largely compliant.

Chris Jowett Head of Residential Lettings 01962 857421 chris.jowett @smithsgore.co.uk

Residential sales show polarised market After seven difficult years, average UK property values are finally close to their pre-crash levels. But we emerge from the dark with a far more polarised market than even before, with London powering forward at an astonishing and possibly unsustainable rate, and the rest of the UK in the very early stages of recovery. In the past three years a chasm has opened up, even between London and the South-East, the region with the highest values outside the capital. In the summer of 2011, London prices were about 67% higher than the South-East; now that differential is 99% and with the latest Land Registry figures showing London rising at 18.5% annually, as against the South-East at 8.4%, the gap is set to widen further. Away from the Home Counties, the differentials are even more stark – in the North-West, for example, three years ago the average house price was about one third of London’s, and now it is a quarter. It’s never been harder for people to make the move from the provinces to the capital. Obviously, the concerns are that a bubble is being created which will inevitably burst. But there appears to be no evidence at all of any overheating of the market outside of London, and any attempt by the Bank of England to calm things down needs to be targeted directly at the capital, or it risks damaging the provincial markets in the earliest stages of recovery.

Of the seven post-crash years, it’s only since 2010/2011 that the residential market in the capital has ‘gone mad’ as the city re-established itself as a global magnet for investment and commerce. The polarised housing market is a reflection of the wide regional variances in the economy, rather than their cause, and if economic activity continues to be focused on London it seems inevitable that property prices will continue to rise there for the foreseeable future. Longer term, only a commitment to regeneration of the regions, creating work and wealth outside London, can address the underlying imbalances and inequalities. It will be interesting to see if HS2 and other initiatives really do help to grasp this nettle. In the meantime, we will all continue to be heavily dependent on a powerful London economy. The housing market in the Shires has always benefitted from people making their money in gold-paved streets of the capital and spending it on a rural idyll, be it a weekend retreat or a grand country house, and it may well be that the rural market comes to rely more on wealthy London buyers in the years ahead.

Andrew Turner Head of Residential Agency 01904 756303 andrew.turner @smithsgore.co.uk

Residential sales pictures paints a thousand wordsâ&#x20AC;Ś â&#x20AC;Śon how the recovery in the housing market has spread from London and the South East to all across England in the past year

Annual change in house prices Year to the end of May 2013

Year to the end of May 2014 >8% 6 to 8% 4 to 6% 2 to 4% 0 to 2% 0% 0 to -2% <-2%

Fin Hughes Andover office 01264 774902 fin.hughes @smithsgore.co.uk

Edward Hall Marlborough office 01672 529056 edward.hall @smithsgore.co.uk

Smiths Gore offices

Smiths Gore lead agency offices

Smiths Gore offices

Smiths Gore lead agency offices

Stephen McOwan

Justin Swingler

Melissa Lines

Edward de Lisle

Berwick-upon-Tweed office 01289 333030 patrick.paton @smithsgore.co.uk

Carlisle and Corbridge office 01434 632404 stephen.mcOwan @smithsgore.co.uk

Clitheroe office 01200 411045 justin.swingler @smithsgore.co.uk

Darlington office 01325 370500 melissa.lines @smithsgore.co.uk

Lichfield office 01543 251221 edward.delisle @smithsgore.co.uk

Giles Wordsworth

Daniel Clay

Annabel Morbey

Robert Pritchard

Oxford office 01865 733302 giles.wordsworth @smithsgore.co.uk

Petworth office 01798 345994 daniel.clay @smithsgore.co.uk

Stamford office 01780 484694 annabel.morbey @smithsgore.co.uk

Stow-on-the-Wold office 01451 832833 robert.pritchard @smithsgore.co.uk

Patrick Paton

Philip Plambeck

Andrew Turner

Winchester office 01962 857400 philip.plambeck @smithsgore.co.uk

York office 01904 756303 andrew.turner @smithsgore.co.uk

Please contact your local estate agent if you would like more information on your area from our Rural House Price Survey and their expert opinion on your local market.

Residential sales the RICS on housing bubbles

Housing bubbles are costly when they pop. They hit the balance sheets of the household sector (through negative equity), the banking sector (through write-downs) and the public sector (through reduced revenue and bailout costs). In their extreme, they can result in repossessions, bank failures and government insolvency. Such outcomes were perhaps not so well appreciated by policy makers in the run up to the global financial crisis (“this time it’s different”), but they are concentrating minds in its aftermath.

PR as a weapon Indeed, one example of particularly creative thinking was demonstrated by the Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) back in 2009. It was concerned about the risks and sustainability of household debt and house prices, but rather than publicly declare a bubble and risk a backlash, or raise interest rates and risk damaging

the wider economy, they used public relations as their main weapon. The idea - which the RICS dubbed ‘soft signalling’ - was to impress upon the general public at every possible media opportunity the central bank’s ‘concern’, without sounding alarmist, and it actually worked; growth in house prices and debt slowed. Back home, root and branch reform of the policymaking framework has taken place with the creation of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC). This is an independent arm of the Bank of England, with statutory responsibility for financial stability and a range of new (non-interest rate) tools at its disposal to deliver this, such as the cyclical capital buffer (CCB) and sectoral capital requirement (SCR), which effectively require banks to set aside more capital and therefore have less to lend. One implication is that when they become worried, the FPC/ Bank now has the ability to actively manage property market cycles.

However, we think the new framework, while a major improvement, is lacking in one key respect transparency: The FPC has not yet set any explicit parameters around its conduct. We think this is a shortcoming because if the public understood how the FPC would respond, they would factor that into their own behaviour, which would in turn enhance its legitimacy as an independent unelected body. But it’s still early days.

Josh Miller Senior Economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Forestry prices remain high Timber markets

Forestry values

Softwood timber values continued to rise in 2013 in real terms. They rose by 13.5% in the year to March 2014 and are now more than double what they were ten years ago.

The strong demand for timber is placing upward pressure on woodland values. Forestry continues to generate market-leading returns for investors, who made 15.8% total return in 2013. The five-year annualised total return is 19.7%, more than double the 9.2% annualised total return achieved over the past 20 years.

We expect prices to continue to rise this year as there is a strong market for standing timber. Growth in demand for biomass and a recovery in the building sector and the wider economy have helped increase competition for standing timber, putting upward pressure on prices. Investment by sawmills and favourable exchange rates means UK timber can compete effectively against imports on both quality and price; if the pound does weaken, we are less likely to see a flood of imports from Europe as their exports are being sent to new global markets. The felling of Phytopthora-infected larch is causing a shortage of supply of spruce in some areas, again pushing up demand.

There has been strong demand for mature, high yield class spruce forests, with prices between £9,000 - 12,000 per stocked hectare. Values reduce with the lower growth rates and poorer market access associated with north Scotland and the islands, but they are still strong and rising, based on positive drivers - rise in underlying land values, biological growth and rising demand for construction and biomass.

Andy Greathead Head of Forestry, Woodland and Arboriculture 01620 828979 andy.greathead @smithsgore.co.uk

Telecoms the best advice is to seek advice Cornerstone Telecoms Infrastructure Limited (CTIL), which is Vodafone and O2, are sending letters that site owners might interpret as aggressive where there are Vodafone and O2 masts close to one another. The letters’ underlying message is that if they cannot agree new, more flexible terms, their site may be decommissioned in favour of ‘the other’. In most cases, CTIL wants rights to site share, add further equipment and operate future wireless technology, like 4G, which would protect them from having to renegotiate leases and rents should technology change. In some cases, they are looking for a rent reduction. We have seen rents increasing, decreasing or staying the same, and are advising site owners on dealing with these issues.

Changes to rent review clauses Operators are also pushing to change rent review clauses away from the traditional ‘greater of open market rent or RPI’, which guarantees the site owner a periodic rise, to ‘open market’ reviews only. This would allow them to challenge rises if there is no market evidence from other sites, which is becoming more difficult to find. Some site owners are being sent letters saying that the most reasonable site owners have the best chance of their sites continuing to be used.

K ay Paton Head of Telecommunications 01387 274394 kay.paton @smithsgore.co.uk

Sporting shoot benchmarking 2013 - 14 season 100 shoots are analysing their financial and management performance with us, though our shoot benchmarking service. We will publish ‘the headlines’ by 1 September. The detailed benchmarks and analysis will be sent to participants only, with their personalised reports which compares their shoot with the benchmarks, so they can use them to plan for next season.

Key benchmarks from our last survey Gamekeepers salary Cost per bird put down Price charged per pheasant

£16,414 + benefits £12.42 (excl VAT) £32 (excl VAT)

If you would like to take part (it is free) or know more, please do call me or come and see us on Stand X825 at the Game Fair.

David Steel Head of Sporting 01200 411051 david.steel @smithsgore.co.uk

Jointly produced with the GWCT

News in Brief Understanding the drivers of the UK farmland market Royal Agricultural University / Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors fellowship Gerald FitzGerald, who leads our national valuation and investment team, has been given this prestigious award and has produced a detailed report, which he presented at the RICS Rural Conference and to members of the RAU. His paper concluded that although land values can be driven by both financial and productive qualities, the most recent rise can be primarily attributed to rising commodity prices, supported by low interest rates and higher subsidies due to favourable exchange rates.

‘Best urban site’ award

Our Truro Architecture and Building Surveying team has won ‘best urban site’ award at the Cornwall Building Control Awards for the residential development at Smithick Hill, Falmouth. All fourteen of the flats on a very constrained site in the town centre were sold before they were completed.

He also considered the challenges for agriculture in the future of feeding a rising world population, as well as tackling malnutrition. He argues that producing more food in a more environmentally sustainably way will require adoption of new technology, which will require higher commodity prices to support the investment. Thus whilst high prices undoubtedly cause problems for the poorest of society, if we do not have higher prices, we will struggle to feed the world. A copy is available in the publications section of our website.

Stables conversion shortlisted for RICS award Our Architecture and Building Surveying team in Scotland has been shortlisted for the RICS Scotland Awards for the second year running, this time for the conversion of Drumpark Stables at Irongray, Dumfriesshire to houses. Many of the original details of the stables have been retained. The design also incorporates wood burning stoves and will have low maintenance costs.

Promotions We are delighted that the following staff have been promoted to partner or associate. Partners

Associates

Tim Cathcart

(Maidstone)

Chris Anderson

(Truro)

Dan Coston

(Peterborough)

Robert Childerhouse (Newmarket)

Fin Hughes

(Andover)

Will Douglas

(York)

Iain Nott

(Peterborough)

Emily Hartnell

(Cirencester)

Kay Paton

(Dumfries)

Philip Hodgkin

(Taunton)

Harriet Ramsay

(Winchester)

Thomas Lockton

(London)

Thomas Stanley

(Haddington)

Jonny Morris

(Petworth)

Robert Murphy

(Edinburgh)

Duncan Winspear

(Corbridge)

Lindsey wins at 2014 Par a-Equestrian World Driving Championships Lindsey Tyas-Paice, who works in and is sponsored by our Newmarket office, won the Princess Haya Hand in Hand Trophy with Barry Capstick of Ireland at the recent championships held at Sandringham. The trophy is for the best team consisting of a para equestrian athlete and an able bodied driver. She also finished 7th in the singles and was a member of the British squad that came 4th in the team competition. Lindsey has been carriage driving for over 20 years and has many notable successes, including at the Open National Para-Driving Championships.

Offices

Estate offices

Abergavenny t 01873 859200

Exeter t 01392 278466

Perth t 01738 479180

Worcester t 01905 371261

Andover t 01264 774900

Fochabers t 01343 823000

Peterborough t 01733 567231

York t 01904 756300

Berwick-upon-Tweed t 01289 333030

Haddington t 01620 828960

Petworth t 01798 345980

Carlisle t 01228 527586

Lichfield t 01543 251221

Reading t 0118 903 5195

Cirencester t 01285 888000

Lincoln t 01522 507310

Stamford t 01780 484696

Clitheroe t 01200 411050

London t 020 7409 9490

Stow-on-the-Wold t 01451 832832

Corbridge t 01434 632001

Maidstone t 01732 879050

Taunton t 01823 445030

Darlington t 01325 462966

Marlborough t 01672 529050

Truro t 01872 274646

Dumfries t 01387 263066

Newmarket t 01638 665848

Winchester t 01962 857400

Edinburgh t 0131 344 0888

Oxford t 01865 733300

Wooler t 01668 281611

Alscot Angmering Park Arbury Barlavington Exbury Firle Goodwood Knowsley Leconfield Llanover Scone Windsor

Other offices Pembroke DTE office Sennybridge DTE office

Overseas offices Australia British Virgin Islands

Services Architecture and Building Surveying David Shaw | 01962 857409 | david.shaw@smithsgore.co.uk

Investment Gerald FitzGerald | 020 7409 9492 | gerald.fitzgerald@smithsgore.co.uk

Business Improvement Matthew Currie | 01387 274382 | matthew.currie@smithsgore.co.uk

Minerals and Waste John Dutson | 01962 857408 | john.dutson@smithsgore.co.uk

Commercial Property: City Centre James Dunlop | 020 7290 1611 | james.dunlop@smithsgore.co.uk

Planning Rebecca McAllister | 0118 903 5191 | rebecca.mcallister@smithsgore.co.uk

Development Robert Weldon | 020 7290 1618 | robert.weldon@smithsgore.co.uk

Project and Construction Management Piers Owen | 01872 274646 | piers.owen@smithsgore.co.uk

Equestrian Services Simon Derby | 01823 445036 | simon.derby@smithsgore.co.uk

Property and Lettings Management Christopher Jowett | 01962 857421 | chris.jowett@smithsgore.co.uk

Estate Management Rupert Clark | 01798 345999 | rupert.clark@smithsgore.co.uk

Research Dr Jason Beedell | 01733 866562 | jason.beedell@smithsgore.co.uk

Facilities Management Dan Coston | 01733 559317 | dan.coston@smithsgore.co.uk

Residential Property Agency Andrew Turner | 01904 756303 | andrew.turner@smithsgore.co.uk

Farms & Estates Agency Giles Wordsworth | 020 7409 9490 | giles.wordsworth@smithsgore.co.uk

Rural Commercial & Broadband Ben Knight | 01285 888008 | ben.knight@smithsgore.co.uk

Farm Management Simon Blandford | 01962 857405 | simon.blandford@smithsgore.co.uk

Sporting Services David Steel | 01200 411051 | david.steel@smithsgore.co.uk

Forestry, Woodland and Arboriculture Andy Greathead | 01620 828979 | andy.greathead@smithsgore.co.uk

Sustainability, Renewables and Energy Dr Alan Harries | 0207 409 9490 | alan.harries@smithsgore.co.uk

GIS Mapping Bob Allcock | 01543 261990 | bob.allcock@smithsgore.co.uk

Telecommunications Kay Paton | 01387 274394 | kay.paton@smithsgore.co.uk

Historic Building Conservation and Repair Jane Jones-Warner | 01798 345910 | jane.jones-warner@smithsgore.co.uk

Valuations Gerald FitzGerald | 020 7409 9492 | gerald.fitzgerald@smithsgore.co.uk

International Property Edward Childs | 001 284 494 2446 | edward.childs@smithsgore.co.uk

Edited by Dr Jason Beedell

smithsgore.co.uk