Whether you are a farmer looking to diversify, a landowner looking to acquire fishing rights or simply wanting to register an estate that has been held in your family for many generations – we can help you.
We offer you expert advice on a range of legal matters on farm, agriculture, woodland and rural pursuits.
If you are buying or selling farmland or woodlands – we know what it takes to prepare for a successful sale whether by auction, tender or private treaty. We know how to investigate a purchase thoroughly for you to avoid any nasty surprises later. We can also help grant or take Farm Business Tenancies.
Ownership of boundaries, water supplies and trackways need careful checking as do felling licences and grant conditions when acquiring or disposing of woodlands and we are happy to put on our wellies and tramp the fields when site visits are needed to clarify matters.
We can advise you on how to claim rights through long use or ownership through exclusive occupation in circumstances when your deeds are inadequate and, when this may not be possible, to arrange title insurance to enable a sale or purchase to proceed.
Many farms and estates are still unregistered having been held in the same family for generations - we can help bring your deeds up to date by applying for voluntary first registration at H M Land Registry.
We understand the importance of farm subsidies to farm incomes and are familiar with the intricacies of the Basic Payment and Entry and Higher Level Stewardship Schemes.
We can help negotiate the grant of rights and wayleaves to power and telecoms companies and developers wanting to cross your land with overhead cables or underground pipes.
For farmers considering diversification, whether it be converting barns to houses or holiday units or full-scale residential development on the one hand, to leasing land for solar panel and wind turbine energy generation on the other, we have extensive experience of negotiating the complex options, overage, promotion agreements and conditional contracts needed to unlock value for you.