Is rural housing the key to agricultural progress?

Mr Wright explained the biggest barrier for his family was housing.

He said: “There are not enough farms coming to market and, when they do, it either goes to the neighbour next door or there is more value in ripping the house out and renting it separately.

“For me, the number one thing is – particularly when you look at the South – there is more value in developing farm buildings and renting the farm house out to a banker in London.”

He suggested the Government should relax rules for new buildings on-farm, specifically for farmers or those entering into Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs).

Changing inheritance tax was another of his key asks, but previous talks with Farming Minister George Eustice ‘led nowhere’, he said.

“His cop out was the Treasury leads on inheritance tax changes,” said Mr Wright.

“If you have to farm to keep your inheritance tax and there is no-one to take over, you are not investing in the business, you are not trying new ideas, you are just keeping the business going.

“There is a reason why productivity in the UK is falling behind. I cannot wait for subsidy to go and for a lot of people not to be able to afford to farm, because it will give young people the opportunity.”

A former volunteer at the Farming Community Network (FCN) said the issues surrounding rural housing had been ongoing for some time, but because farms are so spread out, the numbers in any one area ‘appeared insignificant’.

Retirement

FCN chief executive Charles Smith added the charity had been supporting tenant farmers who continue to farm long past ‘normal’ retirement age for many years.

“The harsh reality is the older these farmers get, the harder they find it to keep up with the physical demands of life on-farm,” he said.

“This then has a knock-on effect on their physical and mental well-being and puts their personal safety on the farm at risk.

“The lack of affordable housing makes it impossible for many of these farmers to leave the farm and pave the way for the younger generation to take over.”

Mr Smith also warned the demand from elderly farmers looking for rural retirement housing over the next few years was likely to significantly increase.

“It is difficult to see the situation improving for either generation without a significant change of approach to local planning and greatly increased provision of affordable rural housing,” he said.

CALL FOR URGENT STAMP DUTY REFORM

A REFORM in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), both for new entrants and retiring farmers, is urgently needed, according to the Tenant Farmers’ Association (TFA).

TFA chief executive George Dunn explained for those taking tenancies, SDLT is calculated on the net present value of the rental stream and has a built-in level of discrimination against longer term, more secure tenancies.

He said: “The TFA understands the SDLT scheme as we currently have it was introduced to tackle loss of taxation revenue from large urban developments; however, it is penalising good practice within a rural context.”

Instead, he suggested all agricultural tenancies should be assessed for SDLT on the basis that they are assumed to be twoyear agreements, regardless of their actual length of term.

Mr Dunn also claimed the operation of higher rate SDLT on purchases of second residences is a ‘major problem’ for those looking to purchase a property for their retirement.

“There is an inherent unfairness within the current regulations which needs to be corrected,” he said.

Exempt

At present, an individual who is the owner-occupier of their principal place of residence is exempt from the higher rate of SDLT when purchasing a replacement dwelling for their current principal place of residence, regardless of how many other residential units they own.

But for individuals such as tenant farmers, who are required to live in accommodation provided by their tenancies, the exemption from higher rate SDLT does not apply when they give up living in the job-related accommodation either through retirement or at the end of tenancy.