Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
A very merry Christmas and happy New Year to all our existing and prospective clients from the team at Assetoptimal.
DEFRA opens £40 million fund to boost farm productivity
The government has announced a £40 million boost to fund the next stage of the Country Productivity Scheme, allowing farmers in England to apply for funding to improve farm productivity.
Having trouble visualising your project?
Assetoptimal have been advising clients for over 20 years on barn conversion projects on all scales. We can help advise you from conception through to completion.
Client testimonial following planning appeal success
“Thank you to the whole team for a great result!” says from Mr Reynolds within the Mendip Planning Area.
Planning appeal success thanks to Assetoptimal
Assetoptimal were recently success in securing planning consent for a client via a Certificate of Lawfulness of Existing Use or Development avoiding a lengthy and costly public inquiry appeal.
Changes to rules for Ecological Focus Areas
The European Commission has published updated greening rules, including changes to Ecological Focus Areas (EFA), which will come into effect from 1 January 2018.
Further changes to permitted development legislation
Further changes to the government’s permitted development legislation came into place on 1 October 2017, allowing for industrial buildings that fulfill a set of criteria to be turned into residential dwellings.
The challenge of a prolonged Brexit for farmers
The government remains positive that we will leave the European Union in March 2019, and a ‘transitional agreement’ will be put in place to allow the UK to disentangle itself from EU regulations and rules. This entanglement is most evident within the domestic agricultural policy, leaving farmers rightly concerned about what the future holds.
Stamp Duty Land Tax: mixed-use savings
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is most relevant on purchases above the £925,001 threshold. But many buyers are unaware of the significant savings that can be made on mixed-use land and property, where stamp duty is calculated differently.
Public Rights of Way
Section 31 (6) of the Highways Act 1980 enables landowners to acknowledge the existence of public rights of way (PROW) across their land, and allows landowners to prevent new PROW being established by ‘presumed dedication’.