Autumn 2015
Chartered Surveyors
Landmark
Property Sales
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AGRICULTURAL TIE REMOVAL
Last ditch attempt at removal pays off
We’re often called in to help landowners have
Agricultural Ties removed from properties. An
Agricultural Tie is a planning condition, which
states that the occupant of the property must be
an agricultural employee or previous agricultural
employee in the local area.
Over time circumstances can change, meaning that the
property is no longer needed for an agricultural worker
and we’re often asked to help assess whether these ties
can be removed, as was the case with Mr and Mrs Smith
who live in Wick, Pershore.
The couple own and live in a bungalow which was built
by Mr. Smith’s parents in 1989, but because it was in
the open countryside, it had the Agricultural Occupancy
Condition, or Agricultural Tie, attached to it. As
neither of them are employed in Agriculture, the
Planning Authority would have been within their rights
to serve them notice to vacate the property and they
would have had to do so.
They had tried but failed on several occasions to have
the Tie removed, and were worried about the future.
Mr Smith said; “We applied for Planning Permission to
alter the property, which highlighted the issue in relation
to the occupancy. We made several attempts to remove
the Tie through the legal and planning routes, and when
it became apparent that these avenues were always
going to be unsuccessful it seemed that a solution was
unachievable”.
“A friend recommended contacting Carver Knowles, as
they had been successful with removing Agricultural
Ties. We thought the chances of a successful outcome
were slim, but we had nothing to lose.”
“Carver Knowles were able to help when they spotted
the original Planning Permission had not been properly
implemented and this error had gone unnoticed on
previous attempts. They were confident they could get
the Tie removed.”
Abigail Baldrey of Carver Knowles said; “An application
was submitted to the local Planning Authority, and 8
weeks after it was validated and after years of trying,
the Agricultural Tie was removed and Mr and Mrs Smith
could sleep soundly in their home.”
The removal of the Tie has significantly increased the
value of the property and also means that they can now
proceed with an application to extend the property.
Previously, they couldn’t do that, as they would have
had to prove that the farming enterprise was sufficiently
profitable to justify the extension.
If you have a property which is subject to an
Agricultural Occupancy Condition, and you want
to look at having it removed, or have tried
previously and failed, contact Abigail Baldrey on
01684 853407.
We might be able to help you, just as we did for
Mr and Mrs Smith.