With extensive experience, Stags is well placed to provide the expertise and solutions demanded by our clients in the region's rural property sector. Stags Rural Property Consultants can either undertake the whole task on behalf of our clients or use our expertise in specific areas to work closely with our clients, other professionals and provide support where necessary.
We deal with a wide variety of rural issues:
Valuations:
- Secured lending
- Probate
- Expert witness
- Inheritance Tax
- Capital Gains Tax
- Matrimonial and partnership dissolution
- Charities Act
Rural Planning
- Agricultural dwellings
- Barn conversion and re-use
- Affordable housing
Rural Business Administration:
- Single Payment Scheme
- Rural Land Register
- Business plans
- Agri-environmental schemes
- Nitrate Vulnerable Zones
Estate Management and Landlord / Tenant:
- Management of rural estates / farms
- Landlord and tenant matters
- Environmental matters
Compulsory Purchase and Compensation:
- Telecommunications
- Pipelines
- Road schemes
- Countryside access
Farm Diversification:
- Diversification schemes
- Feasibility studies
- Grant Funding schemes
Contract Services:
- Provision of services to Government agencies, utility companies etc
The 2012 Farm Focus is now available, call 01392 680059 to request your free copy or to view on-line click here
New Farm Subsidy Scheme Post-2013
Draft legislative proposals governing reforms to the Single Payment Scheme have been published. Whilst information about the scheme has not been confirmed, details are now circulating and it is likely that many of these will be confirmed in due course.
To read Mark Neason's full report click here
Small Capital Grants - Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme
A new raft of small capital grants available for farmers, foresters, horticultural businesses and contractors. For more information click here.
Planning Success on Listed Barn
Stags are pleased to announce the grant of planning permission and Listed Building Consent for the change of use of a two storey Listed barn to a functions venue. For more information click here.
Rural Planning Sucess
To see examples of Stags recent planning success please click here
New Capital Grant available
DEFRA has recently announced a new capital grant scheme which will make funds available to farmers, foresters, horticulturalists and other rural based businesses. The scheme is called the Rural Economy Grant (REG) and it offers a 40% contribution to certain qualifying projects. To find out more click here.
Grass Keep still popular
Caroline Snell, of Stags Professional Services at Honiton in Devon comments “With the lack of spring rain, competitive demand for farmland to rent and increasing land values supported by good commodity prices, the demand for grass keep remains strong”.
To read Caroline's full report click here
Contacts
Mark Neason BSc (Hons) MRICS FAAV
01392 439046 m.neason@stags.co.uk
Mark is an Associate Partner of Stags and runs the Exeter based Rural Property Consultancy team, Mark was brought up in East Devon and, with a background in agriculture, specialises in the provision of strategic advice to farmers and landowners. Mark has a first class honours degree in Rural Estate Management, is a qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Central Association of Agricultural Valuers.
John Seamer BA (Cantab) FRICS FAAV
01884 256331 j.seamer@stags.co.uk
John Seamer joined Stags in 1981. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1983 and became an Equity Partner in 1987. He specialises in all aspects of professional work. He has prepared numerous expert witness reports and frequently appears as an Expert Witness in the County Court and the Royal Courts of Justice. He also acts as an advocate and has presented cases at Arbitration, in the County Court, and in the Lands Tribunal. He is managing partner of the firm.
Michael Powell FRICS FAAV
01823 662822 m.powell@stags.co.uk
Michael has a wealth of experience as a Rural Surveyor based predominantly in the West Country and has been a Partner of Stags for 25 years. Michael has specialised in Landlord and Tenant matters predominantly acting for tenants, but some landlords, a TFA recommended Valuer and Arbitrator, Advocate Independent Expert and Expert Witness, valuations for Taxation, matrimonial and lending purposes, planning advice relating to rural matters, a livestock auctioneer and former Chairman of Western Counties Agricultural Valuers Association.
Gareth Rowe BSc (Hons) MRICS FAAV
01872 279911 g.rowe@stags.co.uk
Following an initial career in farm management, both in Cornwall and further afield, Gareth qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and Agricultural Valuer in 1997 and is based in the Stags Truro office. With his close links to the farming community, Gareth provides a wide range of professional and practical advice to farmers and landowners throughout the county.
Jo Maynard MRICS FAAV
01566 771808 j.maynard@stags.co.uk
Jo is based at Stags' Launceston Office and she covers all aspects of rural property surveying and advises owners and occupiers on property related issues across West Devon & North and East Cornwall. Jo gained a 2:1 BSc (Hons) degree in Rural Land Management and became a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) in November 2007. She passed her entrance examinations to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers in 2009, obtaining the second highest score in the Country. Married to a Lifton dairy farmer, Jo has strong links with the agricultural sector.
Graeme Biffen BSc (Hons) PGDipSurv MRICS FAAV
01392 439046 g.biffen@stags.co.uk
Graeme is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and a Fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, with strong links to the farming community in Devon and Somerset. He achieved a Distinction in his Post-Graduate Diploma in Surveying and now, in addition to his work for Stags, does part-time tutoring of post-graduate students for the College of Estate Management, Reading. His specialities include valuation, taxation, compulsory purchase and compensation work, whilst also providing a range of other professional advice to farmers and landowners.
Caroline Snell BSc (Hons) MRICS
01404 46086 c.snell@stags.co.uk
Based in the Stags Honiton Office, Caroline provides land and rural property advice to farmers and landowners across East Devon, Dorset and South Somerset. Caroline gained a 2:1 BSc (Hons) degree in Rural Enterprise and Land Management at Harper Adams University College. It was during her employment as Assistant Land Agent on the Chatsworth Estate, Derbyshire she became a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A farmer’s daughter from Cullompton and a former ‘young farmer’, Caroline has strong links with the agricultural community.
Tiffany Chambers MSc (Hons) MRICS RICS Registered Valuer
01872 279911 t.chambers@stags.co.uk
Tiffany is based in Stags Truro Office and provides land and rural property advice to farmers and landowners across Cornwall including valuations, rural planning and compulsory purchase and compensation. Having qualified from St Andrews University with a 2:1 BSc (Hons), she then completed an MSc (Hons) in Rural Estate Management at The Royal Agricultural College and qualified as a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2010. Originally from North Yorkshire, Tiffany has worked as both a rural and commercial surveyor in Yorkshire, East Sussex and Hampshire before deciding to pursue her career in Cornwall. As a keen equestrienne, Tiffany supports the local Hunt and enjoys horse riding in her spare time.