Blog

The Taste of Gloucestershire Food and Farming Awards took place at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse on Monday 30th October. These awards are some of the most prestigious accolades for businesses working in the food and farming sectors in the County. Frank Smith, of Frank Smith & Co, was delighted to attend the event and to…

At our recent Launch Party at the Cheltenham Town Hall we were pleased to show our support for the RABI – The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution - the charity that provides financial support to farming people in hardship of all ages. We welcomed Suzy Deeley, Corporate Development Manager, to our event to help publicise the…

Over a year on from the Brexit vote, there is still no clue as to where the UK will end up in terms of its trade position. There are three possible scenarios for the future: 1)  the UK stays in the single market; 2) the UK does not keep full access to the single market…

Are you considering buying a rural property subject to an agricultural restriction that limits occupation to a person solely or mainly employed or last employed in the locality in agriculture? However, you do not satisfy the test, but will do so on completion when you start operating an agricultural business from the property on a…

Is a landowner responsible for injuries to a horse kept on their land? Various examples include; death to the horse caused by indigestion of contaminated land or contamination of haylage fed to the horses. In short the responsibility for the horse depends on the type of livery agreement you have put in place. In a…

Permitted Development provisions under Part 3, Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 have given rise to the opportunity of meeting housing demand in rural areas. So what qualifies as meeting the provisions of class Q? Buildings must have been in use for agriculture on 20 March 2013, or…

The most common way to prevent third parties acquiring prescription rights over your property, that is rights obtained by custom or continued use, is to put up a sign or notice. However, the question of the effectiveness of such signs, is subjective. For a right by prescription to occur in the first place it must…

Property Fraud is a criminal offence which like many things, you believe will never happen to you. However, according to the office of national statistics, property fraud has made up the largest component of property offences recorded by the police. In March 2016 alone, it accounted for 21% of total property crime, for comparison in…

On Friday 24th February, we attended the Cheltenham Ladies’ College Networking Dinner focussing on the Legal Profession. The event which took place in the Garden Common Room, allowed students to gain an insight into different areas of the legal profession with the aim of helping them to find out which area of the legal profession…

We are pleased to announce that we have moved our specialist law firm business to a new location. From Monday 13th February, our offices will be situated at: 7 Imperial Square, Cheltenham, GL50 1QB Located in the centre of Cheltenham, our new premises are still easily accessible for clients and suppliers. It is also within…

With Boxing Day and the festive season being some of the busiest times of the year for shooting, the following case provides a timely reminder to comply with Health and Safety regulations. The case concerns a sporting and country estate that was sentenced for safety breaches after a worker suffered a life changing injury. The…

Horses are an important part of the rural economy, but because they are generally not considered to be “agricultural” they often present headaches for planning purposes. Agriculture is currently defined in Section 336 (1) of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990, although the definition dates further back to the 1940’s. In terms of horses,…