Aspects of Land | Spring/Summer 2018

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5 Spring / Summer 2018 Aspects of Land
Farming in Denmark is leading the field
What happens if protected species
are found on a proposed development
site? It is rare that the existence
of a protected species will prevent
anything happening on a site. If a
protected species is found then
the usual solution is to provide an
alternative habitat. The ecologist
carrying out the survey will make
recommendations. These could
involve putting up bat boxes or
might require the translocation of
a species to a new site.
What do people often overlook
regarding species surveys? The timing
is important for these surveys. Counts of
different species can only happen when
those species are active, so generally
they need to happen in the spring,
summer or autumn, outside of
hibernation periods. This can cause
delays to when you are able to
submit your planning application.
And then, of course, there’s making sure
you’ve included all the survey costs in
your budgets.
n To find out more about species surveys on
projects you’re considering, contact Lee Scott,
Petworth, 01798 345 971,
£23,500
has been raised so far for county air ambulance charities by Savills
Rural, Energy and Projects. Teams across the country have been
holding cake sales, Christmas jumper days, running half-marathons
and even jumping off jetties to reach this impressive figure. Each
regional area is supporting its local air ambulance charity as they
are regionally operated and receive no Government funding.
IN SEARCH OF HEDGEHOGS
The British Hedgehog Preservation
Society has conducted a new survey of
hedgehog numbers. It found that the
number of hedgehogs in rural areas is
declining, while those in urban areas is
levelling off. A separate report in the
European Journal of Wildlife Research
found that these notorious slug eaters
choose gardens and buildings as their
preferred habitat, over woodland and
arable land.
FARMLAND VALUES
AROUND THE WORLD
Savills has updated its
Global Farmland Index to
include figures for 2016.
It reveals that over the
last 14 years, the average
annualised growth in
farmland values has
been 13.3%.
The Index tracks values
in 15 countries and there
is a significant difference
in the rate of growth
between them. In France,
for example, the annualised
rate is less than 5%, while in
Romania it is over 25%.
“With higher returns,
generally come higher risks,”
says Ian Bailey of Savills
Rural Research. “But Savills
has tried to quantify these
risks with our Opportunity v
Risk Matrix.”
To construct this matrix,
Savills research department
took a detailed set of
metrics and combined these
with their experience and
knowledge of the markets
to give each country three
separate scores.
“The first of these
scores relates to potential
risks such as political and
economic instability, the
weather and the country’s
infrastructure. The second
is for benefits such as
agronomic advantages and
investment returns. And the
third, is the score balance
that subtracts the risk from
the benefit score.”
At the bottom end of the
score balance sheet were
Ireland, where large scale
farming opportunities are
rare, Hungary and France,
which are both restrictive
to foreign ownership. While
leading the field were
Denmark, with its recent
lifting of foreign investment
restrictions, and Australia
and the USA, which both
offer great opportunities for
large scale farming.
n For more about global
research, speak to Ian Bailey,
London, 020 7299 3099,
What is a species survey? Species
surveys are carried out to make sure
that no harm comes to any protected
species in the course of a building
project. They fall into two parts. A
“Phase 1” survey will look at what
habitats a proposed building site covers
and whether that might mean more
detailed surveys are needed to check
for any protected species. Depending
on what is found, further surveys might
then happen, such as an “emergence”
survey where an ecologist comes to the
site and counts bats flying in and out
of the building.
Who needs to carry out this type of
survey? Most projects that need planning
permission will need to carry out a species
survey. Some councils won’t look at a
planning application until the relevant
surveys are done. However, you may also
need to do this if you’re knocking down
NEED TO
KNOW
WHO NEEDS SPECIES SURVEYS?
with Lee Scott, Savills Rural Planning
or renovating an old building, cutting
down trees or just building on a fresh
piece of land, any activity that could
disturb a habitat. There are times
when even if you don’t need planning
permission – such as re-roofing a rural
home – you’ll still need to
notify Natural England.
Likewise if no protected
species are found, there might
be restrictions, such as not
cutting down trees when birds
are nesting in them.
What are the costs
involved with this type
of survey? The costs will
vary depending on the size
of a project and where it is.
But for most small building work,
such as converting a barn, you’d be
looking at between £500 and £2,000 for
Phase 1 and then anything from £3,000 to
£5,000 for more detailed surveys.
GLOBAL
SHUTTERSTOCK, iSTOCK