ADVICE PAGE AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Please
note that this page offers general advice relating to regularly
asked questions. Each circumstance is individual and you must therefore
ensure that you obtain legal and professional advice. With regard
to planning, district authorities can also vary. Other considerations
relating to property include conservation areas, areas of outstanding
natural beauty, SSSI (Sites of special scientific interest), TPO
(Tree preservation orders), Listed buildings, Restrictive covenants,
and special conditions and development covenants. The above is
just a selection of the issues to be considered.
Section 1- Dwellings
Section 2- Finance
Section 3- Buying a Fishery
Section 4- Building a Fishery
Section 5- Selling a Fishery
SECTION 1: DWELLINGS
• CAN I BUILD A HOUSE?
Most lakes are located in the countryside where there is a strong
presumption against any residential development away from established
settlement boundaries (as defined in the relevant Local Plan, copies
of which are usually in the local library or on the local council's
website). However, planning law allows for certain exceptions to
this (see par. 3 below).
• WHAT ABOUT A CARAVAN?
A common misconception is that living in a caravan or log cabin
does not require planning permission. Any building used as a dwelling
requires planning permission. Even a structure which is not a building
but is used for residential purposes requires permission (the planning
system controls not only the erection of building, but also any
change of use of land and buildings). i.e. if you live in a caravan
you have changed the use of that land away from a rural use to
a residential use.
• WHAT IS AN AGRICULTURAL OCCUPANCY CONDITION?
Although there is a presumption against new residential development
in the countryside the planners recognise that some workers need
to be housed in the countryside in order to carry out their job
e.g. a cowman needing to live near the milking parlour. Historically
such properties were designated with an Agricultural Occupancy
Condition (“Ag. Tag”) meaning literally that the occupant of that
house had to be employed in agriculture.
Some fisheries in the past described their activity as fish farming
and come with “Ag Tag” properties. Now, however, under Planning
Policy Statement 7 Sustainable Development in Rural Areas the agricultural
dwellings provision has been extended to include ‘other occupational
dwellings'. Other occupational dwellings can now include dwellings
on livery yards and managers' dwellings on caravan parks and fisheries.
For new dwellings to be given permission under these rules two
criteria must be satisfied, the functional test and the financial
test.
• WHAT IS A SECTION 106 AGREEMENT?
This is a legally binding agreement, under the terms of Part III
( Control of Development ), section 106 of The Town and
Country Planning Act [1990], between the owner of a property and
the planners. When quoted in reference to a dwelling the effect
is usually the same as having an “Ag Tag” but the proviso might
state that the dwelling could not be sold off separately from the
rest of the property.
If you would like professional advice about planning issues
concerning your fishery, please do not hesitate to contact us.
SECTION 2: FINANCE
• HOW MUCH CAN I BORROW?
Generally speaking if you are able to service the loan through
outside income and the business you may be able to borrow up to
60% of the market value of the property. You must also remember
that normally, lenders would only do so on a commercial basis,
which is usually more expensive than a residential mortgage.
• HOW DO I RAISE THE FINANCE?
Specialist skills and knowledge are often required to successfully
raise finance on fisheries.
Many people try to raise the finance themselves through high street
lenders. Often they find that these lenders view fisheries as an
unknown quantity and may be reluctant to lend substantial sums
against them, as they have no specific credit policy guidelines
on this sector.
It is important to approach the right part of lenders in order
to get to underwriters who have knowledge of, and are comfortable
in funding, fisheries.
We have found that the funding of fisheries is usually a much
smoother process where applicants use the services of professionals
who have specialist skills and knowledge of raising fishery finance.
We have ongoing relationships with certain such professionals and
will be pleased to put you in touch.
If
you would like more details please contact us.
• CAN YOU SEND ME THE ACCOUNTS OF A BUSINESS?
Where a fishery / business has been trading and there are accounts
available, these will be made available to seriously interested
parties. This will usually mean that you have visited the property
and met either the owner or us.
SECTION 3: BUYING A FISHERY
• WHAT DOES SSTC MEAN?
Sold Subject to Contract- this means an offer has been made which
is attractive to the vendor who has then accepted the offer. The
purchaser's solicitor will be making enquires about the property
and the purchaser will be organising their finance. Once both the
buyers' and vendors' solicitors are happy to proceed and the purchaser
has secured the necessary funds, a contract will be signed so that
the vendor has to then sell to the purchaser who has to then buy.
Once a contract has been signed the completion will follow when
the consideration (money) is handed over and the ownership is officially
transferred.
Once an offer has been accepted (SSTC) the property will be taken
off the market and no further viewing carried out. Details of any
other interested parties will be retained and they will be informed
if the property comes back onto the market.
• WHAT IS A GUIDE PRICE?
This is the price level around which we are inviting purchasers
to make their offer.
• HOW HAVE YOU VALUED A FISHERY?
We have kept extensive records of various fisheries that have
been sold both on and off market going back over 15 years. This
enables us to value fisheries on comparative evidence (as houses
are valued).
Where a fishery is producing an income, or has the potential
to, this will be taken into account and valued along investment
principles. Other factors such as prevailing economic conditions,
the attractiveness of a site or the value of the different components
(house, holiday lets, farmland, woodland etc) will have been taken
into account. Salmon rivers are normally valued on a value per
fish basis.
SECTION 4: BUILDING A FISHERY
• WOULDN'T IT BE CHEAPER JUST TO BUY SOME
LAND AND DIG A LAKE?
Possibly, but coming across land on the market with the right
potential is very difficult. The land has to be suitable physically
i.e. able to hold water and have the benefit of a suitable water
supply. It also has to be in a place where planning permission
for the construction of a lake will be granted. The planners will
examine issues such as the scale of the project, access, highways
and how the proposal fits with stated local objectives. Furthermore,
consent from the Environment Agency has to be given which can be
difficult to obtain.
The risk then is in buying land with no planning permission /
Environment Agency consents.
Even once you had the land and necessary permission you would
still have considerable construction costs, stocking costs and
be several years from generating income from the site.
If you would like professional advice about the feasibility
of constructing a fishery from scratch and assistance with seeking
planning permission, please contact us.
• WHAT ABOUT LAKES BUILT WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION?
There have been lakes that have been dug without first obtaining
planning permission. Often these lakes evolved over the years gradually
and at a time when commercial fisheries were not as popular as
they are now. If this is the case a Certificate of Lawful Existing
Use or Development (CLEUD) can be applied for, if the fishery has
existed in its current form for long enough. CLEUD cases are decided
on the balance of probability and therefore factual information
submitted with the application is required.
If you have a fishery that was built without planning permission
and would now like to develop the fishery further, borrow money
against the fishery or sell the fishery you should consider the
need to obtain a CLUED. Contact us for further advice.
SECTION 5: SELLING A FISHERY
• HOW DO I GO ABOUT SELLING A FISHERY?
Contact us, we will then arrange to visit your property and
give our honest opinion about the property and the price at which it should
be placed on the market. We aim to be professional in the advice
we give and will not give you a hyper-inflated value of what we
think it is worth just to get your instruction. In some cases after
visiting a site we make recommendations that certain improvements
are carried out and the property put on the
market in a few months or years time.
• WHAT PREPARATION DO I NEED TO DO?
If you are serious about selling it is essential to be well prepared
before putting your fishery on the market. Full information needs
to be available including planning issues and preferably three
years audited accounts.
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