News
Hugh Townsend has for over 25 years been the country's "go-to" commentator on farm quotas and rural surveying issues affecting farmers. Having become the country's leading and most innovative quota agent he was broadcast to 3.8 million listeners on Radio 4's PM programme interviewed by Eddie Mayer on the 1st April 2015 – the Dawning of Europe without Milk Quotas, click here. More recently BBC1 interviewed Hugh Townsend on the future of farming following the Referendum, click here.
Hugh Townsend has over the years developed the most creative arrangements to promote an efficient market in farm quotas, in the early eighties developing leasing milk quota without land before the Milk Marketing Board introduced leasing for a part of the milk year.
He represented clients in leading legal cases defending transfers of milk quota and developed the new system of second TQ1 forms protecting the transfer of quotas with land.
In 1991, with Farmers Weekly he produced the first sale price index countrywide and started to publish farm quota sales and leasing graphs which are still published by Farmers Weekly and other publications and can be seen on our Milk Quota & Entitlements pages.
On BBC television he has defended dairy farmers who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals in the farm quota market and was again on television to comment on the "footballers buy milk quota" rumpus.
He regularly writes for Farmers Guardian and the South West's Western Morning News and our experienced team is sought after for their comments on farm quotas.
4.6.2024 – ITV West Country News – Biodiversity Net Gain
Great to have an ITV film crew on one of our BNG Habitat Bank Sites, filming a news report, broadcast on the 4th June 2024. Watch the broadcast…
Read More
8.5.2024 – Western Morning News – Delving into the deeper details of pond creation
We often see ecologists/landowners suggesting the creation of new ponds in respect to BNG projects. The costs however can be considerable in certain circumstances and the number of BNG units created surprisingly not as great as one would imagine. However if the appeal of creating water landscape features is the prime objective BNG can be…
Read More
1.5.24 – Western Morning News – BNG: Authorities have a lot of catching up to do
As all LPAs in England must now try and sort out how they are going to comply with their obligations under the National BNG Framework, launched on the 12th February, we continue to try and engage with them to create Habitat Banks for our clients. So far there has been a mixed response from those LPAs…
Read More 24.4.2024 – Western Morning News – Delinked payments update as interest from buyers increases
Buying interest is so far being driven by smaller claimants wanting to top up the value of what they receive over the next four years most calls are from farmers interested in buying enough reference data to get them up to the £30,000 band, which is where the higher reductions to payments start to apply….
Read More17.4.2024 – BPS ENTITLEMENTS 2024 – SCOTTISH, WELSH, NI & ENGLISH DELINKAGE – BNG – NUTRIENT NEUTRALITY – CARBON CREDITS – WATER ABSTRACTION LICENCES
SCOTTISH ENTITLEMENTS – 2024 MARKET COMMENT The trading deadline was the 2nd April. Region 1: There was little demand for Region 1 entitlements in the 2023-24 season and the first sales were agreed late in March at £145 plus VAT. The Region 1 did attract however a broad range of prices, with sales as low…
Read More
2.4.2024 – Farmers Weekly – Advice on the delinked payment transfer market for farmers in England
Farmers in England who want to transfer or sell any of their delinked payment reference data have only a short window in which to do so. The window for transfers opened on 15 February and closes on 10 May 2024. Anyone buying reference data must to be someone who has made a 2023 claim. Alasdair…
Read More11.3.2024 – 24Housing – The Biodiversity Net Gain market gets underway
Since mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation was introduced on 12 February 2024, trading in BNG units began as developers were compelled to meet the new planning obligations. And while the market appears to be starting slowly, demand is expected to pick up later in the year as more planning permissions are granted and developers…
Read More
6.2.2024 – Farmers Weekly – Biodiversity units market may be a volatile one
The supply of and demand for units to meet biodiversity net gain (BNG) obligations is likely to be erratic, driven both by the seasonality of ecological survey constraints and the grant of planning permissions. Read more here
Read More
5.2.2024 – BNG – MARKET COMMENT – FIRST NATIONAL SALE BY TENDER 2.2.24 – NEXT TENDER 8.3.24
There was an overwhelming amount of interest in the first national sale of BNG last Friday with 107 tender packs requested before the deadline at 1pm and sales now being processed. We are now talking to many hundreds of developers and their advisers, and more units are wanted for the next tender on the 8th…
Read More 1.2.2024 – BNG – THE LEADING REGULATED BNG BROKER
As a firm regulated by the RICS we are bound to trade BNG units observing the highest professional standards with our clients and also those buying from them. We are the leading broker of a handful of Chartered Surveyor brokers buying and selling BNG. If you are a developer or landowner why not use a…
Read More