New opportunities, as well as challenges await rural businesses who are facing great uncertainty says the new chairman of the Isle of Wight branch of the CLA.
MPs were told this week that farmers need certainty on funding beyond the Government’s existing commitment to 2022 in order to have the confidence to adapt their businesses post-Brexit.
The Agriculture Bill will have it second reading in Parliament next week. Farmers and landowner are calling for urgent clarity on post 2022 funding plans.
The new awards showcase the success of rural industries on the Island, and the awards for schools and young people demonstrate the very positive future of rural life on the Isle of Wight.
The Housing Minister has extended the right to convert buildings without having to seek a full planning permission by allowing more options to convert existing farm buildings into family homes.
Isle of Wight farmers could be left at the mercy of volatile world markets or become little more than country park keepers to earn Government money says Rural Property Specialist, James Attrill.
The first on the list of resolutions for the New Year is for the Isle of Wight Council or the Government to impose "some form of public service obligation on ferry companies or provide an alternative".
Where there is a risk of harm to the public, dogs or livestock, landowners have called for a common-sense measure to allow them to divert footpaths on a temporary basis.