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Agricultural Property Rights and the County Farms Estate in England and Wales

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Agricultural Property Rights and the County Farms Estate in England and Wales Agricultural property rights and the county farms estate in England and Wales NICK PRINCE A thesis submitted to The University of Gloucestershire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Applied Sciences March 2012 I Abstract Structural change across the agricultural sector in the United Kingdom has continued to reduce the opportunities for new farmers to enter the industry. This, in turn, has led to a reduction in and ageing of the agricultural workforce. The difficult situation has been compounded by conditions in the agricultural tenancy sector, which also reduce the number of opportunities made available to new entrants. These structural changes have, in theory, increased the significance of the County Farms Estate (CFE) in England and Wales as a widely recognised entry mechanism into tenant farming. However, little is know about the current structure of this service as it has received limited attention within academic research. This research provides the first detailed analysis of the CFE for over forty years. It adopts a property rights approach and focuses on the property relationships associated with State regulation and the ownership, occupation and use of the CFE. This allows an examination of its current structure and future potential as an agricultural service and as a county council and local authority asset. A three-stage, mixed methodology is developed, with the findings of the first two stages used to inform the detailed content of the final stage. The first stage employs a desk-based analysis of secondary data to explore the historic development and current structure of the CFE. Location Quotient analysis is used to map the geographical concentration of the CFE in relation to the wider agricultural and tenanted sectors at the county council and local authority level. The second stage uses an electronic questionnaire survey of estate managers to examine key influences on estate management strategy and their consequences for the use of, and relationships associated with, estate property. The final stage involves detailed case study analysis in three specific local authorities (Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire and Powys). Here, the research focuses on the influence of state regulation on the ownership, occupation and use of property rights on each estate, as well as the consequential impacts on both landlords (county councils and local authorities) and tenants (new entrants and established tenants). II The analysis of secondary and questionnaire data highlights how the geographical distribution of the contemporary CFE occurs mainly in two regional clusters: first, in the arable areas of eastern England; and secondly, in the livestock rearing areas of western and south-western England and Wales. Historically, the development of the CFE was influenced by direct regulation. However, it is increasingly being used to satisfy wider statutory obligations. This increases the level of potential socio- economic outputs obtained from estate ownership (agricultural provision, non- agricultural rentals, environmental, recreational and education). However, the rates at which individual county councils and local authorities engage with direct and indirect State regulation vary. Detailed case study analysis helped to identify how individual estate management policies can be categorised into one of four differing strategies: consolidation; partial disinvestment (rationalisation); partial disinvestment (core estate); and comprehensive disinvestment. These strategies are defined by the level and type of property retention. Each strategy has consequential impacts on the distribution of the rights to property, influencing the socio-economic benefits of estate ownership. As the rate of property disposal increases, so the level of socio-economic outputs falls. Property disposal does, however, increase the short-term economic benefits of estate ownership through sales receipts. At local and national levels, the CFE is a key source of agricultural property rights, particularly the provision of equipped holdings. However, many of those accessing these holdings are not new entrants and have previously held some agricultural property rights. Established tenants often progress their farm business by using their current holding as a base. Business expansion strategies include the occupation of additional land, on-farm diversification and off-farm employment. These often and invariably tie a tenant to the existing holding as a point of access to business and marketing opportunities, thus reducing opportunities for new tenants. In order to manipulate property relationships, tenants rely heavily on the family as a source of social and financial capital. III Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of the University of Gloucestershire and is original except where indicated by specific reference in the text. No part of the thesis has been submitted as part of any other academic award. The thesis has not been presented to any other educational institution in the United Kingdom or overseas. The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author alone and in no way represent the views of the University of Gloucestershire. Signed: ………………………………………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………………………………………… IV Acknowledgements In completing this thesis, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my supervisors Professor Brian Ilbery, Dr Damian Maye and Dr James Kirwan. Their expertise and guidance have challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, engage with new ideas and thinking, and work hard to complete this thesis. Thanks should also go to the many members of the Countryside and Community Research Institute for providing encouragement, support and a good working environment in which to undertake research. A special mention should be given to Dr Mike Clark, for producing the maps used within the thesis, and to Dr Ruth Little, for comment and support when needed. I would like to thank the Economic and Social Research Council for funding the Case studentship and the ACES Rural Practice Branch as Case collaborators. Special thanks should go to Charles Coats and Stephen Morgan as the main working contacts within ACES. However, my gratitude extends to all members for the warm welcome I received during group functions. In addition, I would also like to thank John Macmillan and David Nuttycombe (Cambridgeshire County Council), Hugo Van Rees (Powys County Council) James Benham (Gloucestershire County Council) and Nick Millard (Bruton Knowles) for their help during the case study research. Thanks also go to the 60 tenants who participated in the research, sharing their time, hospitality and experiences. Thanks also to Agnes and Maureen for their invaluable assistance at various points during the research. Finally, I would like to thank Nicola for her help during the focus group meetings and for her continued support throughout my period of study. V Agricultural property rights and the county farms estate in England and Wales Table of contents List of Appendices ………………………………………………………………….. X List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………… XI List of Tables …………………………………………………………………….. XIII List of Text Boxes …………………………………………………………………XV List of Abbreviations …………………………………………………………….XVI Chapter 1 Introduction: context and aims of research..……………………………………… .1 1.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………....1 1.2 State regulation and the County Farms Estate ………………………………...2 1.3 Research aims and objectives ………………………………………………… 5 1.4 Thesis structure ………………………………………………………………..6 1.4.1 Section one ……………………………………………………………....6 1.4.2 Section two ………………………………………………………………7 1.4.3 Section three ……………………………………………………………..7 Chapter 2 County Farms and agricultural restructuring: a review of literature …………... 8 2.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………... 8 2.2 Agricultural restructuring ……………………………………………….…... 9 2.3 Agricultural restructuring: the significance of the family farm and the influence of the family …………………………………………………..18 2.4 The agricultural tenanted sector …………………………………………….. 25 2.5 Entry mechanisms within the agricultural industry …………………………. 30 2.6 Chapter summary ……………………………………………………….….. .35 VI Chapter 3 Conceptualising agricultural property rights ……………………………………. 37 3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………. 37 3.2 Property rights ………………………………………………………………. 38 3.3 The distribution of agricultural property rights ……………………………... 43 3.4 Estate management strategies and the distribution of property rights ……….47 3.5 Developing a conceptual framework for examining the present structure and future potential of the County Farms Estate in England and Wales ……. 57 3.6 Chapter summary ……………………………………………………….……63 Chapter 4 Methodology……………….………………………………………………………...65 4.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………. 65 4.2 Mixed methods research …………………………………………………….. 66 4.3 Using secondary data to identify the structure of the County Farms Estate ………………………………………………………………………....68 4.3.1 Analysing patterns of structural change within the CFE ………….…... 69 4.3.2 Mapping the significance of the geographical distribution of the CFE …………………………………………………………………… .71 4.4 Questionnaire survey of estates managers …………………………………...76 4.5 Case study research …………………………………………………………. 80 4.5.1 Semi-structured interviews ……………………………………………. 83 4.5.2 Focus groups …………………………………………………………...89 4.6 Chapter summary ……………………………………………………….……91 Chapter 5 The County Farms Estate in England and Wales
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