Armstrong Rural, with our extensive knowledge and experience, are the go-to for undertaking formal and informal valuations on all types of property – from pony paddocks to whole farms, or anything in between.

We are predominantly rural property valuers, and our valuations provide detailed inspections, comparable evidencing, relevant calculations, and due diligence, providing valuation reports to our clients in a timely manner.

Armstrong Rural are RICS-accredited to produce a “red book” property valuation report commonly used for Secured Lending, Matrimonial, Inheritance Tax (Probate), Capital Taxation, Partnership Disputes or SIPP’s.

Armstrong Rural offer a complete service for the purchase or sale of rural property whether it is a private or open market sale or purchase.

An in-depth knowledge of the land market and geographical area allows us to offer a completely tailored package to prospective vendors and purchasers.

Armstrong Rural is also experienced in the sale of rural property by public auction, offering a method of sale which provides a clean, simple, open, transparent and competitive process with great success.

We act as an intermediary between parties to a dispute in order to help them arrive at a mutual agreement.

This may take the course of arbitration, mediation or assisted negotiation. Such work is usually required for landlord and tenant issues but may involve other parties such as statutory authorities.

As a company we act as expert witnesses in court and in quasi judicial hearings with regard to property matters. Expert witness reports are often required for property matters and disputes when the parties cannot agree on a settlement or outcome.

We only act within our expertise, experience and knowledge and provide an impartial report that can be used by both parties, known as a single joint expert report.

In these instances our duty is the court and therefore we act completely independently and are not biased by either party.

Within the company we have expertise in the following:

• Land and property disputes and valuations
• Matrimonial disputes
• Boundary disputes
• Utility company disputes
• Overage and restrictive covenant disputes
• Access and ransom disputes

Armstrong Rural have extensive experience and expertise in acting on behalf of both landlords and tenants.

We offer a personal and bespoke service with the aim of resolving any landlord and tenant dispute in a cost-effective manner, assisting both landlords and tenants in dealing with all tenancy matters ranging from large landed estates through to allotment gardens.

As well as rural property, our team also routinely deals with residential property, commercial property, telecommunication masts and electricity sub-stations.

Our services include:

• Written tenancy agreements
• Rent reviews
• Lease renewals or extensions
• Succession advice
• Dispute resolution
• End-of-tenancy claims and dilapidations
• Managing consents for assignments, improvements and other matters

We work on behalf of instructing parties to negotiate terms and conditions, ensure accommodation works are in place during the period of the works, and agree compensation claims for crop and consequential losses.

We have a wealth of experience in compulsory purchase, be it for utility use such as cables, pipelines, telecommunications masts, rail or road.

We specialise in:

• Negotiation on behalf of the client
• Negotiation for acquisition
• Arranging accommodation works during the scheme
• Landlord and tenant claims
• Consequential losses

Armstrong Rural can provide professional advice with regard to all government environmental schemes, past and present, including Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants, Countryside Stewardship (CS), Higher Level Stewardship (HLS), Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) and England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO).

Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS)

The Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) enables capital expenditure to be included as part of the application. Farms within a Catchment Sensitive Farming Area, can receive subsidies for farm improvements such as:

• Renewing concrete
• Roof over silage pit, manure/silage store and livestock gathering
• Shockproof fencing
• Drystone wall restoration
• Water troughs
• Renewing gateways and areas around water troughs
• Planting trees and replanting hedges

In total there are over 160 options available to claimants, with no maximum grant limit.

We specialise in development schemes for agricultural purposes, or for change of use from agricultural. This can include:-

• Roofing over silage pits
• Muck Middens
• Anearobic digestors
• Grain Stores
• Slurry Lagoons
• Agricultural workers dwellings
• Lawful Development Certificates

We are aware of the planning policy that must be met and how best go about obtaining such planning permission. Ensuring our clients are aware of the process, timescales and costs is at the forefront of our practical advice.

Our in-house GIS (Geographical Information System) team can provide clients with an extensive mapping service and are able to supply electronic or paper maps for a multitude of purposes. With our range of base maps and extensive library of geospatial data.

• Land registry compliant plans.
• Tenancy or sale plans.
• Planning application maps.
• Farm mapping – “red line boundary” plans, bespoke annotation with field numbers / areas / field names, cropping plans. nvz/manuremanagement plans.
• Estate mapping – whole estate plans, with land registry title boundaries, current tenure, wayleaves & easements, shared access points,etc.
• Manorial maps – digitising archive maps (e.g. mineral/sporting rights).
• Rural lans registry (RLR) registration & amendments.
• Environmental and woodland schemes.