Landowners' group warns rural businesses in Lincolnshire are in need of greater support

Rural businesses across the county are investing about £2.9 billion in the local economy annually.
Francis Dymoke, chairman of the CLA's Lincolnshire branch.Francis Dymoke, chairman of the CLA's Lincolnshire branch.
Francis Dymoke, chairman of the CLA's Lincolnshire branch.

The figure comes from the landowners’ group, the CLA, which is warning if that level of investment is to continue and grow more support is needed from local and national government.

CLA’s Lincolnshire branch committee chairman Francis Dymoke says rural businesses have the appetite to make further investments but need greater backing.

He said: “An estimated £2.9billion was invested by rural businesses in the CLA’s east region during 2015.

“This is a significant sum that has done much to boost our national economy.

“The contribution of our county’s rural businesses cannot be underestimated.”

But Mr Dymoke said that rural businesses needed a reform of planning laws, certainly over Brexit, an end to “ever-shifting” Government policy plus reassurances on taxation and on changes to water abstraction regulations.

He said: “There is the potential for further investment across a wide range of areas, such as the diversification of rural businesses into residential and commercial property, tourism, renewable energy, and so on.

“However, many are left frustrated by the planning system, which is often unnecessarily costly, time consuming and bureaucratic.”

“Government instability and ever-shifting policy is also a problem for farmers and landowners.

“Right now, they want some certainty on where they stand regarding Brexit and the opportunities it will present.”

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