Rich Londoners with second homes rule the rooster! OK?

[Tony Hague]

A village farm near here was forced to "silence" his chickens which were keeping the neighbours awake. The farm had chickens for nearly two centuries, the new housing estate was a mere six months old. Buy a house next to a farm...

I bet when the planning went through for the new houses, the planners dismissed the farmer's objections because he "would not be materially affected". Of course, if the farmer sold the land to the developer to start with, then my sympathy level drops to zero.

[Primrose]

It seems to me that in the above case the farmer is damned if he does sell, and damned if he doesn't. Selling land may have been the only way he could have kept his farm going although if that were the case I would expect the planning authorities to lean over backwards to ensure that the culture of rural life is allowed to continue.
By the way, has anybody figured out what will happen to DEFRA in the current round of deficit cuts and allocation of Ministeries? I hope we see rural affairs getting better treatment than they did under the previous government. Some of us still remember those dreadful photos of hundreds of dead cattle carcasses being piled up and burned. Some of the problems which happened in the countryside seemed to have been handled very badly.

[alan refail]

By the way, has anybody figured out what will happen to DEFRA in the current round of deficit cuts and allocation of Ministeries?

£162 million cut
http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/lat ... 99.article

But check on annual cuts in DEFRA budget in previous years.

More details here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... udget-cuts

[madasafish]

Primrose's comments on foxes made me laugh. The only more disturbing noise at night - from nature that is- is the sound of owls courting. We have an oak tree next to our bedroom window and it appears to be a favourite trysting place for lovesick owls..

[JohnN]

Try spraying the owls with water, Madasafish. It makes them too-wet-to-woo!

[madasafish]

rofl..

[Chantal]

[lizzie]

Taxi for John...... hahahaha

[snooky]

The people with second homes are going to be stuffed anyway if they sell their houses after Cameron & Co put Capital Gains Tax to 40%-UNLESS,of course,they bottle it under pressure from those with vested interest NOT to have CGT raised.
If they sell before any CGT rise(alleged)then that should put more houses on the market,bringing the prices down(but it never works out like that!)