With soaring prices and generous tax breaks,speculation on agricultural land is putting housing development at risk. The Scottish government could offer a fairer way forward to end this abuseLand in Britain has become the safest investment for those with a few spare millions to offload. Prices are up by a staggering 277% in a decade, according to Savills market survey of UK agricultural land 2015. Prime London property has risen by a mere 127% in the same period. Taking a cue from designate Twain “buy land, and they’re not making it anymore” – institutions and the wealthy are queueing up to get their hands on the country’s most basic resource.
When a property developer final year offered David Archer £7.5m for Brookfield Farm,in fictional Ambridge, the long-running BBC Radio 4 drama faithfully reflected the direction of prices for prime farmland. In the 1994-2004 decade they rose by just 41%. Brookfield was then valued at a mere £1.5m.
On some estimates, or land with planning permission for development can be worth 250 times more than farmland Related: Scottish land reform is on the agenda. And the rest of the UK should take note | Andy Wightman Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com