The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Buildings & planning => Topic started by: Deadduck on August 06, 2014, 05:34:50 pm
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Hi,
We have an ex farm house with a few acres of land, and we are thinking of keeping a few animals, more for leisure than business.
Is there any advantages/disadvantages of registering it as a smallhold? I tried looking at the Defra website and it's useless.
Thank you.
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If you keep certain animals regardless of number then I think you will hav to register. Talk to your local council as they do have some responsibility for certain aspects.
Regen
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Hi Deadduck, It depends what you mean by "register as a smallhold"?
Basically, the rules are that if you keep any farm livestock with four legs, you must obtain what's called a "CPH" number. If you're living in an old farmhouse, you may well find that your land already has one of them, but either way your local DEFRA office will be able to either tell you what your CPH number is, or issue you with a new one. The other thing you need is either a flock number or herd number, to go with your new four legged livestock (that's what goes onto the ear tags of animals you breed for instance to identify them as your animals). Again, you get this number from DEFRA, and it's free of charge.
If you keep poultry, you don't have to register with anybody unless you keep more than fifty birds in total (e.g. 30 hens and 21 ducks), above which you DO need to register them.
There's lots of info on this sort of thing on the main TAS website, so that's probably the best place to start. Registering as a business is a totally separate issue, but it sounds as though that's not what you're trying to do anyway?
Hope that helps!
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Hi have just done it. The person is registered not the holding.
David
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Not sure what you have just done but cph numbers are definitely registered to land not people !!!
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CPH numbers are registered to areas of land that you as a person either rent or own so therefore the land is registered to you as the 'holder' if you are confused then the nice ladies at Defra will sort you out if you phone them. It's handy to have the field number from the ordinance survey map when you call. :thumbsup:
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A CPH registration confers advantage in presentation vis-a-vis planning authorities. The acreage you have is important too as regards permitted development regulations.
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The land has a County/Parish/Holding number. Pigs and cattle have a Herd No. Sheep and Goats have a Flock No. Keeping farm livestock without the CPH and flock/herd no. is illegal and rightly so, as the Govt. needs to know what is where in the event of a disease outbreak which may have the potential to be as devastating as F&M in 2001.
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CPH numbers are on people. I have a different one to my husband as our livestock are two separate entities. This gets round landless people keeping pet pigs ect.
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Do you keep your animals on the same land as your husband though Buttermilk? I really thought the CPH referred to the land, i.e. holding x in parish y of county z. For example, could you move house and take your CPH number with you?
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No we have a fence in between. I had to get a different number to him and his brothers partnership to avoid confusion but we all have the same address for paperwork.