[Breconeer]

4 years ago I moved from Carmarthenshire to my partner's home in north Herefordshire (HR7).

We are looking at possibly moving to somewhere that has more space - something between half an acre and max 3 acres, in Herefordshire or Powys. Not specifically to run it as a smallholding, but mostly to accommodate our two campervans, plus an occasional visitor's van, plus space to engage in our outdoor crafts, space for six grandchildren to camp, plus space for dog to run, and with useful outbuildings/workspaces, etc - and it just so happens that some of the properties we are offered to view are labelled as smallholdings. The nearest we come to qualifying as smallholders is that some of our crafts involve woodland products, and we would likely be growing fruit and vegetables for ourselves on a small scale (no more than a small alotment). We might have (or host) the odd grazing animal or two, or not.

If we choose to regard a property as just a home with a very big multi-use garden, can someone tell me if it is advantageous or disadvantageous to be registered as a smallholding or not?  Some of the properties offered are labelled as 'registered smallholding', some not.  Apart from eligibility for farm'related schemes (probably not relevant to us) does 'registered smallholding' status confer any benefits or restrictions/obligations that a non-smallholder needs to take into account? Such as different taxation rules. planning rules.

Having only just been directed to this website, I daresay I shall find the answers are already here somewhere, and I shall look around in the next week or so.

[Dan]

Hello, and welcome. 

There is no such thing as a 'registered smallholding'. What the term usually refers to is that the property has a CPH (County Parish Holding) number. This is a unique reference number for the property (i.e. not the owner) that is issued by the Rural Payments Agency for holdings in England:

http://rpa.defra.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/contentdocs/018D4B9233648D1D48025765C004EF7EE

A CPH number is required before you can keep most livestock, and is used when notifying the relevant agencies of the movement of animals onto and off of your holding, enabling (in theory) complete traceability of livestock movement throughout the UK. If you are going to have grazing animals (other than equines) you will need a CPH number.

Hope this helps, more info at the link above, or from lots of people on here. 

[Breconeer]

Thanks Dan. Checked out the link you gave.

This is all a bit academic at the moment, because it might be quite a while before we get around to finding somewhere and moving, and the place might or might not already be classified as whatever. Googling the term "registered smallholding" brings up all sorts of contradictory results, which is why I've come to a specialised site to find out stuff. 

(I only googled it in the first place because estate agents, bless 'em, use the term sometimes) (and because one of them suggested it's harder to get a straightforward residential mortgage if the property is described as a smallholding (??).

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome from Carnoustie 

[Bionic]

(I only googled it in the first place because estate agents, bless 'em, use the term sometimes) (and because one of them suggested it's harder to get a straightforward residential mortgage if the property is described as a smallholding (??).

We have what was described as a smallholding. The people before us had a CPH number on the land (2.5 acres). We had no problem at all in getting a residential mortgage.

[Lesley Silvester]

  welcome from  Shropshire.