What Clarkson’s Farm teaches us about buying rural land for business

By Joseph Fletcher-Hunt & Mark Turner, Partners at Aaron & Partners

The latest series of Clarkson’s Farm (season 4) has returned with its usual mix of big ambition and unexpected hurdles. This time, Jeremy Clarkson finds himself facing further legal conundrums when inspecting various sites for his new pub, butcher and farm shop. His chosen pub came with a quirky planning condition: a requirement to maintain the pub’s garden as an open public “picnic area” with lavatories. While it’s an amusing subplot for viewers, it reveals a serious truth for buyers and businesses– particularly those in the rural and agriculture sector.

At times the show paints an idyllic picture of the rural economy, but it also uncovers the legal thorns often hidden beneath the surface, particularly for those looking to diversify.

It’s perfectly normal for property to come with legal obligations and restrictions. But in rural communities, the complexity often runs deeper - especially when land deeds date back centuries with multiple owners and historic uses. Anybody looking to buy land and property should find out early on what can and can’t be done with it. Measure twice and cut once.

Some of the most common legal restrictions we’ve seen in rural areas include:

• Maintenance Obligations for buildings, drains, accessways and boundaries
• Restrictive covenants, which may forbid commercial activity or limit building types
• Planning conditions or section 106 agreements, which may limit how the land can be used or developed
• Public rights of way over the land, such as footpaths or bridleways
• Private rights of way, where neighbours or service providers are legally entitled to cross the land
• Utility easements, which allow companies to maintain pipes, cables or other infrastructure
• Overage clauses, requiring additional payments to the seller if planning permission is later granted

These aren’t obscure legal hypotheticals but real-world clauses that catch land buyers and tenants out. Imagine you’re planning to let or buy and convert a barn into a café. You find the perfect site at the right price, but later in the legal process, you discover a covenant from the 1800s that prohibits any kind of trading activity, or a planning condition which restricts use to agriculture. Issues of this sort can derail your vision, wasting weeks of work and thousands of pounds in surveys, valuations or legal fees. These issues can be made worse if bank funding is involved. Buyers cannot “take a view” on risks without Bank support.

Many buyers or tenants assume legal checks begin after an offer is accepted. That’s often the case. Formal searches and title investigations usually start at that point. But by then, you may already be financially and emotionally invested in the purchase – demonstrating why early advice from a legal professional is critical.

Before making an offer, you can (and should) seek guidance on whether you will be able to use the land or property in the way that you want to, and whether there are hidden risks. Knowing more about a site can be invaluable when negotiating a price or annual rent.

An experienced solicitor can:

• Act as a sounding board to provide initial guidance and support on viability and next steps
• Review the title documents and deeds (if available pre-offer) to flag known risks
• Interpret complex clauses, like easements, rights of way or overage agreements
• Help shape your offer by including conditions or clauses that protect your interests
• Spot red flags early - like the need for a wayleave agreement or a footpath diversion
• Review the planning position and liaise with the local authority to advise on planning designations, historic uses, and any policies that could affect an application for a change of use

The role of a legal team in your corner isn’t just reactive, it’s preventative, and can help you avoid making a costly mistake or getting caught in a legal bind.

New rural businesses are incredibly valuable to the community. They bring food, services, jobs, education and positive experiences for all. But buying or letting land in the countryside isn’t without risk. What starts as a simple transaction can quickly unravel without due diligence.

Clarkson’s picnic area (with lavatories…) challenge might raise a smile, but for many business owners, one legal clause could cost them a lot of money. As he discovers, there are multiple reasons why the previous publican struggled. Without doubt the key is early legal advice to protect your investment before the stake goes in. Measure twice and cut once.