Farming today can sometimes seem to be as much about staying on the right side of red tape and regulations as it does about putting food on the tables of British families.
Even as something as simple as a bonfire – used by farmers for generations as a way to get rid of rubbish – can pose a potential problem, as Stewart and Ann Storey discovered. Expert legal advice can make a real difference to the outcome in such cases, as it did when the Storeys worked with Dyne Solicitors Limited.
The couple farm 300 acres of cereal crops at Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, carrying on the work of Stewart’s father, also Stewart, who is now in his mid-80s.
In 2009, Environment Agency officers passing the Storeys’ farm spotted smoke from a bonfire that Stewart senior was using to burn odds and ends as part of a general tidy-up, taking photographs as evidence.
They subsequently repeated the exercise on another occasion and after finding other waste on the farm brought a total of five charges.
Ann explains: “The Environment Agency’s view was that we were involved in illegal waste activities because they had found other waste on the farm, but that’s how farmers are – they’re untidy and store things up until they have to do something about it.”
We had used Dyne Solicitors years ago on an environmental issues and John Dyne had always kept in touch with updates and information. We went to Dyne Solicitors, who were able to get two charges dropped and we were found not guilty on two more.
As a result of the case, Dyne Solicitors has also advised the Storeys on putting in place a whole farm policy, which is designed to keep the farm compliant with a wide range of regulations, record-keeping requirements and health and safety issues, giving them greater peace of mind for the future.