3 Agricultural land

5.12 By virtue of s 1(4), agricultural land is defined to mean, ‘land used for agriculture which is so used for the purposes of a trade or business’ or land designated by the minister as such pursuant to s 109 of the Agriculture Act 1947.

5.13 ‘Land’ includes not only the land let, but also buildings on it. In appropriate circumstances a letting of buildings without land can constitute an agricultural holding. When considering whether a building can constitute ‘agricultural land’ one must take into account the situation of the property, its history, and the purpose for which it was let. The parties must intend, at the time of letting, that the property is to be used for agricultural purposes and form part of an integrated agricultural holding. So, where land was let on terms that it was to be reinstated following sand and gravel extraction – by replacing the topsoil, reseeding and then grazing it – preparatory to a resumption of full time agricultural use, it was held that the land was not being used for agriculture. It was, instead, subject to work preparatory to agricultural use under an after care condition in the permission for sand/gravel extraction.²⁴

5.14 There is no minimum size for an agricultural holding, the only criteria being whether land and buildings are let for agricultural purposes. So, for instance, a half-acre allotment used to produce vegetables for sale has been held to be an agricultural holding,²⁵ as has a smithy let with an orchard and garden.²⁶A cottage let for housing farm workers has also been held to constitute an ‘agricultural holding’,²⁷ and in principle the farmhouse can also constitute an ‘agricultural holding’ even if let with little or no land.²⁸ However, in one case where the tenant separately leased a house near the holding for reasons of convenience, but where it was not intended to be let as a farmhouse for the holding, the tenancy of the house was held not to be an agricultural holding.²⁹