A firm of rural surveyors and consultants with a Cumbrian base has been accepted onto the NFU support panel which offers assistance to its members
Davidson & Robertson (D&R) has offices in Scotland and Northern England and will provide rural surveying advice to NFU ‘Farmer & Grower’ members in Cumbria from their Cockermouth office.
The NFU CallFirst service enables members to access professional advice on farming, legal and technical issues.
D&R is the only firm on the panel with an office base in the county and has a two-year contract to provide the assistance.
NFU Cumbria members are offered an initial discussion with firms on the NFU support panel, allowing them to talk to the surveyors about their issues, identifying possible follow up courses of action and if possible, potential costs.
That initial discussion can be up to an hour long, and under an NFU agreement, the surveyors are able to offer new clients a discount on their first instruction.
Ian Bowness, NFU Cumbria chairman said: “It’s important that our members are aware of their membership benefits which include legal support and assistance with rural surveying matters.
“The aim of this membership benefit is to provide expert support where needed – and whilst the NFU can’t employ every expert, we do have the ability to partner with the right people who can provide the specialist advice.
“Cumbria is home to 39 per cent of NFU members in the North West and Cumbrian farmers like to know who they are dealing with.
“Having a local firm with knowledge about what’s happening in the county is very beneficial so it’s reassuring to know members can access advice from locally based rural surveyors and consultants like D&R who have a wide range of rural surveying and land agency experience including dealing with development, infrastructure and utility projects across the county that could potentially affect our members.”
Chris Edmunds, director at Davidson & Robertson, is based in their Cockermouth office and will take the lead on this NFU assistance.
Chris said: “In recent years, land-related issues have become more complex, and it’s our role to simplify the processes for our clients, removing as much of the paperwork, stress and hassle as possible, allowing farmers to get on with their day job.
“We’re a down to earth, approachable team and farmers appreciate our practical, hands-on way of working.”
“In West Cumbria, the West Cumbria Water Supplies Project is a prime example of the assistance we have provided– and we’re already looking at infrastructure projects on the A595 and A66 as well as a potentially huge piece of work in dealing with BT as they look UK wide to secure formal permissions for their apparatus on land.”
During discussions with Cumbria’s NFU chairman at his Threapland Lees Farm, near Aspatria, and following further research, Chris confirmed that in the early 1900s his family were farming at Threapland Lees.
